A Bang-up Job

POSCO posts best H1 records ever both in sales and profit, along with opening of POSCO Int'l Center

POSCO announced that its Q2 sales amounted to 5.8 trillion won, operating profit 1.24 trillion won and net profit 1.11 trillion won, recording its operating profit soar over 1 trillion won level for four consecutive quarters in a row.
As a result, the steelmaker posted 11.51 trillion in H1 sales, 2.36 trillion won in operating profit, the largest ever for the first half.
POSCO has hosted the POSCO Steel Technology Conference Aug. 30 and 31 at POSTECH, the annual conference held since 1989 to strengthen the steel-making technologies of the steel maker. Among the featured speakers was Shima Hiroshi, vice president in charge of technology at Nippon Steel, who spoke on the steel making as seen from the jobsite. The event also included a panel discussion for free discussion of steel technology development divided into 10 strategic and 12 general sections.
The nation's only blast-furnace steel mill during its investor relations held at KRX on July 16, said steel production in Q2 amounted to 7.8 million tons and sold 7.5 million tons of various steel products in the quarter, up 2 percent from the proceeding quarter, which is attributed to increases in the sales of steel plates for automobiles, electric plates and high-quality API steel products and other high value-added products, along with the reductions in costs. The Q2 operating profit rose 12.1 percent and net profit 13.3 percent.
The sales increase in the Q2 were due to improvement and repair work on production facilities including the work on improvement of the second hot roll plant in the Gwangyang Steel Complex and the improvement of the Pohang second cold and hot steel rolls at the Pohang Steel Complex, contributing to 3.5 percent production and sales of steel products increase in Q2, compared to Q1. Savings of 25 billion won in production costs also held the production costs down, despite the rise in the prices of nickel and copper at the international markets.
From this quarter, POSCO has decided to announce its consolidated financial figures for the group's entire affiliates and they showed that increased sales in the steel and construction sectors helped totals sales revenue and operating profit to increase 6.4 percent and 6.5 percent from the Q1, amounting to 8.23 trillion won and 1.41 trillion won respectively.
Vice President Lee Dong-whi conducted the IR session at the Korea Exchange. He said the Finex steel production facilities is being under test-runs until the end of the year and it has been going as targeted with its daily steel production coming to from 3,800 to 4,000 tons close to 4,300 tons projected with the operation rate rising as high as 95 percent. On the steelmakers'Indian venture, he said, all government licenses needed to build the steel plant and support facilities including a product pier have been received thanks to the positive support from the New Delhi, the local government and authorities. At the present time, the steel maker is awaiting the lifting of the forest area designation of the region where the steel plant is to be built so it can purchase land for its Indian steel mill. By the end of this year, the company will finish land purchase and launch foundation works on the construction of a pier and land to build the plant.
The steering committee gathered that H1 sales for POSCO and its affiliates reached 11.51 trillion won and operating profit 2.36 trillion won in consolidated financial statement to set a new record in H1 total sales. POSCO and its affiliates have been able to cut 369.1 billion won in cash-cost base through global sourcing of materials and improvement in working methods through new reformative technologies. Based on the successful record, this year's cost saving target has been raised to 616.9 billion won from the initial 487.2 billion won. The steelmaker expects to save another 131 billion won through upgraded productivity.
POSCO feels that the market situation in the Q3 would be slower than the Q2, but it will recover in the Q4, projecting its annual sales would rise to 22.7 trillion won, 300 billion won more than initially projected and operating profit to 4.6 trillion won, up 100 billion won projected earlier. nw

Dignitaries led by POSCO Chairman & CEO Lee Ku-taek, 5th R, and Chancellor Park Chan-mo of POSTECH, 4th L, cut the tape to open the POSCO International Center at POSTECH July 14.

Chairman & CEO of Lee Ku-taek of POSCO.