POSCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:PKX) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 23, 2023 10:00 PM ET
Company Participants
Jeong Ki-Seop - President, Co-CEO, CSO
Han Young-Ah - Head of Investor Relations
Lee Kyung-seop - Chief of LiB Materials Business
Kim Seung-Jun - Head of Finance Team
Jeong Dae-Hyung - Head of Corporate Strategy Team
Conference Call Participants
Yi Hyun-soo - Yuanta Securities
Kim Sang-hoon - HI Investment & Securities
Lee Eu-gene - Eugene Investment & Securities
Sean Jou - Marshall Wace
Jeong Ki-Seop
Good afternoon, everyone. I am Jeong Ki-Seop, CSO at POSCO Holdings. Before we begin today's earnings call, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of our investors on behalf of the company for your trust and support to POSCO Holdings as well as our operating companies.
Going forward, the company will strive further to promote a balanced growth between steel and the new growth businesses and enhance the long-term corporate value of POSCO Holdings so that we can continue to meet the expectations of our investors.
POSCO Holdings in the second quarter of this year recorded an operating profit of KRW 1.33 trillion. This is because the steel business which had been impacted from the Pohang mill flooding and the economic downturn quickly recovered its quarterly OP of KRW 1 trillion. Such profit recovery in our core business, the steel business, holds a very important meaning for our company. It helps us to maintain global competitiveness in the steel sector as well as generate stable flow of revenue. And when this is coupled with our new business growth strategy, it will indeed create a virtuous cycle in enhancing our corporate value.
POSCO is also striving for excellence in its steel making business to meet the demand of the changing times, which is carbon neutrality, POSCO has placed low emission steel production as its top priority such as early operation of HyREX pilot plant in 2026. The company is also advancing low-carbon product portfolio by boosting the high grade Hyper NO production capacity for eco-friendly EV traction motors. Also to prepare for the commercialization of hydrogen reductions still in the future, POSCO Holdings has developed a 2050 phased hydrogen roadmap, based on specific hydrogen demand outlook. And in the short-term, it's working hard to deliver success by pursuing CCU and reformed hydrogen-enabled blue hydrogen on top of green hydrogen.
Moving on to secondary battery materials business. As communicated during the recent Value Day, the company keeps accelerating investment to gain a strong leadership position in the global market. And especially for lithium, the plan is to commercialize it by this year to deliver strong performance as an independent business. Also, I am glad to announce that significant progress has been made to secure nickel.