ThyssenKrupp gets off to good start to year

German heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp said Friday it got off to a good start to the year and returned to profit in the first three months.
ThyssenKrupp, which runs its business year from October to September, said in a statement that it swung to net profit of 50 million euros ($57 million) in the three months to December from a loss of 65 million euros a year earlier.
At the same time, ThyssenKrupp, which is active in steel, and also makes elevators, industrial plant technology, submarines and car parts, said its operating, or underlying, profit jumped by 29 percent to 317 million euros on an 11-percent increase in revenues to 10.044 billion euros. New orders dipped by 5.0 percent to 10.094 billion euros in the three-month period.
ThyssenKrupp said it was pleased with its first-quarter performance.
"We are on course. Our earnings performance in the quarter shows that we are on the right track," said chief executive Heinrich Hiesinger.
"The economic environment remains uncertain and the geopolitical risks high. That is why we are continuing to concentrate on the things that we can influence ourselves and working hard to improve our efficiency," Hiesinger said.
Looking ahead, ThyssenKrupp said the full-year outlook "remains unchanged."
Sales were expected to grow by "a single-digit percentage rate" and operating profit would "improve to at least 1.5 billion euros," the statement said.
"The executive board also expects a substantial improvement in net profit," it added.