"Sentiment has improved considerably," Heinz Joerg Fuhrmann, who will step down at the end of June after 10 years at the helm, told journalists late on Tuesday. "Demand has stabilised significantly."
Salzgitter, which competes with larger peer Thyssenkrupp in Germany, recently raised its outlook for 2021 and expects pre-tax profit of 150 million to 200 million euros ($182-$243 million).
Along with other planned shutdowns, Nippon Steel's domestic production capacity will fall by about 20% when the Kashima furnace is shut, the Nikkei said.
The world's third-largest steelmaker said in February last year that it would permanently shut nearly 10% of its production capacity because of falling demand at home and competition from China.
The world's fifth-biggest steelmaker released its full-year 2020 numbers in a filing, without giving a breakdown of its October-December figures.
The steelmaker's fourth-quarter consolidated profit was 863 billion won ($969.66 trillion) versus an average estimate for an 850 billion won profit from 15 analysts
Jiangsu Shagang Group, the listed arm of Shagang Group, said in an announcement via an interactive platform run by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Besides being involved in the company's reorganisation, our controlling shareholder Shagang Group currently has no plans to sell (its) entire stake in Global Switch.