Firefighting equipment supplier Rosenbauer is back on the road to success

Profit before taxes almost doubled to 54.7 million euros, and the EBIT margin reached 5.9 percent. Sales grew from 1.31 billion to 1.43 billion euros.

“The record sales, the doubling of earnings and the halving of debt show our regained strength,” explained CEO Robert Ottel. Management is confident for the current year. This year the target is 1.6 billion euros in sales and an EBIT margin of more than six percent.

The order situation is good and utilization is high. The order backlog amounts to 2.35 billion euros. The equity ratio rose from 16.6 to 27.8 percent. Despite geopolitical tensions, the fire equipment supplier sees hardly any strains on its business.

Production in the USA

The US customs policy under President Donald Trump has little impact on the company, as production is made in the USA for the local market. The Middle East accounts for less than five percent of business – at the same time, demand for civil protection solutions is increasing there.

Rosenbauer now generates around half of its sales outside Europe. North America and selected international markets remain the growth drivers. Rosenbauer also remains loyal to the civilian market; the Upper Austrians do not want to jump on the global arms boom. “Protect and rescue is our core value,” emphasized Ottel. The entry of the core shareholder Robau Beteiligungsverwaltung around Mark Mateschitz, Stefan Pierer and two companies from Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich brought balance sheet tailwind. Robau holds 55 percent of the shares, 17 percent remains with the founding families. The rest is in free float.