Posco unveils sweeping revamp as profit plunges

SEOUL:
South Korea 's Posco the world's fifth largest
steelmaker ,unveiled a ruthless revamp of its
business structure Wednesday after reporting
a sharp drop in second quarter profit.

The steel giant said its consolidated  net profit
in the April -June period plunged 76 per cent
on year to 117.4 billion won ($104 million)
due to a global slump and losses among its
subsidiaries.

Operating profit also shrank 18.2 per cent on
year to 6863 billion won and sales fell 9.3 per
cent to 15.2 trillion won
The group,which has a total of 48 subsidiaries
under its wing ,said it would cut the number
of its domestic market businesses by half
and jettison 30 cent of its overseas operations
,
It also promised to liquidate redundant non-
core businesses and save more than 500 billion
won annually through an aggressive cost
cutting campaign,

"We will drastically restructure our business
"to cope with tough market conditions at home
and abroad ,chief executive officer Kwon Ho
Joon said in a statement.

Posco has been struggling with plunge in
steel prices and tough competition with
Chinese steel makers ,It has already agreed
to sell a38 per cent stake in its engineering
unit to a Suadi Arabian fund for $1.1 billion,

Posco share dropped 3.91 per cent to 204,ooo
won on Wednesday-AFP