SALZGITTER/WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Outlook clouded: After a weak financial year 2023, the hoped-for recovery for steel manufacturer Salzgitter has failed to materialize for the time being. "The expected recovery of the German economy has failed to materialize, and a challenging year lies ahead of us in 2024," said Group CEO Gunnar Groebler at the Annual General Meeting in Wolfsburg on Wednesday. He described the result for 2023 with an after-tax profit of around 204 million euros after 1.1 billion euros in the previous year as "just satisfactory".

Looking to the future, however, this is not enough for a successful transformation of the company, said Groebler. Thyssenkrupp's competitor Salzgitter wants to "take a very close look" at investments, material costs and personnel and possibly "sharpen up", according to the statement. Shareholders will have to live with a reduced dividend: After EUR1.00 in the previous year, EUR0.45 per share is now to flow.

The conditions for steel are currently anything but good, said CEO Groebler. This became apparent at the beginning of May when the steel manufacturer lowered its forecast for the current year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of just 550 million to 625 million euros are expected for 2024. Pre-tax earnings are likely to be between 100 and 175 million euros. This is significantly less than originally forecast.

However, the company's management believes that the Salzgitter site is well on the way to transforming itself into a more climate-friendly steel production facility, which should be completed by 2033. By producing green steel, the Group aims to reduce its own CO2 emissions by up to 95 percent. On Wednesday, Birgit Potrafki (Finance) and Birgit Dietze (Human Resources) introduced themselves as two new members of the Management Board of the company, in which the state of Lower Saxony holds a 26.5 percent stake./bch/DP/stw