DGAP-News

Salzgitter AG: Half-yearly result burdened by structural crisis in the European steel industry - 'Salzgitter AG 2015' generates profit potential of EUR 200 million p.a. - Seite 2

Earnings before tax (EBT) by Division (EUR million):

                                   H1 2013                       (H1 2012)



Steel                               -260.5                         (-97.8)

Trading 19.6 (27.6)

Tubes -25.0 (8.3)

Services 4.3 (10.2)

Technology 5.6 (2.6)

Other -42.7 (31.1)

Group -298.7 (-17.9)





Negative influences on the result in the accounts of the first half of 2013
and the development of operations anticipated necessitated an adjustment of
guidance for the results. With regard to the 2013 financial year, the
Salzgitter Group now anticipates slightly lower sales in a year-on-year
comparison and a negative pre-tax result of around EUR 400 million. As
already announced, additional special, initially burdening, non-recurrent
effects may still arise as a consequence of implementing the 'Salzgitter AG
2015' Group project.

We make reference to the fact that opportunities and risks from currently
unforeseeable trends in selling prices, input material prices and capacity
level developments, as well as changes in the currency parity, may
considerably affect performance in the second half of the financial year
2013. The resulting fluctuation in the consolidated pre-tax result may be
within a considerable range, either to the positive or to the negative. The
dimensions of this range become clear if one considers that, with around 6
million tons of steel products sold by the Steel, Trading and Tubes
divisions over the remainder of the financial year, an average EUR 20
contraction in the margin per ton is sufficient to cause a variation in the
annual result of more than EUR 120 million. Moreover, the accuracy of the
company's planning is restricted by the volatilities and shorter
contractual durations, both on the procurement and on the sales side.

'Salzgitter AG 2015' program

In order to achieve an acceptable level of performance also under difficult
general conditions in the markets and competitive arena, a restructuring
program under the name of 'Salzgitter AG 2015' was initiated in the fall of
2012. Numerous specific measures geared toward improving the process and
organization structures have meanwhile been defined and are now on the
verge of implementation or already under way. For instance, Salzgitter
Flachstahl GmbH is investing EUR 70 million in building a coal injection