POSCO Holdings announced on the 31st that its operating profit for the second quarter of this year is tentatively estimated to be 607 billion won, a decrease of 18.7% compared to the same period last year.
In the same period, sales amounted to 17.56 trillion won, a decrease of 5.1%, while net profit was 80 billion won, down 85.5%.
On a standalone basis, POSCO's sales for the second quarter of this year recorded 8.95 trillion won, down 3.6% compared to the same period last year, but the operating profit is tentatively estimated to be 510 billion won, an increase of 21.4% over the same period.
POSCO noted that its operating profit margin for the second quarter of this year is 5.7%, the highest quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2023, attributing the success to efforts such as improving cost structure through equipment efficiency, reducing energy and raw material ratios, and enhancing productivity through digital transformation.
POSCO aims to further strengthen its competitiveness through the expansion of high value-added product development and diversification of its product portfolio, focusing on the development of commercial technology for 'hydrogen reduction steelmaking', a future steelmaking technology.
The secondary battery materials business saw performance decline due to the reflection of initial costs from newly operational factories and the drop in lithium prices. POSCO explained that it is making every effort to enhance competitiveness through the development of direct lithium extraction technology, internalizing the core raw material supply chain, and raising financial soundness through capital increase.
In the institutional sector of the infrastructure business, POSCO INTERNATIONAL has consistently generated profits from overseas projects such as gas fields and farms; however, overall profits decreased due to rising construction costs by POSCO E&C.
POSCO Holdings stated that through its restructuring of low-profit and non-core assets ongoing since last year, it completed a total of 11 restructuring cases in the first half of this year, generating cash of about 350 billion won.
POSCO Holdings plans to secure an additional 1 trillion won in cash through the restructuring of 47 cases in the second half of this year to improve the group's financial soundness and enhance corporate value.