Steel Europe
Order intake and sales
Order intake at Steel Europe in fiscal year 2024 / 2025 was significantly below the prior-year level in both volume and value terms. Overall, the volume of orders in fiscal year 2024 / 2025 was 4% lower than in the prior year. Compared with the previous fiscal year, there was lower demand from the steel distribution sector, from the pipework industry and for tinplate for the packaging industry. Sales were also down significantly compared with the prior year. The main reason for this was the 6% reduction in shipments, especially to automotive and industrial customers. In the case of packaging steel and grain-oriented electrical steel (only continuing business operations, i.e., excluding thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India), sales developed positively during the year and shipments were higher overall than in the prior year.
Crude steel production, including deliveries to Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann, came to 9.3 million tons, which was significantly below the prior-year level. There were temporary production restrictions for crude steel and at some plants in the downstream value chain as a result of conversion measures and technical problems during the year. This meant that finished steel production of 8.3 million tons was also significantly below the prior-year level (9.4 million tons).
Adjusted EBIT
Despite lower sales and shipments and a significant reduction in capacity utilization due to planned shutdowns for conversion work, adjusted EBIT in the reporting year was higher than in the prior year. This positive trend was mainly attributable to decreasing raw material costs, positive one-time effects due to the cancellation of collective agreements and the remeasurement of risks, and lower depreciation and amortization as a result of the impairment losses in the prior and current reporting years. In respect of energy, positive effects relating to prior periods (mainly compensation for electricity prices) were almost entirely offset by the year-on-year increase in energy costs. APEX measures continued to have a supporting effect across the segment’s value chain, for example, in the form of efficiency improvements in production and logistics as well as general cost improvements and procurement successes. One significant lever here is the simultaneous technical and commercial optimization of raw material use.
Special items
In the reporting period, impairment losses of €602 million were recognized, thereof €597 million on property, plant and equipment. The measurement of CO2 forward contracts resulted in an income of €146 million. This included income of €127 million from the termination of cash flow hedges. We also recognized a gain of €328 million from the sale of thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India.
Investments
Work at the site of the direct reduction plant continues to progress. In the 3rd quarter of 2025, formwork and reinforcement operations and major concreting work were completed for the tower of the direct reduction plant and the two smelters. Planning for the auxiliary buildings (e.g., office and transformer buildings) also progressed.
After a construction and installation time of around two years, the new core units of our Strategy 20-30 were successfully completed and commissioned at the Duisburg site in summer 2025. Pivotal interfaces of the production network have been modernized and optimized with the new continuous caster 4, the extensively modernized hot strip mill 4 with two new walking beam furnaces and a slab logistics system that will be fully automated in the future.