Thyssenkrupp Swung to a Loss in 2017 on Brazil Charges

Germany's Thyssenkrupp AG (TKA.XE) on Thursday said it swung to a loss in fiscal 2017, largely due to charges relating to the sale of its Brazilian operations in September.

The steelmaker's net loss for the year ended Sept. 30 was 649 million euros ($767.4 million), compared with a net profit of EUR296 million profit a year earlier.

Thyssenkrupp attributed the loss to a roughly EUR900 million writedown stemming from the sale of its Brazilian steel business, CSA.

However, the company said its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose 30% to EUR1.91 billion, comfortably exceeding a consensus forecast of EUR1.74 billion compiled by Factset.

Net sales for the group rose 9.4% to EUR42.97 billion, buoyed by strengthening steel prices.

The company said its efficiency improvement program--known as Impact--contributed EUR930 million to Ebit, outstripping the yearly target of EUR850 million.

For the 2018 fiscal year, the company now expects an adjusted Ebit of between EUR1.8 billion and EUR2 billion, and net income of more than EUR271 million. The steelmaker also expects to generate positive free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions.

Thyssenkrupp's executive and supervisory boards are proposing a dividend of EUR0.15 a share, unchanged from a year earlier.

Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 23, 2017 01:14 ET (06:14 GMT)