[Click eStock] "POSCO Inter, Steel Market Uncertainty Remains... Target Price Down"

Samsung Securities analyzed that the steel market uncertainty for POSCO International is expected to continue in the first half of this year. The investment opinion of 'Buy' was maintained, but the target price was lowered from 73,000 KRW to 66,000 KRW.

POSCO International recorded consolidated sales of 7.9 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 214.6 billion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year. These figures represent decreases of 1.6% and 31.1%, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year. Jaeseung Baek, a researcher at Samsung Securities, explained, "The decline in the steel market caused the trading business performance to decrease as well, which was a factor that fell short of market expectations."

Researcher Baek expects the performance decline in the trading business to continue this year. He said, "The energy business is expected to maintain a stable flow," but added, "The global business may experience continued steel market uncertainty at least until the first half of the year, so there is a possibility of performance decline centered on the trading business."

Samsung Securities emphasizes that implementing the announced investment plans is important to enhance the corporate value of POSCO International. He stated, "POSCO International experienced a stock price increase last year by announcing several investment plans related to the energy and secondary battery materials businesses," and forecasted, "This year, rather than aggressively adding various new investment plans, the smooth progress of previously announced investments is necessary for further corporate value enhancement."

He continued, "Last year's merger with POSCO Energy enabled the realization of a stable overall performance flow based on the reduction of performance volatility in the energy business," and evaluated, "Based on this, the increased visibility of the 3.9 trillion KRW investment plan in the energy business through 2026 is a positive factor."

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