By Kwanwoo Jun

Posco's third-quarter net profit rose 3.5% from a year earlier, thanks to strong sales of high-margin steel products backed by a recovery in demand from the auto industry.

Net profit for the quarter ended September was 514.00 billion won ($452.8 million) compared with KRW496.80 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, the South Korean steelmaker said Friday. That beat a FactSet consensus forecast for net profit of KRW289.28 billion.

Revenue during the quarter fell 11% to KRW14.261 trillion, while operating profit dropped 36% to KRW666.70 billion.

The company said its steel segment swung to an operating profit in the third quarter from a loss in the prior quarter, as production and sales recovered to the pre-pandemic levels.

Increasing sales prices and lower raw-material costs also helped improve earnings in the steel business, it said.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-22-20 2238ET