“A virtuous circle”: the SNCF beneficiary for the fourth consecutive year

The traditional presentation of the annual results has taken stock of the balance sheet. The SNCF announced this fourth consecutive exercise in the green on Thursday. The rail group, with 43.4 billion euros in turnover (+ 4.8 %), recorded a net profit of 1.6 billion euros, 300 million euros more than last year (1.3 billion).

These “satisfactory results despite a difficult economic context with low growth and consumption of declining households”, in the words of Laurent Trevisani, CEO in charge of finance and strategy, are driven by travelers. SNCF travelers-“Economic lung of the group”, points Jean-Pierre Farandou-with a turnover of 20.3 billion euros (+ 4.8 %), as the Keolis Cars (+ 9.6 %). While Geodis (logistics) is maintained (+ 0.3 %), despite the “complicated” environment in the sector, and Rail Logistics Europe develops (+ 7.9 %).

The SNCF had to adjust prices to fill its trains

The rail group has, once again, benefited from the famous “French train appetite”. Its TGV, with 130 million travelers in 2024, have never been so full. The “voluntary voluntary strategy”, decided in 2019, operates, despite high prices, the very admission of the CEO. “We have, this summer and at the end of the year, felt the problem of purchasing power of the French. We had to adjust the prices to fill the trains, it’s been a long time since it had happened, “noted Jean-Pierre Farandou. Transilian (+ 4.4 % turnover for trains in Île-de-France) and TER (+ 7.5 %) are also growing.

In 2024, 10.8 billion euros were injected, almost all of the rail. The effort was made halfway by the SNCF, the rest coming from the State or the local authorities. “A record level, points out Laurent Trevisani. We will, in the coming years, have more or less these amounts. As a reminder, no euro of SNCF profits goes into dividend in the pocket of possible shareholders, since the group is held by the State. The group reinvests almost everything, in the French rail, whether for network maintenance or the purchase of new trains and to increase the offer.

“Five years of intense work”

He abounds, in particular, the “Competition Fund”, which finances SNCF Réseau. After a contribution of 1.7 billion euros in 2024, it will increase at 1.5 billion euros this year and will remain at these levels until 2028. “We must stop with this model out of breath. The state abandons the rail and leaves all the weight on the SNCF and the railway workers while the foreign competitors, who roll on the same rails, do not contribute to it, “annoys Julien Troccaz, federal secretary Sud Rail.

This forces SNCF to maintain a significant level of profits. “The quality of service of tomorrow is today’s investments. We earn money, so we can invest and keep the rail network. It is a virtuous circle. It is the law of 2018 which allows us today to use this system … and perhaps also management, ”says Jean-Pierre Farandou, with a smile. A way to emphasize, again, his record a few weeks before his departure.

The soon ex-CEO took advantage of the presentation of his “latest accounts” to highlight his balance sheet after “five years of intense work”. And to recall the “crises” that the group had to cross, between the end of the transport activity of travelers with the health crisis, then the outbreak of energy prices with the war in Ukraine. “We also had two social shocks, with massive strikes against two pension reforms (2019 and 2023),” he said. But we had set a strategy in 2019, we kept it, and it worked, we see it today. »»

He now remains in his or his successor to maintain the course. Jean-Pierre Farandou allowed himself to draw up the “four conditions” to continue the trajectory he “started”. Between the maintenance of the state of the rail network, the resistance of SNCF travelers to the intensification of competition, the growth of Rail Logistics Europe and perpetuate the culture of social compromise. He “the tirelessness of social dialogue”, as he defines himself, delivered his roadmap.