Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea’s No. 2 steelmaker, said its second-quarter earnings tumbled more than 48 pct on-year on sluggish sales.
Consolidated net profit came to KRW 293.5 bln (USD 230 mln) in the April-June period, down 48.2 pct from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Sales dropped 3.3 pct on-year to KRW 7.13 trillion (USD 5.58 bln) and operating profit also plunged 43.4 pct to KRW 465.1 bln (USD 364 mln).
Compared with three months earlier, sales climbed 11.7 pct and its net income and operating profit soared 34.8 pct and 39.3 pct, respectively.
Hyundai Steel said it fared better in the second quarter than three months earlier thanks to increased sales of steel sheets used for cars and a seasonal rise in demand for long steel products.
The company said it will step up efforts to sell more products to carmakers and shipbuilders in the second half of the year in the face of a slowdown in South Korea’s construction industry.
Hyundai Steel has also been seeking to boost production of low-carbon and eco-friendly steel products in an effort to keep in step with the growing global trend of carbon neutrality.
The company has announced a plan to produce 4 mln tons of low-carbon steel plates per year by 2025, which contain carbon 20 pct lower than existing ones. 1 USD / 1,275.5
