ThyssenKrupp, Germany’s biggest steelmaker, says profit slumped 38 per cent in the fiscal first quarter as the global economic slowdown eroded demand. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell to €229 million in the three months through December, from €372 million a year earlier, the company said yesterday.

Dwindling demand for steel from the motor and construction industries in Europe and competition from China have pushed down prices and squeezed producers’ profit margins as they grapple with surplus capacity.

ArcelorMittal, the biggest steelmaker, last week posted the lowest quarterly profit in three years.

ThyssenKrupp “cannot be satisfied with the group’s current earning power”, chief executive Heinrich Hiesinger said in the statement. – (Bloomberg)