ECONOMIC
Development
Overall development in 2024
The global firefighting market has an annual volume1 of around 22,000 vehicles with a total value of around €6.6 billion. This figure does not include compact vehicles up to a gross vehicle weight of 7.5 t, fire and safety equipment, service and stationary equipment. Based on internal estimates made by Rosenbauer, the market volume in 2024 is likely to have stabilized again to historically typical levels in some regions following a rise in the previous year.
Rosenbauer’s strongest sales regions are Europe, North America, and Asia; the largest individual markets are the USA and Germany.
Global demand for airport firefighting vehicles, in particular, rose substantially in the reporting year. This includes both planned new procurements and catch-up effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Interest in firefighting vehicles with electric drives was also strong. At the same time, international supply chains almost returned to their usual stability, and there were hardly any disruptions in the supply of materials in 2024. As a result, delivery times for firefighting vehicles have slowly shifted back toward the long-term average.
Under these circumstances, all Rosenbauer sales regions except the Preventive Fire Protection segment succeeded in increasing their revenues in 2024. At €1,705.2 million, order intake in the 2024 financial year was once again at a record level (2023: €1,450.3 million). Strong growth was recorded in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and the Americas. The German armed forces agreed a long-term framework contract with Rosenbauer Deutschland for the delivery of up to 60 PANTHER airport firefighting vehicles. The first 35 PANTHER 8×8 vehicles are scheduled for delivery by 2029.
At €2,279.8 million as of December 31, 2024 (2023: €1,788.0 million), the order backlog was well above consolidated annual revenue.
Development of revenues and earnings
Revenue development
At €1,305.9 million, revenues in 2024 were 22.7% higher than the previous year’s level (2023: €1,064.5 million). Vehicle deliveries to customers worldwide increased by 10%.
Sales areas
The Group’s strongest product segment in terms of revenues was Vehicles, with a share of revenue of around 75% (2023: 74%) and revenue of €985.2 million. This was followed by Customer Service, which generated revenues of €118.4 million (2023: €103.7 million), accounting for 9% (2023: 10%) of total revenues. The revenue contribution of the Equipment segment was 9% (2023: 9%) and that of the Other Revenues segment was 4% (2023: 3%). Preventive Fire Protection generated revenues of €37.4 million (2023: €41.6 million), thus contributing 3% (2023: 4%) to consolidated revenues.
By far the largest share of revenues was accounted for by the parent company Rosenbauer International AG at €583.8 million (2023: €524.2 million). With an export ratio of 88% (2023: 89%) and deliveries to more than 120 countries, Rosenbauer has the largest international presence in the firefighting industry.
Cost development
At €742.9 million (2023: €652.6 million), cost of materials accounted for the largest share of cost of sales, but this was lower than the previous year’s level in terms of revenue. The pro rata expenses for human resources amounted to €236.7 million (2023: €215.1 million) and are also down year over year relative to the turnover. At €13.6 million, depreciation and amortization expenses on property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets were similar to the previous year (2023: €13.5 million).
Structural costs comprise expenses for research and development, sales, and administration. At €169.8 million, these were significantly higher than the previous year’s figure of €137.9 million. Capitalized research and development costs fell from €6.1 million to €5.6 million in the reporting period.
Other operating expenses of €0.4 million (2023: €2.6 million) were offset by other operating income of €13.1 million (2023: €12.9 million).
Result of operations
As a result of the increased gross profit, the Rosenbauer Group is reporting much improved EBIT of €64.9 million for the 2024 financial year (2023: €37.5 million). The measures to increase efficiency and higher sales prices for the vehicles delivered made a significant contribution to this result.
The increase in interest rates led to higher financing costs in 2024, resulting in a negative financial result of –€38.6 million (2023: –€30.5 million).
Profit before earnings before taxes (EBT) almost quadrupled, amounting to €26.3 million (2023: €7.0 million). The reported tax income – mainly due to the capitalization of loss carryforwards – was –€3.5 million (2023: tax expense of €5.8 million).
This resulted in a substantially positive result for the period of €29.8 million (2023: €1.2 million).
The non-controlling interests held by the partners at Rosenbauer Aerials, Rosenbauer Española, Rosenbauer South Africa, Eskay Rosenbauer Brunei, and Rosenbauer Saudi Arabia accounted for a share of earnings of €2.8 million in the reporting year (2023: €2.2 million).
Orders
In the past year, the Rosenbauer Group recorded order intake of €1,705.2 million (2023: €1,450.3 million). Strong growth was recorded in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and the Americas. There was very dynamic growth in demand throughout the year as a whole.
At €2,279.8 million as of December 31, 2024 (2023: €1,788.0 million), the order backlog was well above consolidated annual revenue.