Financial key performance indicators

Revenue for the High Performance Metals Division declined by 10.2% year-on-year, falling from EUR 3,541.7 million in the 2023/24 business year to EUR 3,182.2 million in 2024/25. The downward trend in revenue is due not only to a weakening price and shipping environment, but also to the sale of Buderus Edelstahl at the end of January 2025. In terms of earnings, both the previous year’s figures and those of the current reporting period were impacted by significant one-time expenses. In the previous business year (2023/24), results were affected by impairment losses stemming from the sale process of Buderus Edelstahl that had been initiated in the previous year (EUR 178 million), as well as goodwill impairments for the cash-generating unit High Performance Metals Production (EUR 182 million). Of these negative one-off effects totaling EUR 360 million, EUR 92 million impacted EBITDA. In the 2024/25 business year, EBIT was negatively impacted by several one-off expenses: EUR 83 million in expenses related to the sale of Buderus Edelstahl, EUR 78 million in goodwill impairments at the cash-generating unit High Performance Metals Production, and EUR 16 million in reorganization expenses for sales locations. Of these total negative one-off effects amounting to EUR 176 million in 2024/25, EUR 92 million impacted EBITDA. Based on IFRS reporting figures, EBITDA declined by 55.2%, from EUR 185.3 million (margin of 5.2%) in 2023/24 to EUR 83.0 million (margin of 2.6%) in 2024/25. EBIT improved in the same period from EUR –248.2 million (margin of –7.0%) to EUR –156.8 million (margin of –4.9%).

In a quarter-on-quarter comparison between Q3 and Q4 of the 2024/25 business year, revenue in the High Performance Metals Division increased by 4.1%, rising from EUR 765.5 million to EUR 797.0 million. A slightly improved price level more than offset the loss of business volume caused by the sale of Buderus Edelstahl in Q4. With regard to earnings performance, Q4 2024/25 included negative one-off effects totaling EUR 94 million at EBIT level, of which EUR 16 million impacted EBITDA. Against this backdrop, EBITDA declined by 39.2%, from EUR 41.8 million (margin of 5.5%) to EUR 25.4 million (margin of 3.2%). Including these one-off effects, the division posted an EBIT of EUR –94.3 million in Q4 (margin of –11.8%), compared to a break-even EBIT (EUR 0.0 million) in the previous quarter.

The number of employees (FTE) in the High Performance Metals Division declined significantly year-on-year by 12.2%, from 13,308 as of March 31, 2024 to 11,679 as of March 31, 2025. This decrease was largely due to the sale of Buderus Edelstahl in Q4 2024/25.