Financial key performance indicators

The excellent performance of the Steel Division in the business year 2017/18 is immediately evident from the figures, particularly revenue as well as the operating result (EBITDA) which reached an unprecedented level—thanks also to the HBI plant in Texas, USA, which was almost fully operational this year for the first time. Revenue rose by 22.0% year over year from EUR 3,912.4 million in 2016/17 to EUR 4,772.7 million in 2017/18. While delivery volumes roughly matched the record volume achieved in 2016/17—due above all to excellent demand—the price of high-quality grades was significantly higher than in the previous year. The direct reduction plant in Texas, USA, which was officially inaugurated in October 2016 and has been in regular operation (subject to weather-related interruptions) since the beginning of the business year, as well as the Heavy Plate business segment, which succeeded in significantly boosting deliveries and simultaneously raising prices, have been key to the revenue growth in the current business year. Together with a general increase in the gross margin and a continued strong focus on cost optimization, these two business segments also contributed significantly to the improvement of the operating result (EBITDA) of the Steel Division by 61.1% as of the close of the year, from EUR 563.9 million to EUR 908.2 million. This lifted the EBITDA margin from 14.4% to 19.0%. Profit from operations (EBIT) soared 125.3%, from EUR 263.2 million to EUR 592.9 million, during the same period, almost doubling the EBIT margin from 6.7% to 12.4%.

In a direct quarter-to-quarter comparison between the third and fourth quarters of 2017/18, the Steel Division demonstrated a surge in both revenue and results, which stems primarily from the significant growth in delivery volumes, itself the result of traditionally rising demand during the first quarter of the calendar year. In light of the positive market environment, at the start of the calendar year the division succeeded in passing the preceding increases in raw material costs on to the market in connection with the fairly large number of renegotiated contracts. As a result, the Steel Division was able to boost its revenue by 10.3%, from EUR 1,176.2 million in the third quarter to EUR 1,297.7 million in the fourth quarter of the business year. EBITDA rose by 22.2% during the same period, from EUR 209.5 million to EUR 256.0 million, primarily due to the quarter-on-quarter increase in the sales volume of about 10%, while EBIT improved by as much as one third, from EUR 130.9 million to EUR 174.1 million. The EBITDA margin rose from 17.8% in the third quarter to 19.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017/18, while the EBIT margin increased in the same period from 11.1% to 13.4%.

As of March 31, 2018, the Steel Division had 11,020 employees (FTE), an increase of 1.1% compared with the figure (10,898 employees) as of on the previous year’s reporting date.