By Kwanwoo Jun

Posco said Wednesday that it expects its operating profit to have surged to a record in 2021 amid brisk demand and higher average selling prices for steel products.

The South Korean steelmaker said it estimates operating profit at 9.2 trillion won ($7.73 billion) last year, nearly quadrupling from KRW2.4 trillion in 2020.

The preliminary earnings forecast largely met the FactSet-compiled market consensus estimate of KRW9.274 trillion for the full year.

Revenue is expected to have risen 32% to KRW76.4 trillion in 2021, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The upbeat preliminary earnings forecast came as Posco is pushing to spin off its domestic steel business in a major governance change. It plans to turn the existing entity into a holding company to cover the other unlisted units such as the overseas-steel, mining, construction, lithium and hydrogen businesses.

Posco is due to release its full quarterly and annual earnings report later this month.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-12-22 0207ET