POSCO Q1 profit drops 54%; misses forecast

South Korean steelmaker POSCO, backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, posted a 54% drop in first-quarter profit because of slack demand, lower product prices and higher raw-material costs.

Operating profit fell to 422 billion won on a parent basis in January to March from 921 billion won a year earlier, the world's No. 3 steelmaker after ArcelorMittal and China's Baosteel said on Friday.

The earnings were below a consensus forecast of 439 billion won from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Prior to the earnings announcement, shares in POSCO, in which Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns around 5%, ended down 0.4%. The benchmark Kospi fell 1.3%.