By Christopher Alessi
FRANKFURT--Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG said on Friday it turned a
profit in the first quarter of 2015, boosted by a cost-cutting
program and a weaker euro.
The German industrial conglomerate said net profit for the
period ended Dec. 31 was EUR50 million, compared with a loss of
EUR65 million during the same period last year. Net profit for
continuing operations was EUR54 million, missing analyst
expectations. Analysts had forecast a net profit from continuing
operations of EUR63 million, according to a recent poll by The Wall
Street Journal.
The company reported an 11% increase in sales to EUR10.04
billion, compared with EUR9.09 billion last year, driven by strong
growth in the capital goods businesses. Orders fell by 5% to
EUR10.09 billion from EUR10.66 billion year-over-year, mainly
attributable to a large order in the naval ships business that
inflated sales in the first quarter of last year, the company
said.
ThyssenKrupp's closely watched adjusted earnings before interest
and taxes jumped by 29% to EUR317 million, helped by improved
earnings in the European steel business and in line with analyst
predictions. Analysts had forecast adjusted EBIT of EUR318 million,
according to the poll by The Journal.
The group reiterated its outlook for the current fiscal year,
forecasting adjusted EBIT to rise to EUR1.5 billion and sales to
grow by a single digit percentage rate.
Write to Christopher Alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for ThyssenKrupp AG
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=DE0007500001