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Thyssen profit doubles
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May 24, 2000: 5:22 a.m. ET
German steel firm boosts first-half earnings, but its stock plummets
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LONDON (CNNfn) - German steel and engineering firm ThyssenKrupp unveiled a significant increase in first-half earnings Wednesday, but failed to impress investors who sent its shares tumbling 10 percent.
Net income in the six months through March jumped 57 percent to  170.7 million, or 0.33 per share from 0.21. Pretax profit virtually doubled to 366.5 million. Revenue rose 10 percent to 17.4 billion. 
The numbers were below the bottom end of the range of analysts polled by Reuters, however, pushing ThyssenKrupp (FTKA) shares down to 20.65. The consensus estimate was for pretax earnings of 484 million.
The company admitted it had benefited from a positive economic backdrop during the period, with the German and other continental European economies beginning to pick up, and the battered euro helping exports overseas.
Strong demand meant steel production was ramped up to full capacity, a 15 percent increase on the corresponding period last year. That fed through into profits at the unit, which jumped to 182.8 million from 86.4 million last year. The firm admitted that stainless steel profits rose less than anticipated because it could not fully pass on rises in alloy prices to its customers.
Earnings rose 26 percent to 155 million in the automotive business, although carmakers worldwide kept a lid on the profit increase by pressurizing Thyssen to keep prices down.
The company confirmed its plans for a partial stock market listing of its steel unit were on track for September/October. Up to one third of the unit's equity will be listed on the Frankfurt exchange. 
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ThyssenKrupp
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