Posco increased its profits by 87% in the second quarter

South Korea's largest steelmaker Posco is making good second-quarter profits, thanks to a rebound in its overseas steel business and an increase in sales of premium steel products.

The company said its net profit for the April-June period rose 87.8 percent to 220.5 billion won ($ 193.9 million) from a year earlier on a consolidated basis. The jump in the company's earnings is attributed to the strong performance of its core metals business. Posco itself said its second-quarter operating profit was up 17.2 percent from a year ago.

In particular, overseas steelmaking helped bolster the profits of the country's largest steelmaker. In 2015, its external steel business reported an operating loss of KRW 399.1 billion, but reduced losses to KRW 42.3 billion in the first three months of this year and returned to an operating profit of KRW 10.6 billion in the second quarter. Sales of its premium steel products also increased, helping Posco achieve record operating margins since the second quarter of 2012.

However, the company's operating income on a consolidated basis declined 1.1 percent y /y to 678.5 billion won, below market expectations of 743 billion won and reflects poor earnings from its Posco Engineering & Construction Co. due to construction delays. a metallurgical plant in northeastern Brazil. The division's sales also fell 15.4 percent to 12.9 trillion won, down from 13.6 trillion won, after the steel company closed some of its divisions as part of a restructuring effort.