POSCO posts sharp drop in Q4 net profit

SEOUL: South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO reported a sharp fall in fourth-quarter net profit Thursday, weighed down by the higher cost of raw materials.

The figure fell to 525.4 billion won ($469 million) from 1.275 trillion won a year earlier, the world's third-biggest steelmaker said.

Operating profit dropped to 653.3 billion won from 1.587 trillion won a year ago, while sales rose to 9.176 trillion won from 7.288 trillion won.

Higher raw material costs have restricted operating profit, it said, vowing to reduce input costs.

Analysts said net profit was also pulled lower by the discounts that POSCO was forced to offer to compete with imported products.