- 3rd-quarter earnings doubled to 488 million euros

- Jump in earnings to 900 million euros in nine months

- Schulz: Target for 2003/2004 as close as possible to 1.5 billion euros

The world economic upswing continued in the first half of 2004. In this economic environment ThyssenKrupp significantly expanded its volume of business. Sales and order intake showed high double-digit growth rates in the 3rd fiscal quarter. The Group`s income from continuing operations before taxes and minority interest reached 488 million euros, compared with 218 million euros in the corresponding prior-year quarter. Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, Executive Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp AG: "In the first nine months earnings totaled 900 million euros, compared with 606 million euros in the corresponding period of the year before."

The highlights for the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2003/2004 were as follows:

- Order intake increased to 10.6 billion euros, up 18% from the same quarter a year earlier.

- Sales were 10.7 billion euros, up 21% from a year earlier.

- Income from continuing operations before taxes and minority interest amounted to 488 million euros, an improvement of 270 million euros from the previous year. This corresponds to normalized earnings from continuing operations.

- Earnings per share from continuing operations reached 0.55 euros, compared with 0.42 euros a year earlier.

- The Group`s net financial payables amounted to 4,262 million euros at June 30, 2004, virtually unchanged from September 30, 2003. Compared with June 30, 2003 the Group`s net debt was 606 million euros lower.

For the 4th quarter of fiscal 2003/2004 ThyssenKrupp expects an unchanged economic environment. The continuing risks of an economic weakening have not impacted the Group`s performance so far. For the full year sales in the magnitude of roughly 38 billion euros are planned. Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz: "In terms of earnings before taxes, excluding the effects of disposals, we previously expected to come close to the 1 billion euros mark or even exceed it with support from the economy and without major distortions on the currency and raw material markets. Based on the recent very good earnings performance of the Steel segment, as well as the improvements at Services and Automotive, we now aim to come as close as possible to our medium-term target of 1.5 billion euros."

The full interim report ist available in German and English online and downloadable versions at http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/fr/03-04-q3/en/index.html.

Contact:

Dr. Jürgen Claassen
Corporate Communications, Strategy, and Executive Affairs
Phone +49 (211) 824-36001
Fax +49 (211) 824-36005
E-mail: press@thyssenkrupp.com
www.thyssenkrupp.com