POSCO Holdings 2022 operating income nearly halves on typhoon damage, downturn

POSCO Holdings Inc. on Friday said its operating income nearly halved last year from a year earlier largely due to a typhoon in September and an industry downturn.

Its operating income stood at 4.9 trillion won (US$3.96 billion) last year, sharply down from an operating income of 9.2 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its sales rose 11.1 percent on-year to 84.8 trillion won, it added. During the fourth quarter of last year, it suffered an operating loss of 400 billion won due to the typhoon.

The steelmaker said it plans to unveil details of its 2022 business performance next week.

POSCO Holdings said the slump in its 2022 earnings was blamed on typhoon-related damage and a downturn in the steelmaking sector amid an economic slump.

In September, POSCO was forced to halt three blast furnaces at its steel mill and steel processing facilities in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as Typhoon Hinnamnor pounded the facilities.

The production of cold-rolled steel sheets and stainless steel was hit hardest by the powerful typhoon that killed more than 10 people, and caused severe flooding and damage.

Earlier Friday, the steelmaker fully restored its facilities damaged by the typhoon and got its production back on track.

The steelmaker earlier judged the storm to have cost it 2.04 trillion won in lost revenue.

POSCO Holdings estimated a drop of 1.3 trillion won in its 2022 operating income due to the typhoon and the costs for the recovery.