POSCO misses forecast, profit down by 54%

Seoul: South Korean steelmaker POSCO, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, posted a 54 percent drop in first-quarter profit because of slack demand, lower product prices and higher raw-material costs.

Operating profit fell to 422 billion won on a parent basis in January to March from 921 billion won a year earlier, the world’s No 3 steelmaker after Arcelor Mittal and China’s Baosteel said on Friday.

[caption id=“attachment_282368” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Operating profit for the company fell to 422 billion won on a parent basis in January to March from 921 billion won a year earlier.”]  [/caption]

The earnings were below a consensus forecast of 439 billion won from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Prior to the earnings announcement, shares in POSCO, in which Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns around 5 percent, ended down 0.4 percent. The benchmark Kospi fell 1.3 percent.

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Reuters