SEOUL: South Korean steelmaker POSCO's operating profit slumped 38% in 2020 from the year before, partly as margins were hit by sluggish steel demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company said.

The world's fifth-biggest steelmaker released its full-year 2020 numbers in a filing, without giving a breakdown of its October-December figures.

Reuters calculations showed the steelmaker's fourth-quarter consolidated profit was 863 billion won ($969.66 trillion) versus an average estimate for an 850 billion won profit from 15 analysts, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate.