POSCO's CEO forecasts the current quarter would be its most difficult earnings period and that results would improve in the second quarter, helped by the United States and China.

Mr Chung Joon yang also said that he expected to go ahead with one of the firm's three steel mill projects in India this year.

The world's third biggest steelmaker, backed by billionaire investor Mr Warren Buffett, said its October to December 2011 operating profit was KRW 692 billion, up from KRW 519 billion a year earlier, but well below a consensus forecast of KRW 839.3 billion from Thomson Reuters.

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)