Year-end report January 1 2024 –December 31 2024 for the Be-Ge Group.
Anniversary Year 2024 – A good year despite economic downturn and global uncertainty
The Be-Ge Group, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2024, also reports a satisfactory result for the financial year ending December 31, 2024.
- The Group's turnover amounted to SEK 1,395 million, compared to SEK 1,505 million for the 2023 financial year, a decrease of SEK 110 million.
- Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 115 million, a decrease of SEK 19 million compared to the previous year. The Be-Ge Seating Division reports both record-high revenue and profit, while the Be-Ge Component Division and Be-Ge Vehicle Division experienced a decline in their results compared to 2023.
- The Group had 568 employees, of which 167 were employed by the Group’s companies abroad
- Investments in the operations amounted to SEK 50 million during the year (previous year: SEK 41 million)
The financial year 2024 was marked by continued geopolitical uncertainty with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The uncertainty in the global environment has led to an economic downturn affecting parts of the customer segments in which the Group’s companies operate.
The weaker demand in the automotive segment—down by as much as 20%—has led to a decrease in capacity utilization and thus in revenue for the companies within the Component Division. To mitigate the downturn, cost adjustments were made, but the reduced capacity utilization negatively impacted the result.
The policy interest rate was gradually lowered during 2024, with a slightly faster pace in the last quarter. The interest rate situation, combined with general economic uncertainty, resulted in lower sales of new vehicles, both for passenger cars and trucks. Added to this is the uncertainty regarding the choice of fuel type, which was shown in the weak sales of plug-in vehicles to the private market during the year.
Sales of driver seats to customers in the forklift, bus, and train segments increased during the year. Together with positive development in passenger seat sales—especially to the ambulance market—the Seating Division delivered a very satisfactory result for the financial year.
The CEO of Be-Ge Företagen AB Håkan Hjalmarsson comments:
"Anniversary year 2024 has included many challenges and an economic climate that led to lower demand in several of the segments in which our companies operate. Despite this, the Group delivers a very satisfactory result for the year with continued strong cash flow. As a result, the Group is well-consolidated and has good liquidity at the end of the 2024 financial year.
The economic downturn that characterized most of 2024 is expected to continue into early 2025. The outlook for the rest of the year is unpredictable and will depend partly on developments in the geopolitical arena and partly on how inflation and interest rates will impact the economy moving forward. The Be-Ge Group works with a long-term view, and a slightly lower result for 2024 along with an uncertain 2025 does not affect our confidence in the future. We will therefore continue to invest in our operations according to existing plans.
Be-Ge is financially well-prepared, and together with our fantastic employees, we see great opportunities to continue developing the Group in the coming years.”