STRABAG SE starts new financial year with record order backlog
13 February 2025
- Output volume at € 19.2 billion, slightly above previous year
- Record order backlog of € 25.4 billion (+8% vs. 2023)
- Outlook for 2025: output expected to grow to around € 21 billion, EBIT margin target raised to ≥ 4.5%
| STRABAG SE | 2024 |
2023 |
in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output volume | 19,238.80 |
19,139.14 |
1% |
| Order backlog | 25,362.47 |
23,466.13 |
8% |
| Employees (FTE) | 78,174 |
77,136 |
1% |
| North + West | 2024 |
2023 |
in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output volume | 8,239.86 |
8,216.66 |
0% |
| Order backlog | 12,088.14 |
11,207.13 |
8% |
| Employees (FTE) | 22,392 |
22,136 |
1% |
| South + East | 2024 |
2023 |
in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output volume | 7,502.30 |
7,741.90 |
-3% |
| Order backlog | 7,738.49 |
7,074.25 |
9% |
| Employees (FTE) | 26,852 |
27,057 |
-1% |
| International + special divisions | 2024 |
2023 |
in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output volume | 3,268.68 |
2,957.27 |
11% |
| Order backlog | 5,505.02 |
5,159.42 |
7% |
| Employees (FTE) | 21,255 |
20,360 |
4% |
| Other | 2024 |
2023 |
in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output volume | 227.96 |
223.31 |
2% |
| Order backlog | 30.82 |
25.33 |
22% |
| Employees (FTE) | 7,675 |
7,583 |
1% |
STRABAG SE, the publicly listed European technology group for construction services, today announced its initial figures for the 2024 financial year and issued an outlook for 2025. “2024 was a very successful year for STRABAG financially. We were able to maintain output at a stable level while expanding the order backlog to a new record high. As already announced on 27 January 2025, we also expect to have achieved an exceptionally high EBIT margin of close to 6% in 2024,” said Christian Harder, CFO of STRABAG SE.
Output volume
The STRABAG SE Group generated an output volume of € 19,238.80 million in the 2024 financial year, representing a slight increase of 1% or € 100 million. Strong growth was recorded in Poland and in the infrastructure and building solutions business in Germany. Significant output gains were also achieved in Italy and the Middle East. In Austria and Hungary, output volume declined as expected.
Order backlog
After exceeding the € 25 billion mark for the first time in the first half of the year, the order backlog was increased further to € 25,362.47 million by the end of 2024, which corresponds to an increase of € 1.9 billion or 8% compared to the previous year. The order backlog in Germany rose particularly sharply, especially in infrastructure and civil engineering. Significant increases were also recorded in Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Romania. Encouragingly, the first signs of a turnaround in residential construction in Austria were confirmed in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the United Kingdom, the order backlog has been on the decline as major projects are being worked off.
The most significant additions to the order backlog in Germany include network expansion projects for the energy transition worth more than € 1.1 billion, the general overhaul of the Hamburg–Berlin railway line and the replacement of the Kriegenbrunn shipping lock in Bavaria. In Slovakia, STRABAG was awarded the contract for the conversion and expansion of the F.D. Roosevelt Clinic, and in the Czech Republic for the construction of the new headquarters of the local subsidiary of Erste Group, which will be realised to the highest sustainability standards. Internationally, contracts were acquired for a rapid transit line in Toronto and for the construction of a residential district in Abu Dhabi, among other things.
EBIT margin
An EBIT margin close to 6% is expected for the 2024 financial year (2023: 5.0%), which is significantly higher than originally forecast. These expectations are due to positive earnings effects in the North + West segment and – compared to the previous year – lower negative impacts on earnings in the volatile international project business.
Employees
The average number of employees in the 2024 financial year stood at 78,174 FTEs, a slight increase of 1% compared to the previous year. In line with the output growth, and due to acquisitions in the building solutions business to expand the depth of value creation in M&E and energy management, the largest increases were recorded in Germany and the Benelux region. The changes in the other countries roughly balanced each other out.
Outlook 2025
The Management Board expects a significant increase in output volume to approximately € 21 billion in the 2025 financial year. This forecast is based on the high order backlog and on the expected contributions from recent acquisitions. An increase in output volume is forecast for all operating segments in 2025.
While several positive earnings effects coincided in 2024, the EBIT margin is expected to normalise again in 2025. In light of the first tangible effects of the Group Strategy, the Management Board is raising the EBIT margin target for 2025 to ≥ 4.5%.
Net investments (cash flow from investing activities) are not expected to exceed € 1,100 million in 2025. The increase compared to the previous year is mainly due to planned acquisitions as part of STRABAG’s Strategy 2030.
Further figures and details as to the 2024 financial year will be published on 28 April 2025 at 7:00 a.m. (CEST) at www.strabag.com.
