Despite trade disputes and economic slowdown:
DEKRA Remains on Track
In a challenging political and economic environment, DEKRA remained on track in 2019 and reinforced its standing. “We have further internationalized our business and are concentrating on the digital world of the future,” DEKRA Chief Executive Officer Stefan Kölbl told journalists in Stuttgart. Firstly, the global expert organization is involving itself in megatrends such as the Internet of Things, connected and automated driving, and sustainability. Secondly, the global investments and acquisitions of previous years are starting to pay off. As a result, economic downturns in some submarkets can be offset by successes in growth markets. Consolidated revenue is expected to rise by around 3% to roughly EUR 3.43 billion. Disregarding temp work, growth would be over 5%. 40% of revenue will be generated outside Germany. With almost 45,800 experts at the end of 2019, DEKRA will be employing around 500 more people than in 2018. The company has further consolidated its standing as the world’s leading unlisted expert organization in the TIC industry.
- Revenue up by almost 3% in 2019, staff headcount by around 500
- New foundation in eight service divisions and eight regions takes effect
- New business areas opened up thanks to digital services
- Vehicle inspection in 21 countries following market entry in China, Chile and Vatican City
DEKRA is pursuing an innovative and integrated approach in the field of cyber security. “In a connected world, advanced cyber security is unimaginable without the functional safety of products and the security of user data,” explained Stefan Kölbl. That is why, in 2019, DEKRA formed a partnership with Argus Cyber Security, a specialist in automotive cyber security based in Israel. Together, the partners want to support automotive manufacturers in their efforts against cyber attacks. DEKRA brings to the partnership its cyber security expertise in the fields of consulting, training and product testing as well as its experience regarding regulatory issues, system and product certification, and functional security.
In addition to the topic of data, 2019 was also a year of digitalization being used to create growth opportunities for the future with new services and products. As an expert for elevator inspections, DEKRA has developed a trend-setting cloud solution with the DEKRA Lift Explorer. This enables elevator operators to optimize the safety of installations and maintenance.
The further expansion of DEKRA’s international test network is also focusing on intelligent solutions for automated and connected driving. With its DEKRA Technology Center at the Lausitz race track in Klettwitz, Germany, DEKRA already operates the largest non-manufacturer-affiliated test and inspection center in Europe. In 2019, the Málaga site in Spain was strengthened through a cooperation agreement with Spain’s leading mobile communications provider. Both partners are working to establish a connected car innovation hub there. Thanks to its strong market position in the field of secure connectivity for wireless technologies, DEKRA has also acquired a leading manufacturer of connected car solutions as a customer in Spain. The contract includes functional safety testing and type approval for more than 100 countries.
In addition to these new approaches and services, DEKRA also further consolidated its leading market position in traditional core markets. In the first half of 2019, the expert organization carried out 73,000 more regular vehicle inspections in Germany than in the same period of the previous year, thus increasing its market share to 33.5%. One year after entering the vehicle inspection market in Denmark, DEKRA already has a network of 29 testing stations and a market share of 10%. In Sweden, the market share rose to more than 10%, putting DEKRA in fourth place. On a global scale, DEKRA has increased the number of annual general inspections from 22 million to 26 million in ten years. While inspections were carried out in 10 countries in 2009, by 2019 this figure has jumped to 20, with China and (since June) Vatican City as the latest newcomers. After winning a tender in 2019, the twenty-first country, Chile, will be added to the list in 2020. In doing so, DEKRA has underscored its exceptional position as global market leader. The second-largest provider in this field inspects around 14 million vehicles a year.
DEKRA has also been successful in industrial inspection and industry-related services in several countries, for example in its second domestic market of France. A major French automotive supplier entrusted DEKRA with both safety audits at its plants and the testing of manufacturing processes. DEKRA also provides advice on how to improve production processes.
In the training and qualification services business, demand from the automotive supplier industry for electromobility qualifications and training increased sharply in 2019. With DEKRA’s expertise ranging from handling high-voltage components to working on live components, customers, employees in the company are being prepared for new requirements.
All service divisions and regions contributed to the positive business development in 2019 with the exception of the temp work service division and the Southern Africa & Oceania region. This came as a result of the economic situation in South Africa. The anticipated growth was generated almost exclusively by organic means. The most important single markets are still the region of Germany with an expected volume of almost EUR 2.1 billion (up EUR 42 million) and the South-West Europe region with the second domestic market of France and an expected volume of around EUR 540 million (up EUR 15 million).
For 2020, DEKRA is anticipating a subdued economic situation in key submarkets, as well as continued political tensions. “Nevertheless, we are assuming that we will be able to compensate for economic and regulatory challenges in individual business areas through further growth in others thanks to our broad-based and regional positioning,” said DEKRA CEO Stefan Kölbl, who is expecting stable growth of 2% to 4% for 2020.