German steelmaker Salzgitter AG says it had a pretax loss last year of ¤497 million ($675 million) as a result of the economic downturn, according to AP. The company made a pretax profit of just over ¤1 billion in 2008. Salzgitter did not report net income or fourth-quarter results Friday but will release its full 2009 earnings report on March 26. The company says revenue fell 38 percent to ¤7.82 billion last year from ¤12.5 billion in 2008. Salzgitter says 2009 was one of the most difficult years in its 150-year history and the effects of the downturn will linger for some time. Salzgitter says breaking even in 2010 is possible as orders and steel prices improve, with ore and fuel prices probably also rising.
