POSCO Holdings (PKX) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending December 31, 2023

April 27, 2023 3:00 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, the 2023 Q1 Earnings Release Conference Call will now begin. POSCO Holdings will first present, which will be followed by a Q&A session with the participants. [Operator Instructions] POSCO Holdings will now present.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I am Jeong Ki-Seop CSO of POSCO Holdings. First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to all the investors for your keen and lasting interest in POSCO Holdings.

Today's earnings call is joined by key executives from POSCO Holdings as well as from major subsidiaries including POSCO, POSCO International and POSCO Future M. Last September, POSCO Group underwent an unprecedented natural disaster as Pohang steel mill was hit with Typhoon Hinnamnor and was flooded as a result.

But thanks to the efforts and hard work of the people at POSCO Holdings as well as the partners, vendors and customers, we miraculously completed recovery in 135 days and reopened for normal operation as of January 20th this year.

Consequently, steel business returned to the black in Q1 from a deficit of KRW713.8 billion in Q4 last year. And on top of that, we lay the foundation for additional performance improvements for Q2. Even in times of recovery from the natural disaster, our investment for growth of POSCO Group did not stop.

We invested in electric arc furnaces to roll out low carbon products from 2026 in order to transition to eco-friendly green production system. Furthermore, we spent at our product portfolio to include our Hyper and ON cylindrical battery materials for EVs to respond to the growth of the EV industry.

Through these measures, we believe we can generate demand in the next and new future growth sectors. The secondary battery materials business also saw some positive developments. In Q1 this year green materials business sales jumped 44% Q-on-Q and posted once again a record high quarterly sales.

Argentina brine project phase one is well underway with a plant and brine pond are now complete and mechanical and electric works initiating this April. A few days ago with regard to the seawater, rather soft water, the lithium construction project, phase two, we obtained approval and license from both the state of Salta and Catamarca.

POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution, a hard lithium mineral player now has its headquarters building and subcenter completed and M&A works commenced in April. It is moving forward in line with the timetable for scheduled commercial operation. POSCO Holdings is committed to do its utmost to ensure growth as a leading green materials business and subsequently to enhance shareholder value.