POSCO Holdings Q1 Operating Profit 704.7 Billion KRW... Turned to Black Compared to Previous Quarter

POSCO Holdings announced on the 27th that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year was tentatively estimated at 704.7 billion KRW, a 69.6% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Sales amounted to 19.3819 trillion KRW, down 8.9% from the same period last year. Net profit was 800 billion KRW, a decrease of 57.9%. However, compared to the previous quarter, sales increased by 1.0%, and operating profit also turned positive.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

POSCO Holdings explained, "Following the complete normalization of the Pohang Steelworks in January, domestic and international profits in the steel sector turned positive, and sales of eco-friendly future materials grew by 44% compared to the previous quarter, which was a key factor." POSCO Holdings expects visible results in the eco-friendly future materials business this year.

POSCO Philbar Lithium Solutions, a subsidiary producing ore lithium, is preparing to complete a lithium ore production plant with an annual capacity of 43,000 tons in October.

In the battery recycling business linked overseas, following the start of mass production at PLSC, a battery recycling plant in Poland, earlier this year, commercial production is also scheduled in the second half of the year at POSCO HY Clean Metal, a plant that extracts cathode material raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

Regarding the brine 1 and 2 phase plants under construction centered on the lithium salt lake in Argentina, construction is actively underway, with sequential completion planned from next year.

A shareholder return policy will also be implemented to meet the trust of long-term investors.

Based on 'free cash flow,' which considers investment costs in future growth industries such as secondary battery materials, POSCO Holdings will establish shareholder return standards and implement a growth strategy without disruption, while introducing a basic dividend of 10,000 KRW per share for three years until 2025.

Meanwhile, POSCO Holdings plans to hold the "POSCO Group Secondary Battery Materials Business Value Day" in July to explain the overall secondary battery materials business of the POSCO Group to investors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.