German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has announced its financial results for the first nine months and the third quarter ended on June 30 of the financial year 2019-2020.
In the first nine months of the financial year 2019-2020, the company posted a net loss of €1.9 billion, compared to a net loss of €548 million in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, while sales revenues decreased by 15 percent year on year to €21.6 billion. Meanwhile, the company’s order intake amounted to €19.7 billion, down 19 percent year on year.
In the third quarter of the financial year, the company posted a net loss of €879 million, compared to a net loss of €213 million in the third quarter of the previous financial year, while sales revenues decreased by 34 percent year on year to €5.7 billion. The company’s order intake amounted to €4.8 billion, down 42 percent year on year.
According to Thyssenkrupp, the company’s performance in the first nine months of the current financial year was significantly impacted by the impacts of the coronavirus. As a result of temporary plant closures at customers, production in many areas almost came to a halt at the start of the third quarter.
The performance of Steel Europe was again characterized by the extremely challenging situation in the steel sector. Demand from the auto industry, which was already noticeably lower in March, slumped further in the course of the third quarter, also due to declining order volumes from other industrial customers. The performance of the packaging steel operations was stable. Overall, order intake and sales after nine months were down 24 and 20 percent respectively from the same period of the previous year.
Despite the cautious resumption of production following the easing of coronavirus measures in key industrial nations, international infection rates remain high and there is a continued risk of further waves of infection in the course of the year. For this reason and due to the continuing disruptions to economic and public life, forecasts for the remaining months of the fiscal year are still subject to major uncertainties. However, stabilization is expected in the fourth quarter.
“We have worked hard to keep our costs under control and secure liquidity. As a result, we came through the crisis slightly better than initially feared in the third quarter overall. While we are now seeing signs of stabilization, the forthcoming restructurings and cleaning up of the balance sheet will continue to weigh on earnings in the current quarter,” said Martina Merz, chief executive officer of Thyssenkrupp AG.