The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: Can you hear me? Hello?
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: The first one is on the Steel business. You mentioned that you expect steel spread to come down into H2. I think in the past, when the market was
in poor shape, when the outlook was not great, you used to adjust capacity lower and I wonder why not this time? I mean, you talked about some
potential improvements, could that be the reason that you see that green shoots down the line and you don't want to shut down a blast furnace
so near to it? So if you can discuss that a little bit and the timing of the potential recovery.
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: And does that mean that you could see -- I mean, you flagged the safeguard measures change. The new investigation, that's going to take time,
but can already have an impact on the market. So is it possible that you already see some restocking into late Q3, Q4 or that's not in your base case?
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: Okay. No, that's very clear. And my second question is, I think you touched on that already in your presentation, but just wanted to confirm on the
free cash flow outlook for the second half of the year.
So on the CapEx side, you were saying EUR1 billion gross for the year. And now, it's -- you're cutting that by EUR140 million. I believe, on the subsidy
side, you expect EUR170 million for H2. You have the disposal cash coming in.
And then, on working capital, just to clarify as well, if you have an investment in Q3 and some release in Q4, do you see -- expect on the second-half
basis to be on a neutral basis? Or are you going to be able to release some working capital? Just trying to get the free cash flow outlook a bit refined
there.
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: And on the CapEx side, is that correct, the way I understood it? It was EUR1 billion, and now, it's minus EUR140 million?
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: On SALCOS Phase 2 and 3, just to dig a little bit deeper. You mentioned your flexibility, but are really all options on the table? For instance, would
you be comfortable looking at option outside Germany? Would you be comfortable not owning the iron-making part or the DRI part and source
it externally? Trying to understand what are your red lines or if all options are on the table?
Question: Tristan Gresser - Exane BNP Paribas - Analyst
: Okay. No, that's very clear and helpful. And a quick, completely unrelated question, but can you remind us your exposure to the US, how much
volumes you currently export to the US?
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