- Orders received remained with €339.2 million on a high level, Book-to-bill ratio rises to 1.35
- Order backlog of €926.4 million at a new all-time high, 15.2 percent up on the previous year
- On-schedule start into financial year 2025, Sales revenues (€251.1 million) and EBIT (€7.4 million) still below exceptionally strong previous year
- Outlook confirmed in the existing Group structure with significant increase in sales revenues and earnings for 2025
Vossloh AG ("Vossloh") continues its successful course in the first quarter of 2025. Orders received were again on a very high level at €339.2 million (previous year: €350.1 million). The Book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.35 (previous year: 1.30). Order backlog as of March 31, 2025, reached a new all-time high of €926.4 million (March 31, 2024: €804.1 million).
"Our sales successes from the previous year continued seamlessly in the first quarter. The excellent ratio of 1.35 between orders received and sales revenues in the first quarter of 2025 underlines this impressively. In an economically and geopolitically challenging environment, we were not only able to increase our order backlog and thus our planning security for the future, but also to exceed our internal EBIT and margin targets. Our customers value our leading systems expertise, the quality of our products and services and Vossloh's unconditional reliability. Overall, this gives us great confidence in the future development of Vossloh," Oliver Schuster, CEO of Vossloh AG, explains.
At €251.1 million, group sales in the first quarter of 2025 were the third-highest figure in the company's history for an opening quarter and, as expected, were only slightly below the previous year's record figure of €268.8 million. While the start of 2024 was characterized in particular by very high deliveries of rail fastening systems for new construction projects in China, the main deliveries there in the current year will not ramp up before the second quarter. At €7.4 million, Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were, as expected, below the exceptionally high level of the previous year (€17.9 million) due to volume and project-related factors. Net income reached €6.9 million (previous year: €10.6 million) while earnings per share amounted to €0.24 in the first quarter of 2025 (previous year: €0.39).
The company's net assets and financial position have once again improved noticeably. The Equity ratio increased from 46.9 percent to 49.9 percent compared to the end of the same quarter of the previous year, primarily due to the capital increase in November 2024. Net financial debt fell significantly to €181.7 million (March 31, 2024: €239.2 million).
Core Components: Sales revenues and EBIT below previous year as planned
Orders received in the Core Components division amounted to €151.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 (previous year: €161.5 million). Order backlog as of March 31, 2025, increased significantly to €348.3 million (previous year: €305.3 million), primarily due to a higher order backlog in China. As mentioned above, deliveries for several of the Chinese projects in the order backlog will begin in the second quarter. As expected, Sales revenues of €98.5 million were still below the previous year's high figure of €115.8 million, which was particularly characterized by very high deliveries for new construction projects in China. EBIT in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to €6.4 million (previous year: €17.8 million) and was therefore at a good level with a normalized business development. It should be noted that the EBIT of this and the other divisions was negatively impacted by the first-time levying of a brand license fee by Vossloh AG. In the Vossloh Group as a whole, this has no impact on EBIT, as the holding company result improves accordingly. The brand license fee reflects the value of brand usage in the Vossloh Group. Overall, this is expected to have a positive effect on the Group's tax rate.
Customized Modules increases EBIT and EBIT margin
Orders received in the Customized Modules division amounted to €136.7 million in the first quarter of 2025 (previous year: €142.6 million). At €548.2 million, Order backlog at the end of the quarter exceeded the previous year's figure of €446.0 million and reached an all-time high. At €115.0 million, Sales revenues remained slightly below the previous year's figure (€124.5 million). EBIT nevertheless increased from €8.1 million to €8.5 million despite the first-time impact of the brand license fees. The EBIT margin rose accordingly from 6.5 percent to 7.4 percent.
Lifecycle Solutions with significant increase in Sales
Orders received by the Lifecycle Solutions division amounted to €62.8 million (previous year: €58.7 million). Order backlog at the end of the first quarter amounted to €48.2 million (previous year: €64.2 million). Framework agreements with a total value of well over €100 million, which Vossloh was able to conclude with Deutsche Bahn in 2024, are only included in the order backlog to a small extent. Sales revenues in the Lifecycle Solutions division increased significantly and reached €42.7 million (previous year: €32.8 million). The division's EBIT was still negative at €(2.2) million, which is typical for the season (previous year: €(2.0) million). Excluding brand license fees, a slight improvement in EBIT and EBIT margin was achieved in operating terms.
Employees
During the first quarter of 2025, the average number of employees in the Vossloh Group was 4,352 (same period of the previous year: 4,047). The increase was primarily attributable to the Lifecycle Solutions division.
Outlook for the financial year 2025 confirmed in the existing group structure
Thanks to the strong order backlog, Vossloh's Executive Board is again expecting significant operational growth for 2025. Based on the current group structure, Sales revenues of between €1.25 billion and €1.325 billion are forecast. A significant increase in sales is expected in China, the USA and Germany in particular. The strongest growth rates are once again forecast for the Lifecycle Solutions division. Against this backdrop, the Executive Board expects Vossloh to generate EBIT of between €110 million and €120 million. The EBIT margin should therefore range between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent.
Takeover of Sateba provides additional growth boost
Subject to the closing of the transaction, which is expected in the coming months, Vossloh continues to expect an additional sales contribution of approximately €30 million per month and an additional EBIT contribution before purchase price allocation effects of approximately €4 million per month for the remaining 2025 financial year. The expected contribution for the financial year 2025 depends on the exact timing of the closing.