South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) has announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2024.
The company has reported an operating profit of KRW 583 billion ($423.75 million) for the quarter, increasing by 91.8 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and decreasing compared to the operating profit of KRW 705 billion in the same quarter of 2023. In the first quarter this year, POSCO’s sales revenue decreased by 3.3 percent compared to the previous quarter and were down by 6.9 percent year on year to KRW 18.05 trillion ($13.12 billion), while its net profit amounted to KRW 619 billion ($449.87 million), decreasing by 26.3 percent compared to a net profit of KRW 840 billion in the same period of 2023 and increasing by 92.8 percent quarter on quarter.
Despite the increase in raw material prices, higher steel prices and reduced costs supported the company’s operating profit, whereas its oversales operations contributed to a quarter-on-quarter decrease in profits.
In the first quarter, POSCO produced 8.66 million mt of crude steel, rising by 1.9 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the given quarter, the company’s finished steel sales increased by 0.8 percent year on year to 8.23 million mt.
In April, POSCO has begun modernization works at blast furnace No. 4 at its Pohang mill and the furnace is scheduled to be recommissioned by the end of June this year, as SteelOrbis previously reported. The company stated that, although crude steel output at the company has been reduced by the blast furnace maintenance works, use of semi-finished inventory has helped the company keep production and sales from falling.
POSCO predicts that its consolidated revenue in 2024 will total KRW 78 trillion.