Posco Holdings on Tuesday said its first-quarter operating income is estimated at 700 billion won ($531 million), down 69.6 percent from a year earlier, on increased costs.

Sales decreased 8.9 percent on-year to 19.39 trillion won. The steelmaker did not reveal net earnings.

The operating profit was 20.5 percent higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The company will release its final earnings report later.

Yonhap