[Click eStock] "POSCO, Solid Q4 Performance... Additional Profitability Improvement Expected in H1"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Hana Financial Investment forecasted on the 12th that POSCO's Q4 earnings this year are expected to meet market expectations due to factors such as a recovery in sales volume. The investment opinion 'Buy' was maintained, and the target price was raised by 15.2% from the previous 330,000 KRW to 380,000 KRW.

Seongbong Park, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, stated, "POSCO's standalone sales and operating profit for Q4 are expected to reach 7 trillion KRW and 463.9 billion KRW respectively," adding, "Although the raw material input cost is expected to rise due to the sharp increase in iron ore prices, the aggressive price hike policy was accepted by the market, and sales volume increased due to the recovery of domestic and overseas steel demand."

According to Hana Financial Investment, the price of Chinese steel distribution, which rebounded from the low point in April last year, switched to a sharp rise in Q4 and approached a 10-year high by the end of December. Subsequently, at the beginning of the year, prices were slightly adjusted due to a temporary demand slowdown caused by the cold wave in China and strengthened speculative trading regulations on major steel products by the Chinese government. However, since most major Chinese steelmakers announced significant additional price increases for plate products in February following January, Park believes that the domestic price of Chinese steel is expected to switch back to an upward trend.

Researcher Park emphasized, "Domestic steel prices worldwide, including China, are rising sharply," and added, "Major blast furnace companies are continuing aggressive price hikes, so continuous profitability improvement is expected during the first half of this year."