Steel group challenged

Voestalpine defies the stuttering economic engine

The Voestalpine headquarters in Linz.

(Bild: Voestalpine)

Not a day goes by without drastic personnel cuts being announced somewhere - but the current economic situation seems to be almost bouncing off Voestalpine. Despite declining sales and lower profits, the Group, which operates out of Linz (Upper Austria), is proving to be robust.

Voestalpine is moving full speed ahead into the future: In Linz and Leoben-Donawitz, construction work has begun on the new electric arc furnaces, each of which will replace a blast furnace from 2027. In Kapfenberg, only the new stainless steel plant has been in operation since the beginning of the year; the old production was shut down at the end of 2023 as planned.

While the future projects are fully on track, day-to-day business remains challenging: demand from the consumer goods industry is just as weak as that from the construction and mechanical engineering industries. Demand for steel in the toolmaking sector is also declining, Voestalpine reports.

It will be crucial to ensure the competitiveness of the industrial location.

Herbert Eibensteiner, Vorstandschef Voestalpine

"The expected economic downturn was clearly noticeable in the first nine months of the current business year," says Voestalpine CEO Herbert Eibensteiner, "but overall we are in a solid position due to our broad orientation in different market segments and economic regions." The railroad infrastructure, energy and warehouse technology sectors continue to perform well.

Profit after tax at 431 million euros
Nevertheless, the challenges have left their mark on the balance sheet: after three quarters of the 2023/24 financial year, turnover amounts to 12.4 billion euros - a decline of 8.8 percent. Profit after tax amounted to 431 million euros. In the previous year at the same time, this figure was EUR 864 million.