Bloomberg reported that ThyssenKrupp AG and voestalpine AG slumped after Salzgitter AG scrapped guidance for a break even for its steel unit this year.

As per report, Salzgitter plummeted as much as 7.8% and was trading down 6.3% at 1:45 PM local time in Frankfurt, heading for its lowest close since September 2005. ThyssenKrupp fell 0.8% to EUR 11.925 in Frankfurt, while voestalpine declined 1.3% to EUR 20.4 in Vienna.

Salzgitter said after markets closed that given the deteriorating economic outlook for Germany and the euro area, many steel processors and traders were expecting business to stagnate, adopting a wait and see stance. This in turn has had a notably negative impact on demand for rolled steel.

Salzgitter said that the steel unit accounted for about 30% of Salzgitter's sales in 2011. The company's other four units Tubes, Trading, Services and Technology are developing in line with the results forecast.

Source - Bloomberg

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