Dear Readers,
I am pleased to report on the strategic progress and key developments at Gebr. Heinemann in 2024. Despite the challenging geopolitical and economic environment, we achieved a remarkable 21 percent increase in turnover compared to 2023, surpassing the 4 billion euro mark for the first time in our history.
This growth was driven by strong performances across most of our sales regions, particularly in our core European market and the resilient Turkish business. Our cruise and inflight segments saw significant improvement, and our major locations in Norway and Israel stabilized despite difficult conditions.
However, revenue per passenger has come under pressure in many markets, and the decline of key customer groups from Russia and China has impacted our operations, especially in Asia Pacific and major hubs like Frankfurt. Increased concession fees at airports, unfavorable currency developments, and higher financing costs have further added to these challenges.
As a family-owned business, we take a long-term perspective while acting with agility. We continued to invest in our future – expanding our portfolio with new locations in Antalya, Keflavik, Jeddah, and Noida, and nearly doubled our spending on strategic and IT projects. Key initiatives, including the migration to the latest SAP system and the transformation of our assortment management, pricing, and supply chain processes, will play a key role in strengthening our long-term competitiveness. Above all, our dedicated employees remain our greatest asset, driving change and ensuring our continued success. In the coming years, we will maintain our focus on profitable growth and strategic investments. The extension and expansion of our syndicated loan, as well as the successful placement of promissory notes in the capital market, reflect our strong financial foundation.
For 2025, we expect economic and geopolitical uncertainties to persist. Nevertheless, we are well-positioned and are confident that our investments will yield significant returns – leading to double-digit revenue growth and a substantial increase in our group results.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kai Deneke — CFO