Posco, South Korea's top steelmaker, launched a holding company Wednesday to better nurture non-steelmaking businesses, such as battery materials and hydrogen.

In January, shareholders of Posco approved a plan for the steelmaker to transform into a holding company by splitting it into two business entities.

After the breakup, the steelmaking group's holding company, Posco Holdings Inc., will focus on charting out future business, research and development, and investment.

The steelmaking business will remain named Posco, which will be wholly owned by Posco Holdings and continue to be unlisted.

The steelmaker's affiliates, such as Posco Chemical and Posco Energy, will be under the wing of the holding firm.

The steelmaking group will jack up its production capacity of cathode and anode materials used for batteries to 420,000 tons and 260,000 tons, respectively, by 2030.

Its annual production of lithium and nickel will amount to 220,000 tons and 140,000 tons, respectively, by that year.

The group will also spend 10 trillion won ($8.3 billion) by 2030 on its hydrogen business in order to produce 500,000 tons of hydrogen per year.

Last year, aided by strong demand for key products and high prices, the group logged its largest earnings ever.

Its net income stood at 7.19 trillion won last year, compared with a net profit of 1.8 trillion won the previous year, and operating income came in at 9.24 trillion won last year on a consolidated basis, sharply rising from an operating profit of 2.4 trillion won a year earlier.

Sales amounted to 76.3 trillion won, up 32.1 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)