German steel giant Salzgitter reports drop in consolidated Q1 profit

Shareholders sit in front of the Salzgitter AG logo during the Annual General Meeting of Salzgitter AG. First quarter consolidated profit at German steel giant Salzgitter declined to €15 million ($16.1 million) from €140.5 million last year, the company said on 13 May. Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

First quarter consolidated profit at German steel giant Salzgitter declined to €15 million ($16.1 million) from €140.5 million last year, the company said on Monday.

Basic earnings per share were €0.24 compared to €2.57.

Salzgitter reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €45.2 million compared to €214.2 million last year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined to €126.4 million compared to €290 million last year.

External sales also dropped to €2.68 billion compared to €2.98 billion seen in the prior year.

The company said the result was mainly driven by the Technology Business Unit that delivered an extremely satisfactory quarterly result, as well as by a contribution from Aurubis AG, an investment included at equity.

For the financial year 2024, the company expects sales of around €10.5 billion, and EBITDA of between €550 million and €625 million.