On July 26, Hyundai Steel officially announced its business performance for the second quarter of the year.
According to its recent announcement, the company achieved USD 5.48 billion in consolidated sales, marking a YOY increase of 31.3%, and USD 610 million in operating profit, up 50.8% from the same period last year. Hyundai Steel also recorded a profit margin of 11.1%, up 1.4% from the 9.7% recorded in the second quarter of last year.
Hyundai Steel announced that sales volumes had decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter, due to shipping delays caused by freighter strikes, but noted that sales had gone up due to a boost in unit prices caused by increases in raw materials for steel.
In terms of its performance by sector, Hyundai Steel has been increasing supply volume by expanding its overseas customers base in the global automotive steel plate sector. In the heavy plate sector, the company has continued to secure a stable supply of orders thanks to a backlog of orders from Korean shipbuilders and a steady stream of orders from high value-added ships such as LNG carriers.
For construction-related rebar and section steel, Hyundai Steel is continuing to lead the market by expanding its supply of earthquake-resistant steel.
As for R&D, Hyundai Steel announced that it is concentrating on developing high-performance specialty steel and high-strength, heat-treated steel, laying the foundation for the era of electric vehicles.
As part of these efforts, the company has independently developed a special steel for electric vehicles. The special steel has been recognized for its quietness in vehicles and strong durability and received certification from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in June.
Hyundai Steel continues to carry out various projects to realize its corporate identity as “an eco-friendly steel company capable of sustainable growth.” Under its MOU with the Korea Institute of Energy Research for carbon-neutral technical collaboration, Hyundai Steel is working to optimize the performance and operations of its steelworks facilities. The company is also involved in comprehensive technical partnerships and projects on hydrogen production and carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology (CCUS).
Additionally, Hyundai Steel signed an MOU with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources to optimize the use of various raw materials in steelwork processes and to cooperatively develop operation technologies. These efforts are part of the company’s goal of devoting its capabilities to adopting technologies related to mineral resources.
In terms of the steel market outlook for the second half of the year, Hyundai Steel noted that private orders in the construction industry have been decreasing due to rising project costs, and that delays in the recovery of automobile production are expected due to continued imbalances in the supply and demand for parts.
In addition, global steel prices are showing a downward trend due to weak prices for iron ore and coking coal, which have been caused by sluggish steel demands in China. In response, the company plans to focus on securing profitability by strengthening the sales of high value-added products and reducing costs through innovations in the manufacturing sector.