WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) - Steel trader Klockner & Co continues to feel the effects of the sluggish global economy. This is putting pressure on demand and thus on steel prices. Sales and profits fell significantly. However, there were initial signs of improvement compared to the previous quarter. The share price came under pressure.

In the first quarter, Group turnover fell by 5.6 percent year-on-year to 1.74 billion euros, as Klockner & Co announced on Tuesday. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by almost a third year-on-year to 42 million euros. This is in line with the company's forecast, but is less than the two analysts surveyed by the Bloomberg news agency had expected on average. For the second quarter, the management is targeting an operating result of 30 to 70 million euros.

The net loss attributable to shareholders amounted to 33 million euros in the first quarter - after a loss of 8 million euros a year ago. The larger loss is due to negative deconsolidation effects following the sale of parts of the steel trading business in Europe.

In the first quarter, the company completed the sale of its distribution business in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium to the Spanish company Hier

the Netherlands and Belgium to the Spanish company Hierros Anon. The sale had been announced in December. At the same time, Klockner & Co intends to focus on higher-value products and services - including the processing and metalworking business - along the customer value chain.

The shares initially fell to EUR 6.04 on Tuesday, a low since mid-December. Most recently, they traded at 6.47 euros again, thus limiting the price drop to just under two percent. This brought them back into the trading range of around 6.3 to a good 7 euros, in which they have mainly fluctuated for months./mis/nas/stk