Steel giant Posco Holdings earnings sliced in half amid industry slump

Net profit stood at 1.83 trillion won ($1.37 billion) last year, down 48.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Pictured is the Posco Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

Steel giant Posco Holdings' earnings in 2023 were nearly half of what they were a year earlier, due to a global industry slump.

Net profit stood at 1.83 trillion won ($1.37 billion) last year, down 48.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Sales declined 9 percent on-year to 77.13 trillion won, with operating income falling 27.2 percent to 3.53 trillion won.

Posco Holdings' 2023 operating profit was far below a median estimate of 4.09 trillion won in a survey by Yonhap Infomax.

The company attributed the sharp drop in earnings to lower steel prices at home and abroad and the sluggish performance of its future materials division.

In a report released last week, Meritz Securities said the plunge in Posco Holdings' 2023 earnings was likely mainly due to the poor performance of Posco, its steelmaking subsidiary.

Posco Holdings is slated to hold an investor relations session on Jan. 31.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]