In comparison to the same period in the previous year, the first half of 2012/13 trended downward due to declining raw materials prices resulting in somewhat smaller average revenues. In contrast, as far as volumes are concerned, deliveries went up slightly. Revenue fell by 1.8% from EUR 2,016.4 million to EUR 1,979.6 million. Due to the economic situation, the operating result (EBITDA) dropped in the first six months of 2012/13 by 12.4%, from EUR 272.0 million to EUR 238.3 million, over the same period in the previous year, with the EBITDA margin decreasing from 13.5% in the previous year to 12.0%. Profit from operations (EBIT) declined somewhat more considerably by 22.5%, going from EUR 161.1 million in the first half of 2011/12 to EUR 124.9 million in the current reporting period. Considering the very challenging economic environment, an EBIT margin of 6.3% in the first half of 2012/13 (previous year: 8.0%) for the Steel Division is, however, a very satisfactory figure.
In a comparison of the figures during the business year, after revenue of EUR 999.8 million in the first quarter of 2012/13, revenue in the second quarter of 2012/13 decreased by 2.0% to EUR 979.8 million. Seasonal effects were responsible for this trend, while average revenues remained stable. The levels of EBITDA and EBIT showed a contrasting picture. An increase of the gross margin, underpinned by falling raw material costs, resulted in a significant increase in the operating results. While EBITDA went up by 19.2% from EUR 108.7 million to EUR 129.6 million, EBIT rose by 39.3% from EUR 52.2 million to EUR 72.7 million. This, in turn, resulted in an increase of the EBITDA margin from 10.9% to 13.2% and of the EBIT margin from 5.2% to 7.4%, when comparing the previous quarter with the quarter under review.
As of September 30, 2012, the Steel Division had 10,591 employees (full-time equivalent). Compared to the previous year (10,571), this corresponds to a slight increase in staff by 0.2%; compared to the beginning of the business year (10,702), this represents a reduction of 1.0%.