Latest profit warning challenges Thyssenkrupp spin-off logic
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) shares fell to a two-year low on Friday after the German conglomerate cut its profit forecast for the second time this year, raising doubts over a planned deal to split the steel-to-elevators group in two.
The profit warning late on Thursday is the second under Guido Kerkhoff, installed as the group’s permanent chief executive in July after a tumultuous summer that featured the resignation of the group’s chairman and former CEO following mounting shareholder disquiet.
It is expected to put further pressure on Kerkhoff, who is struggling to get markets excited about a landmark move to split up the group via a spin off of its elevator, car parts and plant engineering units, as no part of the business is without issues.
“I’m still sceptical over whether the split is the right decision,” said Thomas Hechtfischer, managing director of shareholder advisory group DSW, which usually represents 1 percent of Thyssenkrupp’s voting rights at its annual meeting.
