Hyundai Steel President Ahn Dong-il stressed the importance of strengthening competitiveness in eco-friendly cars such as EVs.
In his New Year’s message sent to his executives and staffers on Jan. 3, President Ahn said, “This year will be a very significant year for our Hyundai Steel, as Seoul Office, which was scattered in three buildings, moved into a new location in Pangyo, a future industry center, on the first day of the new year, and Hyundai Steel celebrates the 70th anniversary.”
“Hyundai Steel, established under the name “Korea Heavy Industry Corp.” in 1953, has been synchronized with the history of growth of the Korean economy, and we, taking pride with the fact, have to draw a blueprint for the next 70 years,” he said.
President Ahn set this year’s management tenet as: becoming a sustainable, eco-friendly steelmaker.
Hyundai Steel has the same goal as the company did last year amid the sagging global economy, and is determined to establish a firm corporate identity to overcome the broader economic hurdles, Ahn said.
He proposed three business strategies to realize the goal.
First, President Ahn called for the strengthening of a profit-oriented, stable business foundation.
“As for global economic outlook for this year, Korean and foreign prominent institutions are on the same wavelength of a low growth mode, whenever in the situation, we have to overcome hardships, caused by the global economic recession by ramping the competitiveness of the existing businesses and concentrating all capabilities on establishing strategies to focus on profitability as well,” he said.
“Hyundai Steel has to make preparations for the execution of practical ESG management corresponding to changing social value standards and implement it, and we should keep in mind the fact that companies’ sustainability of today depends on not only financial factors, but also on whether they conform to social values,” Ahn said.
Second, President Ahn asked for the company to hit the gas on carbon neutrality transition.
“Carbon neutrality is not only an unavoidable task for the steel industry, but also an opportunity to drive its revival, and Hyundai Steel, seizing these trends, should grow into a carbon neutrality leader by fully implementing strategies tailored and prepared in the past,” he said.
As for the third business strategy, President Ahn demanded securing future growth engines, saying that core part of that is EVs.
“The automobile market is restructured fast with a focus on EVs, and we have to secure the competitiveness of eco-friendly and lightweight automotive materials and parts businesses in keeping with the trends,” he said.
President Ahn called for securing domestic business centers optimized for profit-oriented production and sales portfolio, and ramping global business capabilities to brace for greater trade barriers and economic blocs.
An EV concept car body employing high-strength, lightweight steel plates, produced by Hyundai Steel.
Hyundai Steel Forecasts Sales Growth of 7.1 Percent Year-on-Year in 2023
Hyundai Steel sustained losses in the fourth quarter of last year due damages at its Pohang steelworks caused by flooding and a trade union strike.
In an electronic filing, the steelmaker said it posted 27,340.6 billion won in sales and 1,616.6 billion won in operating profit on a consolidated basis last year.
The figures represent a 19.7 percent year-on-year surge in sales and a 33.9 percent year-on-year plunge in operation profit.
Hyundai Steel logged about 275.9 billion won in operating losses in Q4, changing into a deficit state.
A Hyundai Steel officials said Hyundai Steel had effects of the weakening steel market situation and a strike last year, and the company plans to gradually improve profit this year on the back of restoring of sales, coupled with normalization of production and profit-oriented management.
Hyundai Steel predicted that steel demand will be restored this year on the back of China’s economic growth, the United States and emerging countries’ rebounding of steel demand, and rising automobile production.
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