Seoul: POSCO Holdings Inc. on Monday reported its third-quarter net income of 390 billion won (US$272.4 million), marking a 22 percent decline from the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company revealed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the July-September period also saw a decrease, falling 13.5 percent year-on-year to 640 billion won. Additionally, sales were reported to have dropped by 5.8 percent, totaling 17.26 trillion won.

Despite the declines, POSCO Holdings’ earnings surpassed market expectations. Analysts had predicted an average net profit of 328.7 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.