The key figures of the Metal Engineering Division in the first quarter of 2012/13 continued to be at a satisfactory level. Good capacity utilization in the rail segment, especially in comparison to the immediately preceding quarters, made a significant contribution to the division’s revenue that exceeded the EUR 800 million mark for the first time in a single quarter. At EUR 805.6 million, revenue was 7.0% higher than the figure achieved in the first quarter of 2011/12 (EUR 752.8 million).
Because of the global nature of its operations and its diversification with regard to business fields and customer segments, the Metal Engineering Division was able to easily compensate temporary weaknesses in individual segments. While most recently the Wire and Welding Consumables segments were showing a slight downward trend, the Seamless Tube business segment surpassed the already high expectations. As a result, with an operating result of EUR 83.8 million (previous year: EUR 92.2 million) the division was able to maintain a two-digit EBIT margin of 10.4% (previous year: 12.2%).
As of the reporting date of June 30, 2012, the Metal Engineering Division had 11,291 employees (full-time equivalent). Compared to the previous year (11,165 employees), this corresponds to an increase of 1.1%.