South Korea: POSCO’s stainless steel sales up over 27% in CY21

• Stainless steel sales account for 19.3% of POSCO’s steel business
• Production increased by 5.1% in 2021
• Domestic production increased by 11%, sales by 9%

South Korean steel giant POSCO recorded sales of stainless steel products at KRW 12.24 trillion, up 27.7% from the previous year, according to a recent report released by the company, as per SteelDaily reports.

As product prices increased in both domestic and global markets due to an increase in nickel prices, the main raw material, sales of the stainless steel division exceeded the KRW 10 trillion-mark again.

Despite the increase in sales from this division, the share of stainless steel sales within POSCO’s steel business has decreased to 19.3% last year. In 2020, the same accounted for 21.7% of total steel sales but decreased by 2.4% from the previous year. This is attributed to a 2.3% y-o-y increase in the share of carbon steel HR sales.

Sales in the domestic market totalled KRW 3.572 trillion, a 50.4% y-o-y increase from the
previous year while overseas sales amounted to KRW 8,671.2 billion, up 20.2% y-o-y.

Production up by 5% in CY21

Last year, POSCO’s stainless steel division produced 4.1 million tonnes (mnt) from its domestic and overseas production facilities. The volumes increased by 5.1% compared to the previous year.

Domestic production accounted for 1.99 mnt, up 11% y-o-y and domestic sales at 1.98 mnt, up 9% from the previous year.

Production from its China subsidiary, Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel, stood at 989,000 tonnes (t) with the utilisation rate at 89.9%. Sales were at $3.275 billion, up 27.2% y-o-y, and operating profit at $128 million, an increase of 814.3% y-o-y.