POSCO pledges to press on with cost reductions

SEOUL: POSCO, the world's No 4 steelmaker, plans to continue cutting costs sharply and make record-high investments to cope with a potentially long recession, it said after reporting its strongest operating profit in five quarters.

Analysts said iron ore and coking coal costs were likely to rise later this year, which they said may force POSCO to raise steel product prices in the second quarter after a shock 20-percent cut last May.

The company is yet to negotiate raw material purchase deals with its suppliers for the new fiscal year in around April.