Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
POSCO International's bet on energy, material, food set to pay off
POSCO International's traction motor core factory in Poland / Courtesy of POSCO International
By Park Jae-hyuk
Analysts expect trade and energy firm to maintain solid earnings
Optimism is growing around POSCO International’s ability to generate meaningful revenue this year from its energy, material and food businesses, thanks to its efforts last year to complete value chains in the three core sectors.
In 2025, the trade and energy subsidiary of POSCO Group posted a record operating profit of 1.165 trillion won ($795 million), keeping its operating profit above 1 trillion won for the third consecutive year.
Securities analysts expect the company to sustain its growth momentum this year, citing its investments into building value chains across the energy, material and food sectors.
“With annual investments of more than 1.5 trillion won, the company is expected to secure solid growth momentum,” Mirae Asset Securities analyst Ryu Je-hyun said. “Aiming to become a platform player, it will aggressively expand assets and streamline operations this year.”
POSCO International’s focus on the three sectors has been attributed to an initiative from POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa.
“The group’s energy business should strengthen its profitability and become the next core business linking the steel and material segments,” Chang said in his New Year’s address. “Through investment in expanding our Indonesian palm oil business, we have also diversified our income sources.”
Chang also called for the exploration of material demand in emerging markets, while emphasizing the importance of research and development of next-generation products.
POSCO International's liquefied natural gas terminal in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of POSCO International
In line with that initiative, POSCO International became the only Korean firm to sign a heads of agreement — a nonbinding document outlining basic terms of a partnership or transaction — last December with Glenfarne for the U.S. company-led Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project.
Under the agreement, the Korean firm will import 1 million tons of LNG annually for 20 years and supply POSCO’s steel products for the construction of 1,300 kilometers of pipelines.
POSCO International’s Australian subsidiary, Senex Energy, also completed an expansion late last year that boosted its annual production capacity from 20 petajoules to 60 petajoules, enabling it to produce 1.2 million tons of LNG per year.
The ongoing construction of new storage tanks at POSCO International’s No. 2 LNG terminal in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, is expected to increase its storage capacity to 1.33 million kiloliters of gas from the current 930,000 kiloliters.
Additionally, the company established a new overseas subsidiary last year in Singapore, the global hub for LNG trading.
In the materials business, POSCO International began mass production of traction motor cores last December at its Polish factory, which was built in October with an investment of 94.1 billion won.
Using POSCO’s high-efficiency, non-oriented electrical steel and POSCO International’s proprietary adhesive technology that bonds steel plates together, the product serves as a key component for electric and hybrid vehicles.
By 2030, POSCO International expects to produce 7.5 million motor cores annually across its plants in Korea, Mexico and Poland, generating about 1.5 trillion won in revenue.
In its food business, POSCO International completed the full value chain of its palm oil operations last November through the acquisition of an Indonesian plantation company and the completion of a palm oil refinery in the Southeast Asian country.