FRANKFURT, Feb 10 — German heavy industry giant Thyssenkrupp said today that it made a good start to the new financial year, largely due to the steel division which it had previously been looking to sell.
Thyssenkrupp, which runs its business year from October to September, said in a statement it booked net profit of €106 million (RM502 million) in the first quarter, compared with a bottom-line loss of €145 million in the same period a year earlier.
The group, whose activities range from steel and car parts to industrial plant and submarines, took a heavy hit from the coronavirus pandemic which forced it to close many of its factories.
But it embarked upon on a massive restructuring programme in 2020, slashing 11,000 jobs and selling off different businesses, including most recently its stainless steel factory in Terni, Italy.
“The turnaround at Thyssenkrupp is in full swing,” chief financial officer Klaus Keysberg said in a statement.
“We’ve made important progress in improving our performance and narrowing the focus of our portfolio,” Keysberg said.
Thyssenkrupp said its overall performance was driven by the steel division, which had struggled for many years, but has seen prices for its products rise strongly recently.
On an underlying, or operating basis, the steel unit booked profit of €124 million in the October-December period, up from €20 million a year earlier.
Thyssenkrupp had previous considered selling its historically core steel business, but finally shelved the plans after failing to secure a deal with Liberty Steel a year ago.
Operating profit also rose strongly in the “material services” division, but supply bottlenecks weighed heavily on the automotive division, Thyssenkrupp said. — AFP
