The industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is navigating a perfect storm. As its core steel business reels from a flood of cheap Asian imports, a new financial blow has emerged from its green energy subsidiary. Thyssenkrupp Nucera, the hydrogen unit, has issued a severe profit warning, projecting a far larger loss than previously anticipated for its 2025/26 fiscal year.
Unforeseen costs to optimize already-delivered modules and the cancellation of a major 20-megawatt project in the United States have forced a drastic revision. The company now expects an operating loss between 90 and 125 million euros in its core Green Hydrogen segment, a significant downgrade from an earlier forecast of a loss up to 80 million euros. This setback arrives at an inopportune moment for the parent company, which holds a 51% stake in Nucera. Thyssenkrupp is already grappling with a first-quarter net loss of 334 million euros, driven by massive restructuring costs in steel.
Simultaneously, the pressure on Thyssenkrupp’s traditional specialty steel operations is intensifying. Asian imports of electrical steel, a critical component for Europe’s power grid expansion, have tripled since 2022. These suppliers now control over half of the European market volume, often pricing their products below local production costs. In response, Thyssenkrupp has already throttled production at its sites in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Isbergues, France.
The situation at the French plant is particularly acute. A four-month production halt is planned starting in June, threatening approximately 1,200 jobs across Germany and France. While the European Commission launched an investigation in late March, any potential protective measures would not take effect until July 2026 at the earliest—too late to avert the imminent shutdown in Isbergues.
Amid these crises, other parts of the sprawling conglomerate show resilience. The naval division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), enters the year with a robust order backlog of 18.7 billion euros. It is now the sole remaining bidder for Germany’s massive F127 frigate program, valued at 26.2 billion euros. On the corporate front, management continues to streamline the portfolio. The Automation Engineering unit was formally transferred to Agile Robots SE on April 1.
Financially, a significant potential windfall lies in Thyssenkrupp’s remaining 16.2% stake in the elevator manufacturer TK Elevator. The main owners are evaluating an initial public offering in the second half of 2026, which could value the company at up to 25 billion euros. A direct sale is also reportedly under consideration.
The market has been slow to reward these strategic moves. Thyssenkrupp’s share price closed at 8.50 euros recently, marking a decline of over 12% since the start of the year. This is despite a solid operational performance in Q1, where the adjusted operating profit rose to 211 million euros even as sales fell by 10%, leading the executive board to confirm its full-year outlook.
All eyes are now on the next milestone: the publication of the half-year report on May 12, 2026. Investors will expect concrete updates from management on two critical fronts: the progress of hoped-for EU trade protections for electrical steel and the status of ongoing partnership talks with Indian steelmaker Jindal Steel. Recent insider reports suggest these negotiations risk falling apart, which would pile further pressure on the embattled steel division.
