German group ThyssenKrupp, which specializes in steel production, capital goods and services, has released its financial results for the first nine months of financial year 2007-2008.
During the period in question, the company's earnings before taxes have improved from quarter to quarter and amounted to €2.297 million, which was higher than planned but lower than the figure of €2.853 million for the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
The order intakes of ThyssenKrupp for the period in question registered a drop of three percent year on year to €41.5 billion from the previous figure of €42.8 billion, while its sales increased by two percent year on year to €39.7 billion.
The company's profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) saw a decrease from €4.266 million to €3.646 million year on year.
Excluding major nonrecurring items, comprising the pre-operating costs for new steel mills, restructuring expenses in the steel and elevator segments and disposal gains in the technologies segment, earnings decreased year on year from €3.294 million to €2.572 million for the first nine months of financial year 2007-2008.
For the current fiscal year ThyssenKrupp has raised its earnings forecast to over €3.2 billion before taxes and nonrecurring items and is predicting a sales increase to €53 billion.
Moreover, for the future ThyssenKrupp is targeting mid-term sales of €60 billion per year, while in the longer term, especially after the startup of the steel segment's new slab mill in Brazil, and taking into account the steel and stainless segments' new steelmaking and processing plant in the USA and the investments of the other segments in other regions, the company expects to achieve sales of around €65 billion per year and earnings before taxes and nonrecurring items of €4.5 to 5.0 billion.