Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine has downgraded its outlook for business year 2019/20 - April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 - because of the negative effects it expects the coronavirus to have both operationally and in terms of non-recurring effects, the company said on Tuesday April 7.
The outbreak of Covid-19 has already hit the heart of the European economy, with widespread closures of car-manufacturing sites across Europe, as well as shutdowns and capacity cuts across various sectors, axing demand in Voestalpine's key customer segments.Covid-19 has also resulted in a higher discount rate - or weighted average cost of capital (WACC) - so Voestalpine will have to make write-offs to the...