Oct 24 2009
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Austria Metals Report Q4 2009" report to their offering.
Austria Metals Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, metals associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Austria's metals industry.
The Austrian steel industry is witnessing a slow recovery from the economic downturn, but the sector is plagued by other uncertainties as a result of continued volatility on European markets, according to Q409 Austria Metals Report.
In H109, Austrian crude steel output was down 37.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 2.46mn tonnes. However, the industry is slowly recovering from a February low of 349,000 tonnes, reaching 525,000 tonnes in June (down 17.2% y-o-y), amid signs that demand and prices are stabilising. As such, there is an air of growing optimism surrounding the Austrian steel industry. Between 60-80% of Austrian aluminium and steel production is exported, with the hard-hit automotive industry comprising around 25% of sales. Consequently, producers are highly exposed to the economic downturn. While the Austrian economy had held up well against the onslaught of the global credit crunch, we caution that as a result of the real economic costs from the contraction in credit availability and forced deleveraging process, the domestic economy will not be able to deflect a recession in 2009.
Despite reporting a Q1 FY2009/10 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) loss of EUR24mn (down from a profit of EUR358mn in Q1 FY2008/09), Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine has stuck to its full-year outlook that it will make a profit at an operating level and will break even on its net profit line. However, Citigroup has been slightly less sanguine, predicting positive EBIT figures for the financial year to March 2010, but a net loss of around EUR9mn. This is based on the assumption of a modest improvement in markets in the US and Europe, particularly for automotive components and infrastructure spending. The German automotive industry, a key market for Austrian steel, experienced strong but artificially inflated domestic demand and may see a significant fall next year. The slump in German demand will mean that carmakers could produce 5% fewer vehicles y-o-y, a decrease in numbers to 4.9mn units, in 2010, according to forecasts. Also, Voestalpine's long-term price contracts will mean it will suffer for a longer period of time than its rivals and any stabilisation will have a time-lag because of plant shutdowns. However, its raw material negotiating power should provide a buffer in a downturn.
Source: www.researchandmarkets.com/