KEBA achieves significant growth over past fiscal year

The Linz-based KEBA Group increased its revenues in the past fiscal year (April 2020-March 2021) from €373.5 million to €415.4 million. With this sales growth of 11.2%, the KEBA Group again achieved the highest revenues in its history, having seen sales quadruple over the last 10 years. Average annual growth over the past five years lies at 18.1% (CAGR).

The international share of business remains high at around 90%. Around 68% of exports went to the EU (without Austria) and 14% to Asia.

Research and development is critical for a technology company like KEBA. It provides the foundation for future success and KEBA’s market position. Accordingly, the KEBA Group dedicates a significant portion of its revenues to research and development (R&D) each year. Over the last year, R&D investment totaled around €61 million.

At the end of the fiscal year, the KEBA Group employed 1750 people (FTE). The company has grown by over 1,000 employees within the last 10 years.

About half of the employees work in Austria, one-third in Germany, and with almost 200 employees the company also has a strong presence in China and Asia. 39 apprentices are currently being trained at the Linz sites. The company additionally employs agency workers to cover workload peaks.

KEBA’s growth is also reflected in the number of job vacancies: currently there are 62 open positions.

Broad product portfolio ensures continuous growth

The past fiscal year has shown us all how quickly a pandemic can change our lives. Over the past year, business activity worldwide has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the corona year of 2020, the economy resembled a roller coaster – although globally there were certainly different trajectories.

In this rapidly changing, uncertain environment, KEBA benefited from having different core businesses operating in different industries, which are therefore subject to different cycles and triggers.

With 25 subsidiaries in 15 countries and 8 production sites of various sizes in 4 countries (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, China), the Group’s good transnational network has enabled it to maintain a sustained presence in all markets even in difficult times, and be there for its customers locally.

KEBA set for continued growth with new structure

The automation expert KEBA has quadrupled its revenues in the last 10 years. The number of employees has also grown strongly, and internationalization has advanced dramatically over the past decade. In addition, three strategic acquisitions expanded the product portfolio and strengthened KEBA’s market presence. Today, the company is represented with its own subsidiaries all over the world, from the United States to Europe and Asia. With production sites in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and China, KEBA is strongly positioned in this respect as well. Maintaining close contact with its customers and a deep understanding of their specific industries and challenges have always been as important to KEBA as offering industry-optimized solutions. Combined with the growth of the past years, KEBA decided to group its business activities into three strong business areas from now on:

• Industrial Automation
• Handover Automation
• Energy Automation

These different industries are subject to different economic cycles, thus securing the future growth of the KEBA Group.

From fall 2021, the three business divisions will operate as independent companies and conduct the operating business within the KEBA Group. But they will continue to appear under the common strong KEBA brand.

The KEBA Group is responsible for the overall direction of KEBA as well as the strategic and financial management of the entire group of companies.

The three business divisions have different characteristics. Industrial Automation is focused on OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). Handover Automation is a project business that manufactures self-service machines in the banking and logistics sectors. And Energy Automation, which produces wall boxes for electric cars as well as heating control systems, is a mass-production business that is close to end users.

Therefore, in terms of agility, different approaches to methods, processes, sales channels and so on are required. Furthermore, it is in line with the company’s organizational concept that decision-making should be as local as possible, to enable fast and purposive decisions. KEBA sees separating the responsibilities as an opportunity to target its industries even more effectively and get even closer to customers.

You can read the full press release here

Gerhard Luftensteiner CEO KEBA AG © KEBA

Management Board KEBA AG (f.l.t.r.): Andreas Schoberleitner (CFO), Gerhard Luftensteiner (CEO) and Franz Höller (CTO) © KEBA

Gerhard Luftensteiner CEO KEBA AG © KEBA/APA/Hartl