POSCO Holdings said 2026 will be an inflection point that ends the downward trend in results seen in recent years. On the HMM acquisition, it said there has been no progress.
POSCO Holdings said at an earnings conference call for last year held on the 29th that "the effects of restructuring, the winding down of loss-making businesses, the visibility of profitability in the lithium business, and the execution of overseas steel investments will come together to lay the groundwork for a rebound in results starting this year."
It added that uncertainties such as the steel demand slump and stronger protectionism still remain.
Regarding the HMM acquisition, it said, "We have made several related disclosures before," adding, "We conducted a preliminary review and said nothing has been decided, and there has been no progress since then."
On the steel market, it said, "We expect global steel demand to show a gradual recovery, aided by the easing of tariff shocks and infrastructure investment in major countries."
It saw that demand increases would not be large in advanced economies such as the United States and Europe as trade policy uncertainty expands. It expected solid demand growth to continue, centered on India and ASEAN.
For domestic demand, it said differences will be large by industry, adding, "Strategic industries such as shipbuilding and defense are expected to continue to show strong momentum, while home appliances and construction are expected to remain in a prolonged slump." It projected autos would be similar to the previous year due to the burden of U.S. tariffs and weaker global consumption.
It also presented a timeline for commercial production of lithium in Argentina. In Argentina, commercial production begins this year. POSCO Holdings said, "In January and February this year, there were disruptions in the supply of a component called a membrane. Also, volumes contracted at low prices last year are being shipped in January and February, so we expect losses through February," adding, "But from March, when these issues end, operating profit will improve significantly."
It added, "Since ramp-up (expansion of mass-production capacity) is complete, we need to start the certification process, and we plan to finish certification within the first half," and said, "We plan to visit Argentina this year. We will also conduct an on-site inspection, and overall, we expect to achieve a turnaround this year."
POSCO Holdings projected that its palm oil plantation in Indonesia will generate more than 100 billion won in profit annually, and that the effect of phase 3 expansion of LNG at Senex Energy in Australia will continue through 2027, producing additional revenue of around 100 billion won a year.
In addition, it expected that the construction institutional sector, which recorded a 450 billion won loss last year, could see about 100 billion won in operating profit improvement this year. It also said the recovery in overall infrastructure results will be meaningful.