POSCO Holdings said Monday that it recorded consolidated revenue of 19.141 trillion won and an operating profit of 945 billion won for the third quarter of this year. Revenue increased by 10.9% and operating profit rose by 47.9% compared to the same period last year.
The steel division was the driver behind the improved performance. Despite rising raw material prices, POSCO recovered its operating profit to the 400 billion won range for the first time in four quarters, driven by higher product selling prices and increased sales volume.
The secondary battery materials division was relatively sluggish. POSCO Future M saw its operating profit improve compared to the previous quarter due to a recovery in cathode material sales and rising selling prices. However, the overall secondary battery materials division recorded an operating loss, affected by factors such as falling global lithium prices and reduced production volumes during the winter season at POSCO Argentina.
The infrastructure division maintained solid profitability. POSCO International posted stable results, driven by expanded production in its gas field and Indonesian palm oil businesses. With increased orders for POSCO E&C added to this, the operating profit of the infrastructure division rose compared to the previous quarter.
The POSCO Group is strengthening the competitiveness of its steel, secondary battery materials, and energy and resources businesses, centered on the "Triple Core" strategy announced in July last month. In the industrial resource sector of steel, construction began in September last month on the "8CGL," a production facility for automotive hot-dip galvanized steel sheets, at the Gwangyang Steel Mill. This is an investment aimed at enhancing competitiveness in the high-value-added automotive steel market.
In the strategic resource area of secondary battery materials, POSCO Future M is converting its Pohang ternary cathode material facility to a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) system to respond to the expansion of the energy storage system (ESS) market.
POSCO Argentina completed its second plant with an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons. The company expects it to contribute to performance from the second half of next year, once production stabilization work is completed.
Investments in the energy and resources sector are also being expanded. The company signed a contract to acquire a 100% stake in shale gas assets held by Chord in Pennsylvania, United States. Through this, it secured an annual production volume of approximately 1 million tons on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) equivalent basis.
The financial structure has also improved. POSCO Holdings reduced its net debt by 4.3 trillion won due to proactive cash securing and the strengthening of the won. The debt ratio was also lowered by 6.7 percentage points.
A company official said, "We plan to secure both profitability and future growth drivers simultaneously, centered on the 'Triple Core' of steel, secondary battery materials, and energy resources."
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