Improved Steel and Infrastructure Performance
Reduced Net Debt Ratio Despite Increased Investment Costs
POSCO Holdings announced on the 25th that it recorded consolidated sales of 18.51 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 752 billion KRW in the second quarter. This represents a decrease of 8% and 43.3%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Compared to the previous quarter, sales and operating profit increased by 2.5% and 29%, respectively.
Net profit reached 546 billion KRW. Despite increased investment costs in the second quarter, the net debt ratio decreased due to improved performance in the steel and infrastructure sectors compared to the previous quarter.
The steel sector's performance has been gradually improving since the fourth quarter of last year. Although production and sales decreased due to the refurbishment of POSCO’s blast furnaces, resulting in slightly lower sales compared to the previous quarter, operating profit increased slightly due to higher selling prices and lower raw material costs.
In the infrastructure sector, POSCO International saw increases in sales and operating profit compared to the previous quarter due to reduced depreciation expenses from re-certification of gas field reserves and higher selling prices. POSCO E&C also experienced slight increases in sales and operating profit due to the acceleration of large-scale project processes.
In the secondary battery materials sector, POSCO Future M saw declines in sales and operating profit compared to the previous quarter due to lower prices of cathode materials and the initial operating costs of the artificial graphite anode material plant. However, the company maintained profitability this year thanks to increased sales volume and yield improvements of high value-added products such as high-nickel cathode materials (N86, N87, NCA).
On this day, POSCO Holdings introduced the progress of hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology development linked to national R&D demonstration projects to promote economic green transformation (GX) in the steel sector. It also shared the current status and plans for production preparation of raw materials for secondary battery materials such as lithium and nickel. Additionally, the company announced progress on natural gas production facility expansion plans, including the Myanmar offshore gas field, which has become a stable source of group revenue, and the Senex project, which is expanding production threefold.
Meanwhile, on the 12th, POSCO Holdings held the 'Secondary Battery Materials Business Value Day,' where it announced a strategy to firmly establish the secondary battery materials business as the group’s second growth engine by leveraging the chasm phase as an opportunity. It also promised a strong shareholder return policy, including the complete cancellation of approximately 2 trillion KRW worth of treasury shares over the next three years and the principle of immediate cancellation of treasury shares upon future repurchases.
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