Explanatory notes on the preliminary unaudited financial key figures for FY 2024

Frankfurt/Main, 10th February 2025

The Amadeus Fire Group (ISIN: DE0005093108, Prime Standard, SDAX) continued to achieve operating gross profit* margins well above the market and an operating profit margin (EBITA*) of approx. 13 percent in the 2024 financial year.

The German economy has been in an unusually long phase of economic stagnation for around four years. Growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) has consistently and exclusively remained around zero since the third quarter of 2021. With the exception of the immediate months of the coronavirus crisis, the ifo Business Climate Index fell in December 2024 to the lowest level since the 2009 financial crisis. The ifo Employment Barometer also indicates a negative trend – particularly in manufacturing, trade and services. The mood within companies is even worse than the actual situation. The pessimistic view has increasingly led to a reluctance to invest, delayed decisions and slowed down day-to-day business.

The weak economic performance resulted in a -0.2 percent drop in GDP in Germany in 2024; adjusted for price, gross value added even fell by -0.4 percent. This is in contrast to the European neighbouring countries, which are already back on a growth path. Declining exports in key industries, production cuts and a weak order situation in the manufacturing industry are also having a negative impact. Inflation remains above expectations and reached 2.6 percent in December 2024, leading to a further loss of purchasing power and economic burdens.

The ongoing decline in employment is pressuring the labour market, with the unemployment rate rising to 6.4 percent in January 2025, following an increase to 6.0 percent in the previous month of December 2024, while demand for labour fell significantly. The number of unemployed people in Germany has reached around 3.0 million for the first time in a long period, despite a high level of employment on the other hand. Once again, the manufacturing industry and business services are particularly affected.

The increasingly negative sentiment in the German economy in the previous year, which intensified again in the fourth quarter in particular, and the associated reluctance to place orders had a noticeable impact on the Amadeus Fire Group's results for the 2024 financial year.

This results in a differentiated development of the Group's preliminary and as yet unaudited key financial figures for the 2024 financial year. The increases in revenue and operating gross profit* in the Training segment correspond to an operating result (EBITA*) on a par with the previous year. In the Personnel Services segment, uncertainty among clients and candidates regarding future economic developments in Germany led to a decline in revenue and operating gross profit*. As the expenses for the current personnel services organisation are only adjustable to a limited extent and with a time lag, this had a disproportionate impact on the operating result (EBITA*).

Within the Personnel Services segment, the ongoing increase in revenue from Interim Management / Project Management can only offset the current decline in revenue from temporary staffing and permanent placement to a limited extent. Here, the increasingly negative business climate, particularly in Q4/2024, is noticeably impacting revenue and operating gross profit* and subsequently earnings. The economic decline and fall in demand has reached the commercial and IT sectors relevant to the Amadeus Fire Group. In addition, the conversion of enquiries into successful placements in temporary staffing and permanent placement has deteriorated over the course of 2024. Companies are noticeably reluctant to recruit for new or vacant positions and the willingness of candidates to change jobs remains inhibited. November and December were the months with the weakest performance over the year.

According to preliminary and as yet unaudited financial key figures, the Amadeus Fire Group achieved slightly lower revenue of € 436.9 million in the 2024 financial year, down 1.2 percent on the previous year's figure of € 442.4 million. With an operating gross profit* margin of 54.2 percent, slightly below the previous year's figure of 55.0 percent, operating gross profit* was also slightly lower at € 236.7 million (previous year: € 243.4 million), a decrease of 2.8 percent.

Lower operating gross profits* in the Personnel Services segment and forward-looking investments in the digital transformation of the Amadeus Fire Group lead to a disproportionately large decline in operating earnings (EBITA*) of around 21 percent. The operating EBITA* achieved in 2024 amounts to € 55.5 million (previous year: € 70.4 million) and is below the lower end of the range of the Group's own forecast for operating EBITA* for the 2024 financial year of € 57 million by € 1.5 million. 

* Definition of operating gross profit respectively operating EBITA Amadeus Fire Group: Operating gross profit respectively operating EBITA result from operating activities before goodwill amortisation and amortisation of intangible assets from the purchase price allocation and before effects from the measurement of the purchase price liability of the non-controlling interests in Amadeus Fire Weiterbildung Verwaltungs GmbH.

You will receive the dial-in details for the explanatory conference call on 11th February 2025 at 15:00 CET by separate invitation. Publication of the 2024 consolidated financial statement on 26th March 2025 post trading hours.
 

The corresponding ad-hoc announcement is published on our homepage at:

Contact:
Jörg Peters
Head of Investor Relations

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