POSCO Holdings' Q2 profit falls on surging raw material costs (updated)

Posco International

21/07/2022 08:04

(Adds details of results)
    By Byungwook Kim and Heekyong Yang
    SEOUL, July 21 (Reuters) - South Korea's POSCO Holdings
 005490.KS  posted on Thursday a 4.5% drop in second-quarter
operating profit, in line with company estimates, as raw
materials costs rose more sharply than prices of its steel
products. 
    The holding company of South Korea's largest steelmaker said
consolidated operating profit fell to 2.1 trillion won ($1.61
billion) in the April-June quarter.
    Revenue rose 25.7% to a record 23 trillion won. 
    Its steelmaking unit POSCO raised prices of some products
through negotiations with customers such as shipbuilders and
automakers, but the efforts were outweighed by surging prices of
coking coal, an essential material for steel production,
analysts said.
    Analysts added that POSCO Holdings' third-quarter operating
profit is likely to fall from the second quarter as steel prices
are expected to fall due to weak demand amid recession fears. 
($1 = 1,307.3500 won)

 (Reporting by Byungwook Kim and Heekyong Yang; Editing by David
Goodman and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((Byungwook.Kim@thomsonreuters.com;))