Shareholders approve POSCO's plan to create holding firm
A POSCO building in Seoul / Yonhap
Shareholders of POSCO have approved the steelmaker's plan to transform into a holding company by splitting into two business entities, the firm said Friday.
After the breakup, the steelmaking group's holding company, tentatively named POSCO Holdings, will focus on charting out future business, research and development, and investment.
The steelmaking business will be dubbed POSCO, which will be wholly owned by POSCO Holdings and remain unlisted.
Affiliates, such as POSCO Chemical and POSCO Energy, will be under the wing of the holding firm.
POSCO's plan came as its stock price has been in the doldrums despite its stellar business performance.
It logged its largest earnings ever last year on the back of strong demand for key products and high prices.
Its operating income stood at 9.2 trillion won ($7.73 billion) last year on a consolidated basis, compared with an operating profit of 2.4 trillion won a year earlier.
Sales amounted to 76.4 trillion won, up 32.1 percent from the previous year.
But after touching a yearly high of 413,500 won in early May last year, shares in POSCO have been on a downturn, closing at 257,500 won, Thursday. (Yonhap)