Salzgitter CEO sees eventual merger with Aurubis

"I could well imagine that Aurubis and Salzgitter could one day become a single company," Heinz Joerg Fuhrmann told Euro am Sonntag newspaper.

There would be industrial logic to such a move, such as the joint development of industrial processes in future, and there are precedents for "multi-metal companies," he said.

However, Fuhrmann ruled out a merger with peer ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE), saying the negative impact on locations and employee morale would be bigger than any positive synergy.

Fuhrmann also said Salzgitter's goal was to earn profits that would allow it to raise its dividend but he gave no details.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Hugh Lawson)