Following extremely robust sales in the first half of 2022, there was a significant drop in demand from key customers in the stainless steel industry during the summer. This was mainly due to price increases in the energy markets and high inflation, which reduced demand for products from stainless steel mills. The resulting lower demand for scrap from the stainless steel mills only recovered in the fourth quarter, with the result that sales volumes in the stainless steel and special alloys business were only slightly below the record level of 2021 and at the same level as in 2020.
The Cronimet Group closed the 2022 financial year with an operating result of more than 77 million euros. “With such a success, we have clearly exceeded all the requirements set by lending institutions and secured our corporate financing, even in these challenging times and for the years to come,” said Bernhard Kunsmann, CFO of the Cronimet Group.
“The market environment remains difficult as a result of the terrible war in Europe and inflation in key markets,” says Jürgen Pilarsky, CEO and majority shareholder of Cronimet Holding GmbH. “The primary reasons for the positive annual result were the flexibility of our employees, who adapted their work accordingly and immediately to the new prevailing situation, and our unchanged spirit of cooperation rooted in partnership with our customers and suppliers.”
