Austria’s Voestalpine is drawing support from two corners at once. The country’s three-party coalition government — ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS — reached a weekend deal on a double budget for 2027/28 that includes concrete relief for industry. That comes just as the steelmaker closed its books on a financial year that saw net debt shrink to levels not seen in twenty years.
The government package cuts employer social security contributions by one percentage point, a measure worth roughly €2 billion in total for the private sector. For one of Austria’s largest employers, the savings are material. Vienna also extended the industrial electricity bonus and the strategic gas reserve, both of which help energy-intensive companies stay competitive globally. The overall plan aims to trim the budget deficit to 3% by 2028 and close the EU’s excessive deficit procedure. Finance Minister Marterbauer is due to deliver his budget speech on Wednesday, which should clarify how the industrial relief will be rolled out.
Voestalpine’s own efforts have been equally striking. For the year ended March 31, 2026, revenue slipped 4.3% to €15.1 billion, but operating earnings jumped sharply. EBIT soared 59% to €723.5 million, while net profit more than doubled, rising 137.6%. The improvement was driven by a cleaner balance sheet: net financial debt dropped to €1.26 billion, bringing the gearing ratio — net debt to equity — down to 16.2%, the lowest level since 2005/06. Equity stood at €7.8 billion, supported by a free cash flow of €537 million. The stock has more than doubled over twelve months and is up roughly 21% year-to-date, recently trading around €46.70 to €47.20 on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Voestalpine?
That financial discipline provides breathing room, but the operating environment remains tough. Since June 2025, the US has imposed 50% tariffs on steel imports, which cost Voestalpine a high double-digit million-euro sum in the past year. CEO Herbert Eibensteiner also warned that the so-called “Iran war” is weighing on the global economy and could further darken the outlook. Strong demand from the rail infrastructure and aviation segments partly offset the damage, while the automotive division — especially the Metal Forming unit — continues to feel the pinch from weak European demand.
Longer term, the decarbonisation challenge looms large. Voestalpine’s “greentec steel” project, which involves building electric arc furnaces in Linz and Donawitz, carries a price tag of €1.5 billion. Around 60% of that has already been invested or contractually committed, and production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2027. The urgency is clear: from 2034, the EU will phase out free CO₂ certificates entirely. At a carbon price of €80 per tonne, the cost of producing steel via the traditional blast furnace route would rise by roughly €144 per tonne — a structural burden for the entire industry.
Portfolio pruning continues. The workforce shrank 1.8% to around 48,800 full-time equivalents as the company sheds low-margin units and looks for growth outside Europe. For the current year 2026/27, management forecasts EBITDA of between €1.60 billion and €1.85 billion, a wide range that reflects the geopolitical uncertainties. Markets will be watching closely how raw material prices and energy costs react to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.
Ad
Voestalpine Stock: Buy or Sell?! New Voestalpine Analysis from June 8 delivers the answer:
The latest Voestalpine figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for Voestalpine investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from June 8.
Voestalpine: Buy or sell? Read more here...
