SeAH Besteel Holdings Reports Q3 Operating Profit of 26.7 Billion Won, Up 9.5% Year-on-Year

Aerospace & Defense Materials Achieves Record-High Results
Bar Segment Struggles Amid Influx of Low-Priced Chinese Products
Seeking Growth Through Investment in Special Alloys and Global Production Bases

SeAH Besteel Holdings announced on November 4 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was provisionally tallied at 26.7 billion won, a 9.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue reached 925.9 billion won, up 4.8% year-on-year, while net profit surged 195.9% to 33.6 billion won.

The company explained, "Performance improved year-on-year as sales volume increased due to the proactive business activities of major subsidiaries such as SeAH Besteel, SeAH Changwon Special Steel, and SeAH Aerospace & Defense Materials." In particular, SeAH Aerospace & Defense Materials achieved its highest-ever quarterly results since its founding, driven by structural growth in the aerospace and defense markets. For the accumulated three quarters, revenue was 98.9 billion won and operating profit was 20.3 billion won (with an operating margin of 20.6%), led by rising demand for high-strength aluminum materials.

SeAH Changwon Special Steel also saw its operating profit soar by 172% year-on-year, despite a decrease in sales of general-purpose products, by increasing the share of high value-added products such as stainless steel wire rods and bars and by promoting process efficiency. In contrast, SeAH Besteel’s operating profit dropped 65% from the previous year, affected by falling sales prices due to the continued inflow of low-priced Chinese special steel bars.

SeAH Besteel Holdings projected that uncertainty would persist due to the global spread of protectionism, such as the strengthening of steel tariffs in the United States and the expansion of EU safeguard measures. However, the company expects demand to gradually recover, citing factors such as steel production cuts and economic stimulus measures by the Chinese government, as well as the potential for market stabilization through anti-dumping petitions in the special steel and bar sectors.

SeAH Besteel Holdings stated, "We will improve our sales mix by focusing on high value-added products," adding, "We will actively respond to anti-dumping issues in the special steel and bar sectors, and secure new growth engines by developing high-performance alloy materials for aerospace and defense applications and expanding our global production bases."

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