Hyundai Steel said Friday its operating loss stood at 29.7 billion won ($24 million) with a net loss of 115.4 billion won in the first quarter this year.

According to the South Korean steel producer -- an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group -- its combined sales came at 4.66 trillion won ($3.78 billion) in the first quarter, declining 8 percent compared to a year earlier.

The results were largely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, as it has exacerbated the ongoing slump in the steel industry.

The company said, however, that it was able to reduce the operating loss in the first quarter.

Hyundai Steel said it has sold 2.09 million tons of its premium steel products to global automakers in the first quarter this year. It had set the sales goal for the products at 9.1 million tons.

“Uncertainty continues as the world economy is shrinking in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but we will make efforts to improve profitability by strengthening our fundamental competitiveness,” a company official said.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)