Thyssenkrupp posts improved year as turnaround picks up pace

German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp reported a significant improvement in its annual results Thursday, as the group undergoes a large-scale restructuring plan including the potential flotation of its hydrogen subsidiary.

“The coronavirus pandemic set us back but did not stop us. We have built up significant momentum in the last two fiscal years,” group CEO Martina Merz said at a press conference.

Between October 2020 and September this year, the group recorded an adjusted operating profit (EBIT) of 796 million euros ($902 million), after a one billion euro loss in the previous, pandemic-blighted fiscal year.

The result translated into a greatly reduced net loss of 109 million euros, compared with 5.5 billion euros last year, not taking into account the 17.2 billion euro sale of Thyssenkrupp’s elevator business at the beginning of 2020.

The group aims to double its operating profit, a measure closely watched by investors, in the current fiscal year to between 1.5 and 1.8 billion euros and book a net profit of one billion euros, despite uncertainties around the “further evolution of supply bottlenecks”.

Thyssenkrupp also announced the possible stock market entry of its hydrogen business Uhde Chlorine Engineers, in which it would seek to “retain a majority interest”.

As a whole, the Essen-based group, which produces everything from steel sheets to submarines, was lifted by the pick-up in its industrial activities as economies recovered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Its flagship steel division saw a 27-percent increase in sales year-on-year and registered a 116 million euro adjusted operating profit after a loss of 820 million in the previous year.

After years of struggles, Thyssenkrupp launched a massive restructuring plan in 2020, including the sale of multiple divisions and 11,000 job cuts.

Thyssenkrupp shares were up 5.2 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in morning trading.

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