On Monday, Germany's largest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp AG, reported a massive net loss for its fiscal year of 4.7 billion euros (US$6.1 billion), due largely to a US$4.7 million writedown for its Steel Americas operations, which include a slab-making facility in Brazil and a rolling mill in Calvert, Alabama. This was the second consecutive annual loss for the steelmaker.
Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger, Chairman of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp AG, said: "The Steel Americas project and the various compliance violations have not just caused immense financial damage. We have thereby also lost trust and credibility. With the changes on the Executive Board, the Supervisory Board has sent out a clear signal for a fresh start. The decisions were made in close consultation with myself. We are systematically establishing a new leadership culture based on honesty, transparency and performance orientation. That is the commitment of the Executive Board." As SteelOrbis reported last week, the company has ousted three top executives: Olaf Berlien, Edwin Eichler and Juergen Claasen.
Additionally, ThyssenKrupp said that it has cut the book value of its two Americas assets from 7 billion euros to 3.9 billion euros (US$5 billion) because bids from potential buyers in November were too low. The company said that once Steel Americas is sold, only about 30 percent of the ThyssenKrupp Group's revenue will come from its steel business.