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Salzgitter Sets Summer HKM Takeover, Fast-Tracks Green Steel and Defense Push

The company links a planned summer purchase of HKM to a three-year green conversion to speed a return to profit.

Overview

  • CEO Gunnar Groebler targets signing the HKM deal by late May with closing around June 1, pending a turnaround report and competition clearance.
  • HKM is slated for a three-year overhaul replacing two blast furnaces with green-steel facilities, with the workforce to shrink from about 3,000 to roughly 1,000 and initial steps starting this year.
  • Salzgitter cut its 2025 net loss to €69.8 million from €347.9 million and guides to an adjusted pre-tax profit of €75–175 million in 2026, with the outlook excluding the HKM consolidation.
  • The efficiency program is expanded to €575 million by 2028 after €250 million was achieved through 2025, with another triple-digit million contribution targeted in 2026.
  • Management is building a higher-margin security-steel niche with Bundeswehr clearances and the Thyrolf & Uhle acquisition, and says HKM will add inputs that replace supplies formerly sourced from Russia.