Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat | |
OCTOBER 24, 2005
No. 6: Posco Steel Lee Ku Taek, 57, CEO since 2003
Steelmaking SALES $23.1 billion PROFITS $3.7 billion
With steel demand expected to remain strong, Lee is a man in a hurry. POSCO is building capacity as fast as it can and investing billions in high-end steelmaking technology. ``Everybody is battling against time, and we must be ahead of our rivals,'' he says. POSCO is holding its own. It may not be the biggest steelmaker (it is No. 5 globally), but it is one of the most profitable. It expects earnings to jump 12% in 2005, to $4.2 billion, on $21.7 billion in sales. And POSCO gets bigger almost by the hour. Besides its plans for India, POSCO has invested $2.2 billion in 15 joint ventures in China. At home, meanwhile, POSCO is cutting costs through tech. Finex, a new ironmaking process that could cut production costs by 20% and harmful emissions by 90%, will be a crucial part of a new steelworks POSCO is building at Pohang. What could go wrong? A drop in steel prices as capacity builds. But Lee says POSCO will emphasize high-end products that will stay in short supply. 
BW MALL
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