Seoul: POSCO International on Thursday reported its first-quarter net income of 277.3 billion won (US$186.8 million), up a solid 36.1 percent from a year earlier. The company, which specializes in energy and resource development, detailed its financial performance in a recent regulatory filing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, POSCO International's operating profit for the January-March period saw an increase of 32.3 percent on-year, reaching 357.5 billion won. The company's sales also experienced growth, rising by 3.1 percent to 8.41 trillion won.

The operating profit surpassed expectations, coming in 13 percent higher than the average estimate provided by a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. However, the estimate for net profit was not provided in the survey results.