BERLIN, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Pre-tax profits of Thyssenkrupp plummeted by 85 percent compared to last year, falling to 124 million euros (138.9 million U.S. dollars) between April and June of the fiscal year 2019 (Q3), the German industrial giant announced on Thursday.
Growth had been held back by an "increasingly weaker global economic momentum, a marked downturn in the automotive sector and continued high import pressure for steel" as well as a "massive increase in raw materials prices, especially for iron ore", according to Thyssenkrupp.
Thyssenkrupp noted that its turnover had increased year-on-year by 1 percent to 31.2 billion euros (34.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of fiscal year 2019.
Order intake stood at 30.7 billion euros, which was 2 percent more than last year, Thyssenkrupp said.
"In view of the increasing economic headwind, we took timely action and are pressing ahead with the reorganization of Thyssenkrupp," said Thyssenkrupp CEO Guido Kerkhoff.
Thyssenkrupp announced that it had "identified businesses which, despite intensive efforts, are currently not competitive".
These segments comprised springs and stabilizers for the automotive industry, the construction of production lines in the automotive industry as well as the company's business with solid steel plates for construction, shipbuilding or pipelines.
"We will not allow a situation to continue where businesses with no clear prospects permanently burn money and destroy value that other areas have created," Kerkhoff said.
In addition, Thyssenkrupp is planning a partial initial public offering (IPO) of its elevator business, currently one of the most profitable business segments.
Preparations for the IPO of Thyssenkrupp's elevator segment were "on schedule", according to the industrial company, which it is planning to carry out during the 2019/2020 fiscal year.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) of Thyssenkrupp were expected to be around 0.8 billion euros instead of the previously assumed 1.1 to 1.2 billion euros in fiscal year 2019.
