German rail operator Deutsche Bahn returned to profit in the first half thanks to its logistics subsidiary Schenker, at a time when the group needs to invest urgently to renovate its passenger network.
From January to June, Deutsche Bahn posted an operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of 876 million euros against a loss of almost a billion on a comparable basis in 2021, according to a press release.
This performance was achieved thanks to the results generated by the international carrier Schenker – active in air, land and sea freight and contract logistics – whose profit almost doubled over one year to 1.19 billion euros.
It more than compensates for the losses in the rail transport activity for both passengers and freight (DB Cargo).
Total sales, at around 28.0 billion euros, rose 28% as 59.1 million passengers used the company’s long-distance trains over the period, 117% more than in 2021.
Deutsche Bahn took the opportunity to raise its forecast for 2022: operating profit is expected to exceed one billion euros, against a ‘positive’ figure expected in March. Sales should reach more than 54 billion euros, against more than 48 billion initially targeted.
Looking at the overall performance, Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz believes the ‘trend reversal has been successful’. This is the first operating profit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“There have never been as many ICE trains in Germany and Europe as there are today” to meet the high demand, he added.
The downside remains quality and punctuality which are ‘unacceptable’, with only 69.6% of long-distance trains reaching their destination on time between January and June.
This is 10 percentage points less than the previous year against a backdrop of increased traffic and an unprecedented number of construction sites on the German network.
The strong enthusiasm of the Germans for a subscription at 9 euros per month, set up on regional transport for June, July and August in the face of soaring energy prices, has further accentuated the problems at the start of the summer tourist season. .
It is in this context that the German government and the public company presented an emergency plan in June to renovate the busiest lines from 2024.
/ATS