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The Court of Justice of the European Union rejected both appeals against fines imposed by the European Commission in December 2003 and September 2004 upon KME Germany AG, KME France SAS and KME Italy S.p.A.. The fines related to the KME Group S.p.A. subsidiaries involvement in antitrust infringements within the industrial tubes and plumbing tubes markets. The fines, which amount to €39.8M and €67.1M, are now final. KME Group stated that the fine amounts were wholly provisioned in the profit and loss accounts of the 2003 fiscal year.

KME Group SpA, a leading copper and copper alloy semis maker based in Italy, will buy 30% of Sigimet SpA, an Italian ferrous and non-ferrous metals trader. The company also bought 30% of Italian scrap metals trader Metalbuyer in February. In both cases, KME holds the option to raise its share. Considering that the company relies on scrap for more than 50% of its metal input, the acquisitions will lead to a reduction in supply costs. The company said that the acquisitions will benefit industrial activity, however, the main objective was diversification rather than integration.

Italian leading manufacturer of copper and copper alloy products KME said that its H1 output dropped 30% to 218,000 tonnes from 313,000 tonnes for the same period a year ago. The company said that there is 'persistent uncertainty and fears that an impulse to industrial activity triggered by a necessity to rebuild stocks will not be sufficient to consolidate recovery.' Demand for copper semis has been badly hit due to the economic downturn as residential construction activities are halted. Demand from industrial production is also adversely affected by a slowdown in investments in new plants and machinery. However, a fall in copper prices earlier in the year helped easing substitution threats from cheaper materials, KME said. The company previously announced that its consolidated sales fell 45% year-on-year to €898.5m (US$1.29b) for the first half of 2009. Net loss was €20.1m, compared to €12.3m of net profit a year ago.

KME Group, a European producer of copper rolled products and tubes, announced that company revenues (excluding the cost of raw materials) declined by 11% y-o-y to reach €376M. KME mainly attributes the decline to weak macroeconomic conditions caused by the European sovereign debt crisis which began in H2 2011. Copper price volatility has also led to cautious buying of copper products. The company said that it experienced a continued downturn in sales within the industrial sector (approximately 75% of revenue) in Italy and Spain in H1 2012, while France held-up better. Sales contracted period-on-period and year-on-year in the brass rods segment and in rolled products for the construction market. In addition, shipments to domestic appliance and air conditioner manufacturers were stagnant y-o-y in H1. A bright spot was seen in sales of automotive and mechanical components as well as products associated with the electrical industry.

Milan, 18 March 2014. Today in Shanghai, a joint venture between KME Ag and the Chinese company Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group Inc. has been finalized. The project foresees the construction of a manufacturing plant for "connectors" rolled products in the province of Henan.

The Florence, Italy, based KME Group S.p.A. announced revenues of €1,623 million for the first six months of 2008, down 12.2% on the same period in 2007. EBITDA was €64.4 million in the same period, down 15.8%. "The Group's profitability is lower than in the first six months of 2007, when market conditions were more favourable, but in line with the level achieved in the second half of 2007," said the company. Going forward, KME, a global leader in the production of semi-finished copper products, remains bearish about the demand outlook in Europe. The company also identified raw material prices, "which remain high and are characterised by high volatility," as a potential source of risk.

Riccardo Garre the Chief Executive officer of KME Group SpA, the Italy-based manufacturer of copper semi-fabricated products, said in an interview with Bloomberg that he expects the company's production of copper and alloy semis to be 435,000t in 2013, unchanged from 2012, and 10% lower than in 2011. The Chief Executive said "to assume that in 2013 the volume will be exactly the same as in 2012, it means it's really a negative vision," although he did note some strength in flat-rolled copper and alloys used in the automotive and electronics industries. In the interview, he also said he believed slowing economic growth had prompted manufacturers to look for cheaper alternatives to copper semis, such as aluminium and plastics.

Wieland-Werke AG and KME Group S.p.A., which are both leading European copper product fabricators, separately announced fabrication price increases. Wieland will introduce an increase of 5-7% by 1st January 2012 while KME increased its fabrication prices by 7% starting from 7th November 2011. Both companies have attributed the change to the rising costs of energy and the risk management costs associated with high and volatile metal prices, which could no longer be offset by productivity improvements.