September 13, 2018

Europe needs steel for better bridges – we’re buying Salzgitter



As Obermatt CEO Dr. Hermann J. Stern is walking across the Letten bridge that leads across the Limmat, he is reminded about the collapse of the Genoa viaduct. Nevertheless, he feels very safe here, because these bridges, just like the Golden Gate Bridge, are built entirely of steel.

Unfortunately, steel has had a tough time in the past – and probably also in the future. First, the prices dropped, and then one of Europe’s biggest steel producers almost went bankrupt. This year things got even worse: The US imposed new tariffs on steel imports. It’s safe to say the steel industry has seen better times.

However, we still need steel for everything that needs to be strong: bridges, power plants, railroad tracks, skyscrapers. And because it is then so strong, we forget about the steel. But that is wrong, as the disaster in Genoa showed. The steel there was covered in concrete, which was the reason its condition wasn’t visible to the naked eye. Now bridges all over the world are inspected. France has determined that 12,000 bridges should be renovated, 1,000 of them urgently so. In the US, the number is at 55,000.

This makes one thing obvious: Renovating the infrastructure requires steel. Which is why the company Salzgitter appeared on our German Top 10 List, of which Dr. Stern bought multiple shares.

You may remember; we are buying 20 different stocks every season for a total amount of 100,000 Swiss francs, therefore 5,000 francs per stock. We started back in 2015, and the stocks from that time have started paying dividends by now. Our profits so far are close to 7,000 francs. Which we will invest in other stocks. If we recommend a stock, then we always also buy it ourselves.



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