(LEAD) POSCO Holdings-Q1 earnings

▲ The corporate logo of POSCO Holdings Inc. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) POSCO Holdings-Q1 earnings

(LEAD) POSCO Holdings Q1 net down 57.9 pct on weaker sales

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SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter earnings tumbled nearly 58 percent from a year earlier due to sluggish sales.

Consolidated net profit came to 800 billion won (US$597.9 million) in the January-March period, down 57.9 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales shrank 8.9 percent on-year to 19.39 trillion won, with operating income plunging 69.6 percent to 704.7 billion won.

POSCO Holdings' first-quarter bottom line was above the average estimate of 308.9 billion won in a survey of analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Its operating income also hovered above a median market forecast of 566 billion won.

Compared with the previous quarter, POSCO Holdings' top line rose 1 percent, with its operating balance switching to a profit.

POSCO Holdings said its on-quarter improvement resulted from strong sales of steel products at home and abroad, as well as eco-friendly materials.

Shares in POSCO Holdings closed 4.17 percent up at 387,000 won, far outperforming the wider market's 0.44 percent increase.

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