Voestalpine boosts revenue in the 3rd quarter of 2018/19, earnings
affected by non-recurring items
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Revenue for first nine months rises 5.2% year over year from EUR 9.5
billion to just under EUR 10 billion
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Negative non-recurring effects impact Group’s earnings categories
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Operating result (EBITDA) declines by 21.4% from EUR 1.4 billion to EUR
1.1 billion
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Profit from operations (EBIT) drops by 37% from EUR 835 million to EUR
526 million
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Profit before tax drops by 41.6% from EUR 737 million to EUR 431 million
and profit after tax by 50.4% from EUR 556 million to EUR 276 million
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Equity improves from EUR 6.3 billion to EUR 6.5 billion
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Gearing ratio rises from 54% to 58%
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At 51,472, number of employees as of 12/31/2018 1.6% higher year over
year
The first half of the business year 2018/19 had started on a solid
economic footing for the voestalpine Group, but the business year’s
third quarter was already affected by a dampening of economic sentiment
overall. For example, by rising prices for raw materials and energy; the
first palpable negative effects from the global trade conflicts; and not
least the growing escalation of the conflict surrounding Great Britain’s
exit from the EU. “While we succeeded in boosting revenue year over year
in the first three quarters of the business year 2018/19, the weaker
earnings performance reflects not just the dampening of economic
sentiment but also the impact of internal negative one-time effects,”
says Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG.
As a result, earnings in the second business quarter were impacted
primarily by the complete overhaul of large blast furnace A in Linz
and—to a lesser extent—by the fact that several weeks of planned and
unplanned production stoppages occurred at the HBI facility in the
United States. Add to that provisions that were set up in the third
business quarter for the heavy plate segment in connection with a
pending investigation by the German Federal Cartel Office
(Bundeskartellamt); significant start-up cost overruns at the automotive
facility in Cartersville, Georgia, USA; as well as associated provisions
related to external shifts in order activity.
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