Salzgitter Returns to Profit, Keeps Guidance on Cost Cuts and Aurubis

Salzgitter returned to profitability in the first half of 2026, reporting €4.6 billion in revenue and €59 million in operating profit. Net income reached €43 million. Chief Executive Officer Gunnar Groebler said the company had moved “back in black” despite weak European steel demand and geopolitical uncertainty.

The company maintained its 2026 guidance for revenue of about €10 billion and EBITDA of €725 million to €825 million. Pretax profit is expected between €325 million and €425 million.

Chief Financial Officer Birgit Potrafki said earnings before taxes reached €258 million before valuation effects of an exchangeable bond. Including those effects, the figure was €76 million. She said the second half should continue the positive trend, though at a more moderate pace because of normal summer and year-end seasonality, maintenance downtime and roughly €20 million of nonrecurring first-half benefits.

Wider steel margins and €97 million in P28 cost savings drove the improvement. The Aurubis investment added €113 million. The company's cost of materials improved by €122 million year over year, falling to 61% of revenue from 65%, Potrafki said.

The trading division generated a positive result of nearly €40 million after restructuring in 2025. Groebler said roughly 30% of jobs in the trading operation had been cut. Potrafki said the segment benefited from inventory purchased at favorable costs and later sold into a stronger pricing environment. She warned that the second half looked more cautious because of geopolitical risks to international trade.

Groebler said European steel prices had improved since July 2025, with hot-rolled coil ex-Ruhrgebiet reaching €715 per metric ton. He pointed to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which began Jan. 1, and new steel safeguard measures effective July 1 as factors reducing imports and supporting prices. The company said prices for hot-rolled coil ex-works Italy had increased by about €30. Underlying demand still needs to improve, Groebler said. Spending under German special funds for infrastructure and defense is expected to become more visible late in 2026 and particularly in 2027.

Salzgitter acquired 100% of Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann, or HKM, effective July 1. The group plans to reduce HKM's steelmaking capacity from about 5 million metric tons to 2.5 million metric tons by operating one blast furnace rather than two. A blast furnace undergoing relining is expected to return to operation in the third quarter, after which HKM plans to shut the other furnace. The retained furnace will support operations through the transition period.