ThyssenKrupp First Quarter Profits Decline

German heavy industry giant, ThyssenKrupp, said that first quarter profits declined during its current business year, but was confident it would turn in a positive performance for the rest of the year. The loss was weighed down by falling earnings in its stainless steel and automotive divisions.
The group runs its business year from October to September, said that bottom-line profits had declined by 23.0 percent to 255.0 million euros ($303 million) in the three months to December. Pre-tax profit was down 20 percent at 425 million euros and operating profit declined by 10 percent to 898 million euros.
ThyssenKrupp’s sales were up by 8.5 percent at 10.942 billion euros in the October-December period and new orders rose by 6.4 percent to 11.555 billion euros.
The steel division comprises only carbon steel flat products and was able to increase profits, despite sharply higher raw materials and freight costs. The technologies division nearly doubled profits as a result of increased sales and the absence of loss-making units.