POSCO, the world's sixth-biggest steelmaker, posted 96 billion won ($79.4 million) in net loss last year on a consolidated basis, the first-ever annual loss since POSCO started to provide earnings reports.
The South Korean steelmaker managed to stay in the black even during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, so many blame shoddy management for the company falling to its first-ever loss.
Sales fell 10.6 percent to 58 trillion won from 65 trillion won. POSCO saw its operating profit dropping 25 percent to 2 trillion won from 3 trillion won.
“Unfavorable market conditions in and outside South Korea have weighed heavily on the performance of our subsidiaries, consequently sending both sales and operating profit going south y-o-y on a consolidated basis,” POSCO said.
POSCO suffering a net loss of 96 billion won is attributable to a decline in the value of assets, including overseas mines, and losses tied to currency fluctuations amounting to 1.56 trillion.
