POSCO's Q3 profit surges 40 pct on price hikes

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's POSCO Co., the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit jumped 39.9 percent from a year earlier, thanks to a series of hikes in steel prices.

In a statement, POSCO said it earned 1.21 trillion won (US$990 million) in the
three months ending Sept. 30, compared with a profit of 871 billion won in the
same period last year.
Third-quarter operating profit soared 84.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.98
trillion won. Sales rose 67.6 percent to 8.81 trillion won.
The third-quarter results were boosted by "continued good shape in market
conditions and an increase in sales of value-added products such as stainless
steel," POSCO said in the statement.
Compared with a quarter earlier, however, net profit fell 17.4 percent, while
operating profit rose 5.3 percent.
Despite strong demand for steel, the South Korean steel mill is facing a tougher
challenge in the rising cost of raw materials and the Korean currency's weakness
against the U.S. dollar.
For all of this year, POSCO aims to post 6.6 trillion won in operating profits on
sales of 31.9 trillion won.