German steel maker Salzgitter posted record high January-June profits on the back of strong steel prices, despite a slight decline in production over the period.
The company's crude steel production fell 1.1% year-on-year to 3.34 million tons in January-June, but the company's first-half external sales revenue rose 50% to 6.6 billion euros amid record steel prices. EBITDA rose to 1.1 billion euros and profit after taxes increased 3.4 times to 781 million euros.
“We report by far the best half-year operating results in Salzgitter's history. The company's Supervisory Board has approved funding of over 700 million euros for the first phase of the development of the SALCOS [Salzgitter low CO2] programme, marking the largest investment since the company's listing in 1998,” Salzgitter CEO Gunnar Gröbler said in a statement.
The company expects to deliver the first volumes of products manufactured via this route to customers by the end of 2025. The full conversion of the steel mill in Salzgitter to mild steel production should be completed by 2033.
Once this happens, Salzgitter will reduce its carbon emissions by 95%, or by about 8 million tons per year, which is about 1% of Germany's carbon emissions, the company said.
