Thyssenkrupp under pressure as analysts see profit warning

Bloomberg

Thyssenkrupp AG Chief Executive Officer Guido Kerkhoff is facing mounting internal pressure to whittle down and restructure the company’s sprawling business portfolio as the supervisory board grows impatient at the slow pace of change at the crisis-hit conglomerate.
Supervisory board members of the Essen, Germany-based engineering company are increasingly frustrated at the pace and depth of restructuring efforts for several divisions, including components technology, steel and industrial plant-building, according to people familiar with the matter.
Martina Merz, who chairs the oversight committee and has taken a more hands-on approach than her predecessor, has discussed incoming offers with Kerkhoff, according to the people, who asked not to be identified by name as the matter is private.
Several supervisory board members informally discussed a potential replacement for Kerkhoff some weeks ago because the company’s predicament may require an executive with restructuring experience, but decided against forcing him out for now, the people added. A Thyssenkrupp spokeswoman declined to comment.
Thyssenkrupp will struggle to avoid a profit warning given the company’s exposure to a slowing global economy and Germany’s troubled automotive sector, according to analysts. Daimler AG is stepping up a cost-cutting drive in a bid to counter flagging demand that has led to four profit warnings in just over a year, while BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemicals firm, has
said slowing markets and trade tensions are hurting earnings.