Hanwha Investment & Securities forecast on July 7th that POSCO Holdings would report consolidated operating profit of 687.9 billion won for the second quarter, falling roughly 9% short of market consensus. Revenue is estimated at 17.999 trillion won, up 2.5% year on year.
In the steel division, average selling prices rose following price increases implemented from March onwards, but a stronger dollar and higher coking coal costs simultaneously squeezed margins. As a result, steel division operating profit is expected to reach only 371.2 billion won, up 7.6% from the previous quarter.
The battery materials division is forecast to post an operating loss of 2.5 billion won. POSCO's lithium operations in Argentina are expected to turn a modest profit above break-even in the second quarter; however, PPLS — the group's lithium hydroxide processing unit — is likely to remain loss-making, burdened by elevated spodumene prices and the disappearance of a favourable base effect created by inventory revaluation gains booked in the first quarter.
The infrastructure division is projected to deliver operating profit of 399.2 billion won, a sharp 68.4% increase year on year, driven by solid performance at Posco International, the group's trading and energy arm.
Hanwha Investment & Securities maintained its "Buy" rating and 12-month price target of 550,000 won. Based on the stock's closing price of 321,500 won on July 6th, that implies upside potential of 71.1%.
Analyst Kwon Ji-woo highlighted several catalysts likely to materialise in sequence over the coming months: the reflection of higher contract prices for automotive steel sheets in the third quarter, improving utilisation rates at the Argentina lithium operations in the second half of the year, and greater clarity on the group's shareholder returns policy — which targets total returns of 35–40% of adjusted net profit attributable to controlling shareholders.