South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel reported an almost 70% decline in operating profits in 2019 amid tightening margins between its raw materials buying prices and steel sales prices.
In briefOperating profit of 331.3 billion Won ($277 million) in 2019, down by 67.7% year on year. Consolidated sales of 20.55 trillion Won, down by 1.3% year on year. Profits fell more sharply than sales due to raw materials' prices, such as iron ore, being comparatively high compared with finished steel for much of 2019, with the firm noting that its automotive and shipbuilding steel prices were unable to reflect the elevated input costs over the period. There was less activity in the South Korean automotive market - output fell to 3.95 million...