Waberer's maintains profitability despite adverse conditions in 2015

Waberer’s International Nyrt. (Waberer’s) has given the right answers to challenges of unfavourable external conditions and has maintained its profitability – as stated in the annual report summarising Waberer’s Group’s 2015 performance. Compared to previous years, Waberer’s turnover has increased at a somewhat more modest rate, reaching EUR 522.5 million which exceeds the 2014 figure by 5.3%. In spite of the considerable deterioration of conditions in international road transport, Waberer’s Group managed to increase its EBITDA to reach EUR 69.3 million in 2015, an increase of 3.1% over 2014. Net income for the year 2015 amounted to EUR 12.4 million which surpasses the corresponding figure for 2014 by 12.1%.
External conditions affecting international road transport had an adverse impact on Waberer’s operations too. Among these conditions, the most prominent have been the consequences of the refugee crisis, such as the introduction of temporary traffic restrictions in many European countries, additional costs due to coercive diversionary routes due border closures, and the occasional reintroduction of border control within the Schengen area, slowing down road traffic. Waberer’s had to find ways to balance restrictive regulations introduced in a number of countries, as well as the shortage of trained heavy-duty vehicle drivers across Europe. Market competition has further increased as a result of an overcapacity in European freight transport caused by the Russian embargo.
Waberer’s, however, responded to these circumstances by further improving its operational efficiency KPIs. Through upgrading its proprietary freight organisation and route optimisation technology, in 2015 Waberer’s Group increased the loaded ratio of its trucks performing long-distance international freight to 91.3% from 90.9% measured in 2014. Last year, the Waberer’s fleet’s fuel consumption as measured by liter per 100 kilometres has continued to decrease as compared to the previous year, with an especially outstanding rate of 2.4% in domestic freight operations. The fleet size grew by 180 truck-trailers to exceed 3,430 units, representing an increase of 5.6% in 2015. Pollutant emissions have continuously decreased with Euro 6 environmental classification vehicles becoming dominant within Waberer’s fleet. The fleet, with an average age of less than two years, completed more than 422 million kilometres on European roads during 2015.
Waberer’s has continued to build its subsidiary network in Europe’s major industrial centres. In March 2015, Waberer’s Italia S.R.L. started operations in Italy, while in September 2015 the Dutch branch office, Waberer’s Benelux B.V. was launched. These decisions had been based on the positive feedback received from clients about the high quality local handling of their consignments by subsidiaries established in France and in the United Kingdom in 2014.
In 2015, the number of full truckloads forwarded by Waberer’s had further increased and exceeded 510,000 FTLs.
Waberer’s has continued to focus on the cost-effective long-haul transport of palletised goods during 2015. The company’s most important markets were Germany, Hungary, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Spain.