POSCO Holdings posts operating profit of $790 million in Q1

South Korea's POSCO Holdings Inc. has returned to the level of 1 trillion won ($790.5 million) in quarterly operating profit after a year and sales to the 20 trillion won mark after three quarters.

The company on Tuesday announced second-quarter operating profit on a consolidated basis of a tentative 1.3 trillion won, an 85.7% jump from the first quarter, and sales of 20.1 trillion won, up 3.6% from 19.2 trillion won in the previous quarter.

Compared to the second quarter of last year when steel was booming, however, sales in the second quarter this year fell 12.6% and operating profit 38.1%.

The improvement in POSCO Holdings' quarterly performance reflects full recovery from Typhoon Hinnamnor, which hit Pohang Steel Works in summer last year in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The plant was forced to stop operations after being flooded and restoration was finished in the first quarter this year.

Consequently, the company's operating profit plummeted from 2 trillion won in last year's second quarter to 910 billion won in the third and minus 430 billion won in the fourth. The completed restoration early this year led to a surplus of 700 billion won in the first quarter.

POSCO Holdings' stock price is also up about 70% this year due to expectations for finished plant restoration and the company's July 11 announcement of its growth targets for secondary battery materials, including the prospect of profits from such materials starting in 2026.

It will hold a briefing session on July 24 for institutional investors on its second-quarter performance in detail.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com