Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine cut its full-year 2008/09 forecast on Monday due to a "massive decline" in demand in the current fourth quarter and said it could not give an outlook for the following year. Voestalpine, which is due to release third-quarter results to December on February 25, said it now expected earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the business year to March to fall by 10 percent.
"The weak earnings in the final quarter are primarily the result of a massive decline in demand in all areas, with the exception of the railroad infrastructure and energy sectors," Voestalpine said in a statement. Lower price levels in almost all product groups and high raw materials costs had also hit results, along with one-off costs from a job plan to reduce working hours due to falling demand, Voestalpine said.
It had previously forecast earnings to be roughly in line with the previous year, when it made 1.15 billion euros ($1.48 billion) EBIT, but analyst estimates on average had already factored in a 5 percent drop, according to Reuters Estimates.