German company Thyssenkrupp’s total sales in FY19-20 declined by 15pc to €28.9bn ($34.1bn) from the prior year, while its order intake for the same period stood at €28.2bn ($33.3bn), down by 17pc from the preceding year, the company said in its results.
The company said that Steel Europe’s total incoming orders and sales for FY19-20 fell by 17pc and 20pc, respectively, from the prior fiscal after a drop in demand from the automotive industry in Q1 and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that increased in Q3.
The company said that as its customers restarted production, business stabilized between July and September.
To tackle the COVID-19 effects, the company is working on further cost reductions and adjusting the execution of its Steel Strategy 20-30, and also further cost reductions are currently being worked on.
It further added is also going to make fundamental decisions regarding its steel business by spring 2021 to push ahead with the transformation to green steel and overcome challenges.
Outlook
ThyssenKrupp said that it is overall cautious during the current fiscal (FY20-21) despite the expected recovery in important markers and visible structural improvement in business.
It further said that the economic and geopolitical uncertainties mean that the group can only plan reliably to a limited extent, particularly in the cyclical business with materials and with auto components.
The company further said that it is depending on the recovery of the auto market globally for sales and is expecting growth in the low to mid single-digit percentage range.
The company said that it will prioritize performance improvement, solutions for the steel business, and decisions on the future of Multi Tracks.