EANS-News: SALZGITTER AG - First Quarter of 2012; Uptrend follows on from a difficult start

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quarterly report

Salzgitter (euro adhoc) - In the first quarter of 2012, the
Salzgitter Group reported notably expanded its business activities in
virtually all of its operations. The first successful impact of
implementing the profit improvement and restructuring program in the
KHS Group was reflected in the profit generated by the Technology
Division in the first quarter. The measures introduced at Peiner
Träger GmbH also led to a substantial improvement in the results.
This was nonetheless unable to compensate the effects of a sharp
downturn in the average selling prices of many steel products at the
end of 2011, as well as the temporary gap in capacity utilization in
the large-diameter tubes segment. As a result, the Group closed the
first quarter of 2012 with a slightly negative pre-tax result.

Consolidated external sales rose by more than EUR 300 million to EUR
2,614.8 million (first quarter of 2011: EUR 2,307.6 million), which
was primarily attributable to the significant increase in the
business volume of the Trading Division. Earnings before tax came to
EUR -19.6 million in the first quarter of 2012 (first quarter of
2011: EUR 56.3 million). The result includes EUR 28.0 million (first
quarter of 2011: EUR 29.0 million) in after-tax profit from Aurubis
AG (NAAG), a shareholding included at equity. Based on this figure,
the result after tax amounts to EUR -15.5 million (first quarter of
2011: EUR 44.0 million). As before, an equity ratio of 43 % and a net
financial position of EUR 642 million constitute an extremely sound
basis for the entrepreneurial activities of Salzgitter AG.

External sales by Division (EUR million):

Q1 2012 (Q1 2011)
Steel 724.8 (698.4)
Trading 1,103.9 (782.3)
Tubes 389.0 (445.2)
Services 108.4 (119.5)
Technology 280.1 (242.9)
Other 8.6 (19.2)
Group 2,614.8 (2,307.6)

Earnings before tax (EBT) by Division (EUR million):

Q1 2012 (Q1 2011)
Steel -51.6 (9.4)
Trading 11.5 (23.3)
Tubes -9.6 (14.7)
Services 6.2 (5.0)
Technology 2.5 (-8.3)
Other/Consolidation 21.4 (12.2)
Group -19.6 (56.3)

The widely feared escalation in Europe's debt crisis has not
materialized so far. This nonetheless poses a huge risk on a global
scale. Assuming, however, that no major economic slumps will occur in
the period covered by guidance, we still anticipate that the
Salzgitter Group's sales will remain stable at minimum, and that a
positive earnings before tax can be delivered in 2012. Given the
difficult first quarter, it will be a challenge to achieve the
year-earlier result.

As in recent years, we make reference to the fact that opportunities
and risks from currently unforeseeable trends in selling prices,
input materials and capacity level developments, as well as changes
in the currency parity, may considerably affect performance in the
course of the financial year 2012. The resulting fluctuation in the
consolidated pre-tax result may be within a considerable range,
either to the positive or to the negative. The dimensions of this
range become clear if one considers that, with around 9 million tons
of steel products to be sold by the Steel, Trading and Tubes
divisions over the remainder of the year, an average EUR 20
contraction in the margin per ton is sufficient to cause a variation
in the annual result of more than EUR 180 million. Moreover, the
accuracy of the company's planning is restricted by the volatilities
and shorter contractual durations, both on the procurement and on the
sales side.

Disclaimer: Some of the statements made in this report possess the
character of forecasts or may be interpreted as such. They are made
to the best of knowledge and belief, and by their nature are subject
to the proviso that no unforeseeable deterioration occurs in the
economy or in the specific market conditions pertaining to the
companies of the various divisions, but rather that the underlying
bases of plans and outlooks prove to be accurate as expected in terms
of their scope and timing. The company undertakes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.

Further inquiry note:
Markus Heidler
Deputy Head of Investor Relations
+49 (0) 5341/21-6105
heidler.m@salzgitter-ag.de

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Salzgitter AG
Eisenhüttenstraße 99
D-38239 Salzgitter
phone: +49 (0) 5341-21-3783
mail: info@salzgitter-ag.de
WWW: http://www.salzgitter-ag.de
sector: Iron & Steel
ISIN: DE0006202005
indexes: Midcap Market Index, MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
stockmarkets: free trade: Hannover, Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf,
Stuttgart, regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt
language: English