News Room - Steel Industry

Posted on 04 Aug 2026

Posco increased profits from steel production in Q2

The company’s total revenue for the period reached $13.5 billion

South Korean company POSCO Holdings has published its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of 2026.

In particular, the company recorded moderate growth in sales and operating profit in the steelmaking segment compared with the first quarter, thanks to higher selling prices and sales volumes, which offset the rise in the cost of raw materials and oil.

The company’s total revenue reached 19.259 trillion won ($13.5 billion), operating profit stood at 819 billion won ($572.9 million), and net profit was 761 billion won ($532.3 million). Despite risks in energy supply chains in the Middle East and the strengthening of these risks, the holding company demonstrated positive growth across all key segments.

POSCO Holdings has also raised the targets for its corporate restructuring programme: the plan now envisages the completion of 129 deals by 2028 and the raising of 3.5 trillion won in cash (up from 128 deals and 2.8 trillion won by 2027). In the first half of 2026, the company completed 12 deals, raising approximately 480 billion won. In total, 85 deals worth 2.2 trillion won have been carried out as part of the restructuring.

In the second half of the year, the holding company plans to continue implementing its development strategy across three core areas: industrial resources (steel), strategic resources (lithium, rare-earth elements, rare gases) and energy resources.

Furthermore, according to BusinessKorea, POSCO Holdings has announced a large-scale international expansion programme. Over the next two years, the company will invest 6.7 trillion won (approximately $4.67 billion) in its overseas steelmaking business. According to the published ‘Corporate Value Enhancement Plan’, the strategic goal is to double overseas steel production capacity from the current 5 million to 10 million tonnes per year by 2031.

The POSCO Group’s total investment budget for the period from 2024 to 2028 stands at 29.1 trillion won. The 6.7 trillion won allocated to overseas steelmaking projects represents the largest single item of expenditure (around 23 per cent).

Key regions for expansion:

• Indonesia. POSCO will expand the capacity of the Krakatau POSCO joint venture. This project will establish Southeast Asia’s first fully integrated steel production cycle — from smelting pig iron in a blast furnace to the production of highly innovative automotive steel (cold-rolled and galvanised steel sheets).
• India. Under a 50/50 joint venture with local market leader JSW Steel, plans are in place to build an integrated steelworks in the state of Odisha with a capacity of 6 million tonnes per year. Construction is expected to be completed in 2031. The plant will focus on the infrastructure sector, with a gradual transition to automotive steel.
• USA. POSCO is a joint venture partner in the project to build an electric arc furnace plant in Louisiana (a $5.8 billion Hyundai Steel project, due to start operations in 2029), and is also considering investing in Cleveland-Cliffs to overcome trade barriers and strengthen its position in North America

As reported by GMK Center, POSCO has completed construction of South Korea’s largest electric arc furnace at its steelworks in Gwangyang. The new facility has an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes and is a key element of the company’s strategy to transition to low-carbon production.

Source:GMK Center