SALZGITTER (dpa-AFX) - German steel maker Salzgitter AG (SZGPF, SZGPY) said that it raised its guidance for the financial year 2016 - subject to the stable development of the market.
Europe's steel market has stabilized notably, which is due above all to the surprisingly steep decline in Chinese dumping imports and the associated increase in the price level of many steel products.
The expectations of business and the results for the Salzgitter Group are more positive at present than predicted at the beginning of the year. In this context, the Trading Business Unit in particular is benefiting from the favorable development on the spot markets, the company said.
The company now assume the following owing particularly to lower shipment volumes of the internation trading business a slight decrease of sales to around 8.0 billion euros to 8.5 billion euros compared with 2015 (former guidance: sales virtually stable at around 8.6 billion euros).
The company expects pre-tax profit of between 30 million euros and 60 million euros, which already includes a net burden of around 10 million euros on earnings from expenses anticipated for individual measures for structural improvement within the Group and proceeds from the disposal of equipment and machinery. Previously, the company expected pre-tax result around breakeven at the operating level.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX