Factbox: Thyssenkrupp puts units up for review due to cash drain

Sogefi SpA

12/08/2019 14:00

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Struggling German conglomerate
Thyssenkrupp  TKAG.DE , whose shares hit a fresh 16-year low on
Monday, put three underperforming businesses under review last
week, hoping this will ease pressure on the group's cash flow.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2540XG
    The new plans come in addition to a planned sale or listing
of its elevators division, by far its most profitable business.
    The three units put up for review -- Springs and
Stabilizers, System Engineering and Heavy Plate -- account for
4%, or 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion), of group sales but a
quarter of cash outflow this year, more than 250 million.
    Their combined 9,300 staff make up 5.7% of Thyssenkrupp's
total workforce. The company is now drawing up restructuring
plans. If that should fail the businesses could be sold or shut
down.
    Here are some basic facts on the units:
    
    SPRINGS & STABILIZERS
    - part of Thyssenkrupp's Components Technology business
division 
    - described as "the biggest drag" on profits and cashflow by
Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Guido Kerkhoff
    - makes chassis components for the car industry, a heavily
commoditised market
    - employs about 3,600 staff
    - adjusted loss before interest and tax of 127 million euros
in the 2017/18 fiscal year
    - negative cash flow of 109 million euros in 2017/18
    - has production sites in Mexico, Brazil, China, Hungary and
Germany
    - peers include Italy's Sogefi Group  SGFI.MI , Germany's
Mubea and U.S.-based Federal-Mogul
    
    SYSTEM ENGINEERING
    - part of Thyssenkrupp's Industrial Solution business
division
    - subject to "inefficient cost basis" and "increasing
customer reluctance", CEO Kerkhoff says
    - makes assembly lines for the car, aerospace and battery
industries
    - employs about 4,900 staff in Europe, Asia and the Americas
    - made adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of
15 million euros in 2017/18 on sales of 1.1 billion (adj EBIT
margin of 1.4%)
    - cash flow of 16 million euros in 2017/18
    - competitors include Siemens  SIEGn.DE  and Kuka  KU2G.DE 
    
    HEAVY PLATE
    - part of Thyssenkrupp's Steel Europe business division 
    - makes solid steel plates for the construction,
shipbuilding and pipeline industries
    - hit by "import pressures" from cheaper rivals,
Thyssenkrupp says
    - employs about 800 staff in Duisburg, Germany
    - made an adjusted loss before interest and tax of 28
million euros in 2017/18
    - negative cash flow of 47 million euros in 2017/18
    - competitors include Salzgitter  SZGG.DE  and Dillinger
Huette in Germany and Austria's Voestalpine  VOES.VI 

($1 = 0.8949 euros)

 (Reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt and Tom Kaeckenhoff
in Duesseldorf
Editing by Keith Weir)
 ((christoph.steitz@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1269;
Reuters Messaging:
christoph.steitz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))