Austria’s Voestalpine expects key steel market trends to largely continue against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its impact on energy prices, and still volatile economic and regulatory conditions between Europe and North America.
The geopolitical tensions that significantly impacted the 2025-2026 fiscal year continued to affect economic development in the first quarter of 2026-2027, Voestalpine said in its April-June performance report released on Aug. 5
It said that so far it has successfully navigated these geopolitical uncertainties thanks to its focus on broad diversification, and expects solid financial performance for the April 1, 2026- March 31, 2027 business year, with EBITDA in the range of €1.60 billion to €1.85 billion.
In Europe, new regulatory measures are providing momentum to the steel market, with positive effects already evident, it said.
In the April-June quarter, Voestalpine’s Railway Systems segment received its largest single order to date, worth €470 million, for the new high-speed Rail Baltica rail line.
Positive performance also continued in the aerospace segment and the warehouse technology segments, while demand from the construction, mechanical engineering, and consumer goods industries remained subdued. It noted that demand from the energy sector was particularly affected by global uncertainties. The company said its automotive components business also faced a challenging market environment.
Voestalpine continued to reorganize certain low-margin business segments in the quarter, including the automotive components unit in Germany. And the sale of BÖHLER Profil, an Austrian manufacturer of near-net-shape special steel profiles, completed the High Performance Metals Division’s streamlining.
“In an environment significantly shaped by external factors, we remain focused on reorganizing low-margin business segments while simultaneously accelerating international growth projects,” CEO Herbert Eibensteiner said in the results.
Growth projects
The April-June quarter saw Voestalpine double production capacity at its Jeffersonville site in the US state of Indiana by inaugurating a new line for manufacturing longitudinal beams. The project is complete and will strengthen the company’s market position in the North American commercial vehicle sector.
Voestalpine continues growing in Canada, where it has recently signed a long-term supply agreement with the Canadian National Railway Company for locally produced track solutions and is building a new production facility for turnouts and rail components in Thorold, Ontario.
With regards to its phased decarbonization program in Austria, which will replace carbon-heavy blast furnaces with green electricity-powered electric arc furnaces, Voestalpine will commission EAFs in Linz and Donawitz in the first half of 2027, with both projects being on schedule and on budget.
In June, Voestalpine presented further plans at Donawitz, where the future EAF could be expanded by 2030, allowing the site to fully transition to electrified steel production. The company has already approved an investment of €100 million, including for the upgrade of the power supply infrastructure, the construction of a third secondary metallurgy line, and an expansion of scrap logistics.
Author: Katya Bouckley
