Salzgitter affirms its forecast for 2021, which was revised up in June with sales at more than €9bn ($10.6bn) leading to a pre-tax profit of €400-600mn. The company expected a stable market trend in H2 2021 in spite of the COVID-19 variant risks that are being heard of worldwide.
The company hopes to start hydrogen-based steel production by late 2025.
Crude steel production grew by 14.4pc to 3.38mn mt in H1 2021 compared to 2.95mn mt produced in H1 2020.
H1 Financials
Salzgitter recorded its best H1 in over a decade with H1 2021 external sales rising by 22pc to €4.4bn against €3.6bn in the same year-ago time frame.
The trading business unit led with €1.5bn followed by the strip steel business unit with €1.2bn in sales in H1 2021, up 25.2pc and 32.7pc, respectively, against the same year-ago period. The Mannesmann unit achieved €530.4mn, plate unit sold €445.5mn, technology unit €639.3mn, and industrial participations earned €84.1mn in sales.
Salzgitter’s profit before taxes moved from a loss of €127.8mn in H1 2020 to a gain of €305.7mn in the recent half-year.
($1=0.85)