The first half of the business year 2018/19 had started on a solid economic footing for the voestalpine Group, but the business year’s third quarter was already affected by a dampening of economic sentiment overall. For example, by rising prices for raw materials and energy; the first palpable negative effects from the global trade conflicts; and not least the growing escalation of the conflict surrounding Great Britain’s exit from the EU.

With three exciting races outside Europe, the 2018/19 season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship has already started. The official countdown to the “voestalpine European Races” has now begun, with a pit stop at the voestalpine Stahlwelt in Linz. During the warm-up at the Group’s headquarters, Formula E driver Maximilian Günther, currently one of the greatest talents in motorsport with Austrian roots, and voestalpine CEO Wolfgang Eder together revealed voestalpine’s brand new FIA Formula E Gen2 car. voestalpine supplies all premium automotive manufacturers with high-quality electrical steel and components for e-motors as well as ultralight body parts from its site in Linz.

The preliminary earnings figures for the first nine months of the business year 2018/19 with an EBITDA of around EUR 1.1 billion and an EBIT of around EUR 525 million are below market expectations.