Strong Western Europe compensates for downturn in Russia

Previous year's level maintained: Schmitz Cargobull achieves a turnover of €1.589 billion

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Spain, France and the United Kingdom continue to grow strongly, whereas demand in Russia declined significantly. In the past business year the trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull produced approximately 44,000 vehicles and asserted its position as the market and technology leader in a turbulent year. The revenue amounted to €1.6 billion. "Thanks to the growth in Western and Central Europe, we were able to largely compensate for the significant downturns in Russia and Eastern Europe," sums up Chairman of the Board, Ulrich Schümer.

The 2014/2015 business year began with powerful momentum. An increasing number of orders received and positive business forecasts for the volume markets in Central and Western Europe set the trend. The new GENIOS trailer generation, along with numerous new products presented at the IAA 2014, also stimulated demand. However, following a strong second quarter in 2014, politics disrupted the willingness to invest. Russia reacted to sanctions resulting from the Ukrainian conflict by embargoing food imports. The loss of the transport volume, the drastic decline of the ruble, and the ongoing European financial crisis unsettled the logistics sector. "Demand declined significantly in the second half of 2014," reports Schümer. But in Q1 2015, incoming orders rose again. "Although we did not quite achieve our turnover target, we at least succeeded in maintaining the previous year's level," he says.

Solid equity capital basis

With vehicle sales of 44,000 units (previous year: 45,000) the company achieved a turnover of €1.589 billion (previous year: €1.625 billion). The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) amounted to €53.2 million. Special factors resulting from currency effects, such as the decline of the ruble and the adjustment of the Swiss franc, along with the start-up costs in China all had a negative effect on earnings. The equity quota amounts to 55.5%. As such, Schmitz Cargobull holds one of the top rankings in the German industrial landscape. In the past business year Schmitz Cargobull had 5,100 employees.

Construction completed in China

The new plant under construction in Wuhan in China was completed in November 2014. In December 2014, Chinese authorities granted the production licence to the joint venture with the Dongfeng Motor Group. The homologation for the first vehicles for the Chinese market has been available since February 2015. The initial pilot series of 100 units commenced at the end of the business year at the end of March 2015. The plant in Wuhan currently has 150 employees. Some 25 company-own sales representatives and 45 contract dealers are working to develop the market. In parallel, a promotional tour through China's most important industrial provinces commenced in June 2015. Andreas Schmitz managed the joint venture on location in Wuhan for the previous two and a half years. He served as the managing director and transferred this job to the new CEO, Bradley Hartsell, on 1 September 2015. The plant is currently designed to handle a capacity of up to 10,000 units per year, and the ongoing development of vehicles specifically for China aims to stimulate the demand.

New production facility for chassis for the new GENIOS vehicle generation

The chassis are manufactured at the main plant in Altenberge using a revolutionary roller forming process. A new manufacturing hall was constructed especially for the high-tech production facility. The production facility spanning approximately 12,000 m² has been manufacturing the innovative GENIOS vehicle generation since July 2014. The investment volume amounted to €27 million. In the next step, €4 million will be invested in decoiling and laser cutting facilities during the current business year. This will enable the entire process to be handled in-house in future.

The market recovery continues, Russia remains unsettled

The ongoing recovery of the transport markets continued in the first months of the new business year. At 22,000 units, the orders received at the end of August exceeded the figures of the previous year by approximately 10%. A major order from Hungary for 500 vehicles in May at the "transport & logistics" trade fair in Munich, and highly positive signals from Poland (+ 25%) and Romania also indicate a further recovery in the central European markets. Only in Russia and Ukraine does the situation remain unsettled. The corporate group's vehicle sales should exceed 45,000 units in the current business year. Investments amounting to approximately €71 million are planned for the 2015/2016 business year.