Voestalpine Cuts Earnings Forecast Despite First-Half Profit Rising to €846 Million
Key Facts
Voestalpine cut its forecast for fiscal 2026/27 and now expects earnings before interest and taxes of €830 million to €930 million, after energy and logistics costs, delayed energy projects and additional U.S. tariffs clouded the second-half outlook. The forecast revision came on November 11, alongside the company’s announcement that first-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to €846 million from €722 million a year earlier. The company said the pressures it faces limit its ability to maintain momentum for the rest of the fiscal year. The forecast includes net positive exceptional effects of about €100 million recorded in the first quarter. These items put part of the reported improvement in the context of the period’s results, while attention turns to the impact of operating factors in the second half.
The company attributed weaker second-half earnings prospects to the ongoing war in the Middle East, higher energy and logistics costs, and delays to projects in the energy sector. It added that logistics challenges and temporary additional U.S. tariffs are weighing on potential results. Chief Executive Herbert Eibensteiner said the tariffs make continued deliveries from the Kindberg site uneconomic, adding: "With these tariffs, we will find no economic basis for continuing supplies from there." Seamless steel pipes produced at the site face U.S. tariffs of 50%, with a further 57% added, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF on November 10. ORF said the tariffs had contributed to a collapse in sales, linking U.S. trade pressure to reduced activity at the site.
The company announced job cuts at Kindberg amid pressure from U.S. tariffs on deliveries of products from the site; 170 jobs had been eliminated there in the previous year, according to ORF. Across the group, the workforce fell to 48,616 full-time equivalents on September 30, 2026, down 2%. This reflects a workforce reduction underway alongside varying demand conditions across the company’s businesses. Trends remained positive in rail systems, aviation and storage technology, according to the company. By contrast, the automotive components business faced difficult conditions in Europe, China and North America, while demand from construction, mechanical engineering and consumer goods sectors remained weak overall.
First-half revenue came to €7.7 billion, compared with €7.6 billion in the same period a year earlier, a level the company described as close to last year’s. Earnings before interest and taxes rose to €470 million from €345 million, an increase of 36%. Profit after tax also reached €290 million, up 46% year on year. The figures show an improvement in first-half results alongside broadly stable revenue, while the lower forecast signals that the company expects pressures to persist in the second half. EU regulatory measures were supporting European steel prices, according to a report carried by Reuters via Onvista, despite near-term pressure from costs and tariffs.
The company expects the electric furnaces in its "greentec steel" project to begin operating in the first half of 2027, and said the transition remains on schedule and within budget. The upcoming start date provides a timeline for the industrial project’s progress alongside current trade and operating pressures. In the near term, the annual outlook depends on movements in energy and logistics costs, delays to energy projects, and the effect of temporary U.S. tariffs on deliveries. Business performance also remains uneven, with positive trends in some activities and weak demand in others. Available information did not provide a documented reading of the company’s share-price movement after the announcement.