ThyssenKrupp AG chief financial officer Stefan Kirsten said the company does not expect to make any acquisitions in eastern Europe or Russia despite recent moves there by rival steel producers.

'It's not on the agenda,' Kirsten said on the margins of ThyssenKrupp's annual press conference.

Kirsten said the conglomerate's acquisition strategy is focused on purchases such as Dofasco, which manufacture valued-added products for the auto industry and other capital goods manufacturers.

He said that manufacturers such as Ukraine's Kryvorizhstal or Turkey's Erdemir were not of interest, and that because such companies were typical of the type of manufacturers for sale in the region, the German steel conglomerate will stay away.

'Erdimir and Kryvorizhtal just didn't fit,' Kirsten said.

Mittal Steel acquired Kryvorizhstal for 4.81 bln usd in a government auction in October, while Turkey's OYAK bought a 46.12 pct stake in Erdemir for 2.77 bln usd that same month.

Kirsten also said he expects pretax profit at ThyssenKrupp's steel unit will be less than 1.0 bln eur in the 2006 fiscal year. In the 2005 fiscal year ThyssenKrupp's steel unit made a pretax profit of 1.063 bln eur.