KOSPIRetail & Consumer047050

POSCO International

₩56,600▲ 2.35%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩10T

Turnover

₩23.1B

Volume

410,000 shares

Shares out.

180M

PER

11.3×

PBR

1.3×

EPS

₩4,860

Dividend Yield

3.38%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩1,850 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

Energy Earnings Lead, Capex Is the Test

Gas field ramp-ups and the palm acquisition have pushed quarterly operating profit to record levels, while an enlarged annual capex plan and rising borrowings are testing the balance.

1
Second-quarter 2026 revenue was 9.6232 trillion won with operating profit of 429.0 billion won, the highest quarterly operating profit on record, and net profit attributable to owners was 238.4 billion won.
2
Full-year 2025 operating profit of 1.1653 trillion won was an all-time high, and on its earnings call the company said profit was split 54 percent energy and 46 percent materials.
3
Senex Energy in Australia completed a threefold production expansion, lifting second-quarter 2026 sales volume 33.8 percent year on year, while the Myanmar gas field is in Phase 4 development.
4
Tanks 7 and 8 at the Gwangyang second LNG terminal were 96 percent complete as of the second quarter of 2026 with year-end completion planned, expanding storage capacity to 1.33 million kiloliters.
5
The 2026 capex plan was raised from 1.8 trillion won to 2.2 trillion won on expanded energy asset acquisitions, and both gross borrowings and the net debt ratio rose as of the end of the second quarter.

Business structure

POSCO International began as the trading division spun off from Daewoo in 2000 and now operates as a diversified company combining resource development, trading and infrastructure operations, with trading still accounting for the bulk of revenue.

The company spans resource development, production and processing, and infrastructure development and operation, running trading, energy and investment businesses through roughly 80 overseas offices worldwide.

Its January 2023 merger with POSCO Energy created an integrated LNG value chain covering upstream, midstream and downstream.

Profit is broadly split between energy and the materials (steel and mobility) and food businesses; on its 2025 results call the company said profit was structured around two pillars, 54 percent energy and 46 percent materials.

Energy upstream rests on the offshore Myanmar gas field and Senex Energy in Australia, and the company said it advanced Phase 4 development in Myanmar and completed a threefold expansion framework at Senex during 2025.

In Myanmar it discovered the Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya fields and has produced commercially since June 2013, at roughly 500 million cubic feet per day.

The Gwangyang LNG terminal, the core midstream asset, has operated since 2005 as Korea's first private LNG base, unloading, storing and regasifying imported LNG for the Gwangyang steelworks, nearby power plants and customers connected through the national gas trunk line.

The materials business centers on steel trading and drive motor cores for electric vehicles, and the company said it completed production bases in Mexico and Poland and laid out a roadmap for 7.5 million units of capacity by 2030.

In food, it acquired a controlling stake in Indonesian listed company Sampoerna Agro, with investment tied to palm value chain expansion estimated at about 1.3 trillion won.

Domestic peers such as LX International, Hyundai Corporation and SK Networks and Japanese trading houses are the usual comparisons, but owning both operated gas fields and a private LNG terminal sets this structure apart among Korean trading companies.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩8.1T₩313.7B25Q2₩8.2T₩315.9B25Q3₩7.8T₩265.6B25Q4₩8.4T₩357.5B26Q1₩9.6T₩429B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩38T₩902.5B2022₩33.1T₩1.2T2023₩32.3T₩1.1T2024₩32.4T₩1.2T2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩8.1T	₩313.7B	3.9%
2025Q3	₩8.2T	₩315.9B	3.8%
2025Q4	₩7.8T	₩265.6B	3.4%
2026Q1	₩8.4T	₩357.5B	4.3%
2026Q2	₩9.6T	₩429B	4.5%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩38T	₩902.5B	₩589.7B	2.4%	14.8%	184.6%
2023	₩33.1T	₩1.2T	₩673.9B	3.5%	11.0%	150.8%
2024	₩32.3T	₩1.1T	₩514.6B	3.5%	7.9%	135.9%
2025	₩32.4T	₩1.2T	₩614.1B	3.6%	9.2%	140.0%

Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04

Earnings analysis

Full-year 2025 results showed revenue of 32.3736 trillion won, operating profit of 1.1653 trillion won and net profit attributable to owners of 614.1 billion won, with revenue essentially flat against 32.3408 trillion won in 2024 while operating profit rose from 1.1169 trillion won.

The company said 2025 revenue and operating profit grew 0.1 percent and 4.3 percent year on year, the highest operating profit since its founding.

Over several years revenue fell from 37.9896 trillion won in 2022 to 32.3736 trillion won in 2025 while the operating margin rose from 2.4 percent to 3.6 percent, indicating a mix shift toward better profit composition rather than transaction scale.

Quarterly, revenue and operating profit of 8.2483 trillion won and 315.9 billion won in the third quarter of 2025 and 7.8275 trillion won and 265.6 billion won in the fourth softened before rising clearly to 8.4104 trillion won and 357.5 billion won in the first quarter of 2026 and 9.6232 trillion won and 429.0 billion won in the second.

The second-quarter 2026 operating margin of about 4.5 percent exceeded the 3.6 percent full-year 2025 level, and net profit attributable to owners of 238.4 billion won was far above 89.8 billion won in the second quarter of 2025.

Across the most recent four quarters, from the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026, revenue totaled about 34.1094 trillion won, operating profit about 1.3680 trillion won and net profit attributable to owners 828.4 billion won.

On the drivers, the company said Senex Energy sales volume rose 33.8 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2026 with revenue of 134.1 billion won and operating profit of 33.2 billion won, while Myanmar gas field operating profit rose 6.0 percent to 148.1 billion won.

Conversely, the softer quarters carried one-off and cyclical factors: the third quarter of 2025 saw weak materials earnings on US tariffs and poor market conditions, compounded by a base effect from tariff refunds a year earlier.

On cash flow, operating cash flow expanded from 876.9 billion won in 2024 to 1.9415 trillion won in 2025 and the debt-to-equity ratio fell from 184.6 percent in 2022 to 140.0 percent in 2025, but leverage metrics have turned heavier again in 2026 as investment scales up.

Industry analysis

Natural gas retains relatively favorable policy standing amid energy security and rising power demand debates, and within the trading sector companies that own upstream assets are drawing attention for their profit structure.

KB Securities said in a March 2026 report that as global energy security grows in importance a re-rating of global trading companies with upstream assets is emerging, and projected that the value of this company's assets would keep rising given increasing geopolitical conflict and investment flows into the United States.

On the supply side the eastern Australian market structure is supportive: the eastern Australian region where Senex operates faces deepening supply shortages as legacy fields deplete, increasing the role of local producers.

Senex output tripled from 20 petajoules to 60 petajoules, equivalent to roughly 10 percent of gas demand across five eastern Australian states.

Energy segment pricing remains linked to crude, however, leaving cycle sensitivity: the company explained that Myanmar results reflect the trailing one-year average oil price and month-end exchange rates, while Senex oil-linked pricing applies to about 30 percent of liquefaction plant output with a four-month lag.

For materials, trade policy is the swing factor, and the company said it is restructuring its global steel trading framework and pursuing higher value-added demand in response to the carbon border adjustment mechanism and tariffs.

In critical minerals, competition to build non-China supply chains is underway, and the industry expects that because the shortage of rare earth separation and refining infrastructure in the United States will not be resolved quickly, companies that secure local production bases first will hold a competitive edge.

Few Korean trading houses combine operated gas fields, a private LNG terminal and motor core manufacturing, but that same breadth brings heavier investment scale and longer payback.

Outlook

The nearest checkpoint is the Gwangyang second LNG terminal. The company put progress at 96 percent in the second quarter of 2026 with completion planned for year-end, and said that once tanks 7 and 8 are finished it will supply LNG based on group demand and expand into trading and bunkering.

On completion of the second terminal total LNG storage capacity expands to 1.33 million kiloliters.

On sourcing, it established the Singapore LNG trading arm Centrux at the end of 2025 and signed a 20-year contract with Cheniere of the United States for 400,000 tons a year, with the first cargo due in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Upstream expansion remains in progress: the company said it is reviewing the acquisition of producing assets in the United States that can secure LNG supply and generate trading income, noting that because the targets already produce gas, cash flow can be secured immediately without a development period.

A company official, however, said it is targeting the acquisition of North American gas assets in the second half of 2026 but that the specific investment size and signing timing have not been set.

Over the medium term, Myanmar Phase 4 development, which began drilling with a rig in February 2026, is expected to finish drilling by end-2026 and, after offshore installation and commissioning, reach construction completion and first gas in July 2027.

In new businesses, the rare earth separation and refining joint venture with ReElement of the United States envisions a first phase of 3,000 tons a year expanding to 6,000 tons in a second phase, targeting pilot production in the fourth quarter of 2027 and full production in 2028.

On financing, the 2026 capex plan was raised from 1.8 trillion won to 2.2 trillion won to reflect expanded energy investment.

Valuation

PER

11.3×

PBR

1.3×

ROE

12.3%

EPS

₩4,860

BPS

₩41,035

Dividend per share

₩1,850

The earnings base has shifted from a trading-centric house to a structure where resource and infrastructure profits account for more than half, and the comparison set used for multiples has correspondingly moved from domestic trading peers toward energy companies that own upstream assets.

The price-to-book multiple sits in territory carrying a premium to net assets, while the earnings multiple falls in the middle of the band formed as profits recovered and expanded from 2022 through 2025.

For dividends, policy is the anchor: the company doubled its shareholder return ratio from 25 percent to 50 percent starting in 2025 and introduced an interim dividend, splitting what had been one annual cash payout into two.

Applying a roughly 50 percent return ratio to first-half 2026 net profit attributable to owners of about 503.8 billion won produced a total interim dividend of about 252.3 billion won.

On the brokerage view, KB Securities said in a March 2026 report that it maintained a Buy rating and raised its target price to 91,000 won, and analyst Park Jong-ryul of Heungkuk Securities set a target price of 108,000 won, up from 80,000 won, in a report dated May 4, 2026.

Those multiple arguments rest on assumptions that can change with oil prices, exchange rates and whether new asset acquisitions close, so confirmed results and the outcome of capital deployment need to be tracked together.

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-09-04

Bull factors

Gas Field Ramp-Up Flowing Into Results

The Senex Energy ramp-up is showing directly in quarterly results. Second-quarter 2026 Senex sales volume rose 33.8 percent year on year, with revenue of 134.1 billion won and operating profit of 33.2 billion won, up 49.4 percent and 235 percent respectively.

The company said Senex completed its threefold expansion framework and brought new facilities to normal operation, lifting sales volume 40 percent year on year. Notably, the expanded assets are already in production, so volumes flow through without further development work.

Physical Completion of the LNG Value Chain

Facilities and contracts linking storage, sourcing and trading are converging at the same time. The Gwangyang second LNG terminal was 96 percent complete in the second quarter of 2026 with year-end completion planned, after which group-demand-based supply and expanded trading and bunkering are scheduled.

The company signed long-term contracts with Cheniere for 400,000 tons a year and Mexico Pacific for 700,000 tons a year, securing 1.1 million tons of US-sourced LNG annually. The Singapore trading arm Centrux provides the execution platform.

Profit-Linked Return Policy

The return framework is explicitly tied to profit. The company raised its shareholder return ratio from 25 percent to 50 percent starting in 2025 and introduced an interim dividend. For the first half of 2026 it approved an interim dividend more than 70 percent larger in cash terms than a year earlier.

The company said it maintains a return ratio of around 50 percent and runs a communication framework that shares progress on its value-up program.

Bear factors

Borrowings and Investment Burden Rising Together

Expanded investment hits financial metrics first. Gross borrowings stood at 7.0301 trillion won at the end of the second quarter of 2026, up 31.6 percent year on year, while the net debt ratio rose 16.1 percentage points from 56.4 percent to 72.5 percent.

Borrowings have continued to climb on the Indonesian palm plantation acquisition, making the balance between investment expansion and financial soundness a key issue. Confirmed figures also show total liabilities rising from 9.9869 trillion won in 2024 to 10.9404 trillion won in 2025.

Oil Price and Currency Linkage

Energy segment pricing is tied to external variables. The company explained that Myanmar results reflect the trailing one-year average oil price and month-end exchange rates, while Senex oil-linked pricing applies to about 30 percent of liquefaction plant output with a four-month lag.

Kiwoom Securities projected in a January 2026 report that operating profit at Myanmar exploration and production and at the power business would each fall 10 percent on lower oil prices. If the oil cycle turns, volume gains and price effects can offset each other.

Myanmar Dependence and Shutdown Schedule

Regional concentration in the core cash cow persists. The company said a nine-day shutdown is scheduled at the Myanmar gas field in 2026 for subsea pipeline and platform tie-in work, and that sales volume would decline year on year as a result.

In the first quarter of 2026, planned major facility maintenance also raised operating costs and slightly reduced Myanmar operating profit. Until Phase 4 is complete, maintaining output is the working assumption, leaving schedule slippage as a variable.

Risk factors

Geopolitical and Country Risk

The Myanmar assets are exposed to shifts in the political and sanctions environment. After the Myanmar coup raised uncertainty, the company expanded its energy footprint into Australia and Malaysia to reduce dependence on Myanmar.

Diversification has progressed, but a single asset still contributes a large share of profit, so operational interruptions or changes in remittance or contract terms could widen earnings volatility. Planned US acquisitions also involve permitting and regulatory processes.

Acquisition Execution Risk

New upstream acquisitions are not yet finalized. The company set targets of signing in the United States within the first half of 2026 and in Southeast Asia within the year. A company official later said it aims to secure North American gas assets in the second half but that investment size and timing are undecided.

The company also noted past cases where it was named a preferred bidder but the deal did not close. Whether deals close, and at what price, could shape future earnings and the balance sheet.

Trade and Regulatory Environment

The materials business is directly exposed to tariffs and carbon regulation. In the third quarter of 2025, materials earnings were weak on US tariffs and poor market conditions. The company said it is restructuring its global steel trading framework in response to the carbon border adjustment mechanism and tariffs.

The rare earth and permanent magnet initiatives are likewise areas where timelines and profitability can shift with cross-border supply chain policy.

What to watch next

Late October 2026 (expected)
Third-quarter 2026 results and the earnings call. The key checks are whether the record second-quarter operating profit holds on the Senex ramp-up and palm contribution, and in which quarter the Myanmar shutdown impact lands.
Fourth quarter of 2026
The first cargo under the Cheniere long-term contract and year-end completion of the Gwangyang second LNG terminal fall in the same window. Completion timing and initial operating and settlement terms set the starting point for midstream profit contribution.
During the second half of 2026
Whether North American and Southeast Asian gas production asset acquisitions are signed, and at what size. With the 2026 capex plan already raised to 2.2 trillion won, any confirmed deal should be read alongside changes in borrowings and the net debt ratio.
End of 2026 to early 2027
Completion of Myanmar Phase 4 drilling, targeted for end-2026, and subsequent offshore installation and commissioning progress. Whether the July 2027 first gas schedule holds is the reference point for medium-term output projections.
Late January to February 2027
Confirmed full-year 2026 results plus the year-end dividend and next shareholder return policy. Whether the 50 percent return ratio policy applied from 2025 continues, and how the 2026 to 2028 policy is reset, are the items to verify.

Overall view

POSCO International's earnings mix has moved from a trading core to a structure where resource and infrastructure profits account for more than half.

After 2025 revenue of 32.3736 trillion won and operating profit of 1.1653 trillion won, second-quarter 2026 revenue of 9.6232 trillion won and operating profit of 429.0 billion won lifted the quarterly operating margin to about 4.5 percent, while the most recent four quarters accumulated roughly 1.3680 trillion won in operating profit and 828.4 billion won in net profit attributable to owners.

The constructive case rests on the Senex ramp-up already visible in results, the year-end completion schedule for the Gwangyang second LNG terminal at 96 percent progress, and the 50 percent shareholder return ratio in place since 2025.

On the other side sit borrowings of 7.0301 trillion won and a net debt ratio of 72.5 percent as of the end of the second quarter of 2026, an investment plan raised to 2.2 trillion won, and variables such as oil price and currency linkage and the Myanmar shutdown.

In short, the phase where expansion effects show up in earnings and the phase where payback burdens grow are unfolding at the same time, and which prevails will be decided by upcoming confirmed quarterly figures and acquisition outcomes. This report compiles publicly disclosed financial data and business developments.

Sources

Korea Exchange (KRX) — Prices · Market Cap · Volume
FSS electronic disclosure system (DART) — Financial statements · Dividend filings

Show 18 more articles and sources

Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04

This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.