POSCO Holdings Inc. (PKX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Hello, I head up the Finance and R&R Division at Posco Holdings. My name is Kim Sung-Joon. First, I'd like to thank everyone participating in the 2026 first quarter earnings call. Thank you to the investors and analysts. In the first quarter, the U.S.-Iran war disrupted the energy supply chain, which triggered greater fluctuations in the financial market that led to unstable exchange rates. So we witnessed aggravated challenges. Despite these headwinds, POSCO Holdings recorded consolidated revenue of $17.9 trillion and $710 billion in operating profits. Improvements are observed in both revenue and profit against the previous quarter. Looking at each business sector in rechargeable battery materials, lithium prices rose, helping lithium production subsidiaries to perform significantly reducing losses. Particularly in Pasco, Argentina, plant operation is ramped up while elevated lithium price continues to hold. As a result, in March it recorded the first-ever monthly profit. We believe this strong performance will continue in the second quarter. And in the second quarter, we also anticipate Pasco, Argentina's first-ever quarterly profit. In steel, despite volume growth in sales, rise in FX causes us to pay more for raw materials, squeezing profit. Nevertheless, improved performance in overseas subsidiaries helped register an overall rise in profit. Once geopolitical risk in the Middle East subsides and input costs pushed up by FX and oil price hike come down, taking into consideration time delay for cost-impact accounting, we anticipate gradual profit gains starting in the second half. In the infrastructure business, POSCO International saw its steel exports climb as well as demand recover in gas and energy sectors. Additionally, POSCO E&C has recovered its losses res...