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The crown crisis poses great challenges for the industrial group.
(Photo: imago images / blickwinkel)
Dusseldorf It is an impressive number, at least at first glance. Thyssen-Krupp should generate more than € 17 billion if the sale of the profitable elevator division to a consortium of financial investors is completed in a few weeks.
CEO Martina Merz really wanted to use the money to renew the battered Ruhr group. But now the crown crisis is thwarting the bill.
“In the medium term, the corona-related liquidity outflows are likely to result in the financial margin from the sale of the elevator business being much lower than originally assumed,” a letter from the Executive Board said to employees last Thursday, which is available for Handelsblatt. . “We are preparing solutions for this.”
The corona crisis affects Thyssen-Krupp more severely than many other industrial groups due to its high dependence on the automotive industry. In the steel division alone, Thyssen-Krupp generates more than 90 percent of its profits from customers in the automotive industry. The situation in the supply division and in the materials merchandising business, which had undergone a structural change in the auto industry before Corona, is equally tense.
There are also large burdens of pension obligations and debts, which totaled around € 15 billion last year. At the same time, Thyssen-Krupp has been losing money for years and has to spend billions to restructure its losing business.
Even without the current crisis, Merz’s board of directors had calculated a billion-dollar outflow of more than a billion euros by 2020 when presenting the balance last year. In view of the impending recession, this should turn out to be significantly higher, which can put the Ruhr group in trouble in the short term.
A few days ago it became known that Thyssen-Krupp had obtained an emergency loan of more than one billion euros from the KfW credit institution in order to close a liquidity bottleneck until the elevator money was received.
The strategy will be presented in May
The letter from the employee now says the group continues to hope they can close the deal on time. “However, if the completion of the elevator transaction is delayed while economic conditions deteriorate at the same time, Thyssen-Krupp may need additional money to close any liquidity gaps,” said the Board of Directors.
Before the end of the month, Merz plans to present a roadmap on how to proceed with Thyssen-Krupp after the sale of the most profitable division. Until now, the administration had announced the reduction of 6,000 jobs, but the size was subject to further economic development.
Management continues to adhere to the date communicated thus far, but at the same time announces that adjustments may occur as the crown crisis progresses. “For concrete implementation, we will continue to continually analyze and assess the effects of the crown crisis and update our plans accordingly.”
The company declined to comment on the letter.
Plus: Thyssen-Krupp obtains a KfW loan of one billion euros.
