Voestalpine Holds 2027 Furnace Start Date as Brokers Split on Price Targets

Voestalpine has reaffirmed that its electric arc furnaces in Linz and Donawitz remain on schedule and on budget, with commissioning still targeted for the first half of 2027. The confirmation, issued on Wednesday, keeps the original timetable intact even as rising costs and fresh US tariffs weigh on the Austrian steelmaker's outlook.

Analysts spent Thursday recalibrating their models. JPMorgan trimmed its price target to EUR 52.50 from EUR 56.80 while keeping an "Overweight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas cut its own target to EUR 41.50 from EUR 46 and maintained a neutral stance, leaving the two houses divided on both valuation and recommendation. Two further research firms reiterated buy calls with targets between EUR 63.00 and EUR 64.00, though one of them described the half-year results as negative for the shares, arguing that the reduced company guidance points to roughly 6% less EBITDA in fiscal 2026/27 despite recovering EU steel prices.

One-offs Flatter the First-Half Figures

For the six months from 1 April to 30 September 2026, Voestalpine posted revenue of EUR 7.7bn and EBITDA of EUR 846m. EBIT came in at EUR 470m, with net profit of EUR 290m. The company said the half-year numbers included positive one-off effects of around EUR 100m.

Alongside the results, Voestalpine tightened its full-year EBITDA guidance for 2026/27 to a range of EUR 1.60bn to EUR 1.70bn, down from the previous EUR 1.60bn to EUR 1.85bn. The floor of the forecast was left untouched; only the ceiling came down. Management cited the ongoing war in the Middle East, higher energy and logistics costs, and additional temporary US tariffs as the drags on the second half.

Investors took the revision in stride at first, but the stock gave up 2.0% on Friday to close at EUR 36.94.

Kindberg Workforce in the Firing Line

The tariff effect is already visible in staffing plans. Voestalpine announced on Wednesday that it will cut around 150 jobs at its Kindberg site by the end of March 2027, citing US tariffs and their impact on sales of seamless pipes. Difficult alternative markets in the Middle East were named as a further factor.

Voestalpine Tubulars and the works council have since opened talks on a social plan, according to an ORF report, with a draft expected by the end of November. The furnace projects in Linz and Donawitz, by contrast, remain untouched by the retrenchment, with the first half of 2027 still the stated start date.