Voestalpine is planning to establish a production site for tubes and sections in Inda, its executives have said during a virtual press conference for its third quarter results.
They highlighted India as one of three focus fields of activity, along with its Railway Systems and Warehouse and Rack Solutions businesses. The Austrian group so far operates five plants in India, with 1,000 employees and a revenue of around €190 million ($225m). It has no timetable for the new plant yet, nor did it give a planned location.
“We are looking for a building of 15-16,000 metres squared,” ceo Herbert Eibensteiner said at the conference. “We will start with three machines, and then gradually build up over five years, as we did in the USA or Brazil,” he told Kallanish. He noted that the plant will produce special tubes and section, but no commodity grades.
Eibensteiner also announced the potential for additional acquisitions in the Railway Systems and Warehouse and Rack Solutions segments. He did not name targets but said that “we have a long list and a short list,” suggesting that acquisition could happen shortly.
In Q3 its revenue fell by 5.1% year-on-year to €11.1 billion, due to the extensive reorganisation measures. Most impacted by this is the group’s plant in Kindberg, Austria, partly due to lower business opportunities since the USA introduced its safeguard measures.
According to cfo Gerald Mayer, voestalpine loses a two-digit million amount from the US measures, partly due to duties, but also due to lost business. Eibensteiner added that this also impacts its operations in Brazil, where measures are under way.
The profit from operations (EBIT) rose by 20.9% year-on-year to €473m, while after-tax profit increased by 25.1% to €259m. For the full year, the group confirmed that it continues to expect Ebitda in the range of €1.4-1.55 billion for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
