EANS-News: Salzgitter AG
First Half of 2011: Positive trend holds steady in
the second quarter, delivering an increase in profit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6-month report Salzgitter (euro adhoc) - The business activities of the Salzgitter Group developed well overall in the first half of 2011, benefiting from the favourable economic environment and the consistent implementation of measures to improve profit and streamline operations. All divisions contributed to raising consolidated external sales by 18 % to EUR 4,773.5 million (first half of 2010: EUR 4,034.2 million), especially Steel and Trading. The pre-tax profit achieved was again presentable at EUR 130.0 million (first half of 2010: EUR -5.1 million). This result includes a contribution of EUR 46.5 million from the stake in Aurubis AG, a company included at equity (first half of 2010: EUR 22.0 million). Profit after tax came to EUR 93.7 million (first half of 2010: EUR -3.5 million). Following the now virtual completion of the extensive investment program, the financial basis of the Group - with an equity ratio of 44 % and a net cash position of EUR 951 million - is exceptionally sound. External sales by Division (EUR million): H1 2011 (H1 2010) Steel 1,367.0 (1,081.6) Trading 1,737.3 (1,409.2) Tubes 903.2 (892.0) Services 238.7 (195.3) Technology 485.7 (429.7) Other 41.8 (26.4) Group 4,773.5 (4,034.2) Earnings before tax (EBT) by Division (EUR million): H1 2011 (H1 2010) Steel 30.4 (-76.2) Trading 38.2 (43.4) Tubes 46.7 (13.1) Services 8.3 (11.4) Technology -17.7 (-15.7) Other/Consolidation 24.1 (18.9) Group 130.0 (-5.1) The short contractual cycle, the persistently high volatility of procurement and selling prices and the uncertainty surrounding economic framework conditions continue to hamper planning accuracy, both in the individual divisions and at the level of the entire Group. Against the backdrop of the acceptable constitution in the flat steel and plate markets, coupled with the turnaround achieved in the precision tubes segment, we anticipate that, from today's standpoint, the pre-tax profit of the Salzgitter Group will come to around EUR 200 million in the financial year 2011 as a whole. As in recent years, we make special reference to the fact that opportunities and risks from currently unforeseeable trends in selling prices, input materials and capacity utilization developments, as well as changes in the currency parity, may still affect performance considerably over the course of the financial year 2011. The resulting fluctuation in the consolidated pre-tax result may be within a considerable range, either to the positive or to the negative. The dimensions of this range become clear if one considers that, given the sale of around 6 million tons of steel products by the Steel, Trading and Tubes divisions in the second half of the financial year, an average EUR 25 contraction in the margin per ton is sufficient to cause a variation in the annual result of more than EUR 150 million. Disclaimer: Some of the statements made in this report possess the character of forecasts or may be interpreted as such. They are made to the best of knowledge and belief, and by their nature are subject to the proviso that no unforeseeable deterioration occurs in the economy or in the specific market conditions pertaining to the companies of the various divisions, but rather that the underlying bases of plans and outlooks prove to be accurate as expected in terms of their scope and timing. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Further inquiry note: Bernhard Kleinermann +49 (0) 5341/21-1852 ir@salzgitter-ag.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: Salzgitter AG Eisenhüttenstraße 99 D-38239 Salzgitter phone: +49 (0) 5341-21-3783 mail: info@salzgitter-ag.de WWW: http://www.salzgitter-ag.de sector: Iron & Steel ISIN: DE0006202005 indexes: Midcap Market Index, MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hannover, München language: English
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