Had a strong financial year 2024 with a significant increase in profitability
The Kion Group closed the 2024 financial year with a consistently convincing operating performance and strong business results: With slightly improved revenue of € 11.503 billion (2023: € 11.434 billion), adjusted EBIT increased significantly to € 917.2 million (2023: € 790.5 million). The adjusted EBIT margin rose to 8.0% (2023: 6.9%). Free cash flow reached € 702.0 million (2023: € 715.2 million), which was due to the strong results and a significant decrease in net working capital. Consolidated net income increased to € 369.2 million compared to the previous year (2023: € 314.4 million).
“We have made very good progress in both operating segments and at Kion level since the challenging year 2022, which was characterized by high inflation and severe supply chain disruptions. Our actions to increase operational and commercial agility as well as our focus on innovation, digitalization and artificial intelligence have proven successful and 2024 was a strong year for us,” said Rob Smith, CEO of Kion Group AG. “We have been able to bring the ITS segment’s adjusted EBIT margin back into double digits over the past two years, while the SCS margin has continuously improved. With our recently launched efficiency program and the consistent implementation of our strategy, we are well on track to bring Kion and both operating segments to an adjusted EBIT margin of more than 10 percent by the end of our current strategic planning period in 2027.”
The Industrial Trucks & Services segment increased its sales by 1.5% to € 8.609 billion (2023: € 8.480 billion), which is mainly attributable to the service business. Sales in the Supply Chain Solutions segment fell by 1.8% to € 2.943 billion (2023: € 2.997 billion), which is attributable to the subdued order intake in the project business (Business Solutions) in recent quarters, while the service business (Customer Services) continued to grow.
The adjusted EBIT margin for Industrial Trucks & Services reached 10.7% (2023: 10.0%) with adjusted EBIT of €917.5 million (2023: €848.5 million). Supply Chain Solutions more than doubled its adjusted EBIT margin to 3.8% (2023: 1.5%) on the basis of adjusted EBIT of €112.9 million (2023: €44.3 million).
Kion shareholders to benefit from strong financial year 2024: The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Kion Group AG will propose a dividend of €0.82 (2023: €0.70) per share for the 2024 financial year at the Annual General Meeting on May 27, 2025. This corresponds to a total distribution of € 107.5 million. The payout ratio is around 30% with earnings per share of € 2.75 for the 2024 financial year and therefore remains within the targeted payout corridor of 25% to 40%.
Forecast
In light of the current volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, the Executive Board expects the Kion Group’s key performance indicators and those of its operating segments to achieve target values within the following ranges in the 2025 financial year:

The Kion Group’s forecast for revenue and EBIT adjusted reflects a “bridge year” for ITS and continued profitability improvements at SCS. The free cash flow forecast includes the expected one-off expenses in 2025 for the recently launched efficiency program.
The development of sales and EBIT adjusted in the ITS segment will be influenced by a now normalized order backlog, which will lead to lower new business. This will probably not be fully offset by the expected continued growth in the service business. The expected ongoing shift towards entry-level warehouse trucks and intensifying competition are also likely to have an impact on performance in 2025, while the recently launched efficiency program in EMEA will take full effect in 2026.
The sales forecast for the SCS segment reflects the expected growth in the service business, while the project business is expected to decline slightly due to the lower order backlog at the end of 2024. The forecast for the segment’s EBIT adjusted will benefit from lower effects from legacy projects, improved project execution, savings from capacity adjustments already made and continued growth in the service business.
