Hit by coronavirus, Thyssenkrupp sees early signs of stabilization
A ThyssenKrupp worker by an automobile body frame at a plant in Duisburg, Germany, on December 12, 2014.
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ailing conglomerate Thyssenkrupp on Thursday said some businesses were stabilizing in the current quarter after suffering a heavy blow due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The group said its fiscal third-quarter adjusted operating loss from continuing operations, which strips out the elevator business it recently sold, came in at 679 million euros ($800 million), less than the up to 1 billion it had flagged in May.
“We have worked hard to keep our costs under control and secure liquidity,” Chief Executive Martina Merz said. “As a result we came through the crisis slightly better than initially feared in the third quarter overall.”
The company, which sold its elevator unit to a private equity consortium for 17.2 billion euros, said most businesses were stabilizing or even improving quarter-on-quarter, with the exception of its struggling steel division.
Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, the continent’s second-largest player after ArcelorMittal, is expected to rack up a 1 billion euro adjusted operating loss in the fiscal year to September, the company said.
