This report is a translation of the original report in German, which is solely valid.
Following the solid performance in the first quarter, the existing trends are currently expected to continue for the remainder of the 2024/25 business year.
While no substantial improvement can yet be assumed for the construction, engineering, and consumer goods segments in the current reporting period, the markets in the customer segments railway systems, aerospace, and warehouse technology, which have performed very well to date, should continue to show high demand for products and system solutions from the voestalpine Group. Demand from the conventional energy sector in the area of oil and gas exploration lost momentum in the first business quarter, especially in North America, but should remain stable at the now lower level for the remainder of the reporting period. The automotive industry was largely stable overall in the first quarter of 2024/25, although somewhat more moderate demand momentum cannot be ruled out in this segment in the second half of 2024/25 due to the persistently weak economy in Europe. Developments in the current globally challenging environment for tool steel should bottom out in the first half of 2024/25. Demand is expected to improve in the second half of 2024/25, driven in particular by momentum in the Asian economic region.
In light of the continuing weak economic momentum in Europe, particularly in Germany, and the generally solid but by tendency lower-than-expected first quarter, the Management Board of voestalpine AG currently expects EBITDA for the business year 2024/25 to be at the lower end of the previously communicated range of EUR 1.7 to 1.8 billion and thus in the region of around EUR 1.7 billion.
The initiated sales process for Buderus Edelstahl in Wetzlar, Germany, is being implemented, as is the reorganization of the Automotive Components business in Germany.
The projects to achieve the climate targets are of particular strategic importance for the future of the voestalpine Group. The relevant lever for reducing direct CO2-emissions (Scope 1) lies in steel production based on blast furnace technology, which generates slightly less than half of the Group’s revenue. With greentec steel, voestalpine has developed a clearly defined step-by-step plan towards net zero CO2-emissions. The first stage of the transformation, with a total investment volume of EUR 1.5 billion, is on schedule and on budget.
With the publication of a Green Financing Framework and the relaunch of an issuing program, the conditions have been created for the issue of a green bond. This would be the first green corporate bond in the European steel sector. voestalpine AG is examining the issue of a new corporate bond in the Northern fall of this year, whereby the Management Board’s decision on the effective implementation of a transaction will depend on the prevailing market situation at that time.