- The plant builder Gea is more profitable
GEA, the plant engineering company, is reporting higher profits despite a weak global economy. In the first half of 2024, the company's earnings increased by 5.5% year-on-year to €189.3 million, as announced in Düsseldorf. Revenue was down 1.9% to around €2.6 billion, and the order backlog fell by 8.3% to around €3.2 billion.
CEO Stefan Klebert attributes the weaker demand to the economic downturn, with some dairy or brewery customers delaying investments due to global uncertainties and high interest rates. He explains the company's improved profitability through price increases, bundled purchasing, and production consolidation.
Founded in 1881 as a company for dust removal systems, GEA's portfolio is diverse, including brewery technologies, centrifugal technology, valves, milking robots, feeding systems, and freeze dryers. The company focuses on energy-efficient solutions, such as a spray dryer that reduces energy consumption by half using a heat pump, winning customers from competitors. The milk powder produced is used in baby food, among other things.
Asked if the outlook is gloomy due to the relatively weak order situation, Klebert says the company expects business in the second half of the year to be around the level of the second half of 2023, "even though we live in a world with economic difficulties." He is optimistic that some customer projects delayed until the end of the year will be realized. The board even raised its forecast for the operating result for the year.
GEA has around 18,000 employees worldwide, with approximately 3,350 in North Rhine-Westphalia. The most important site is Oelde in Münsterland, where 1,900 people work on separators. Other major production sites include Boone (agricultural technology; 800 employees) and Hürth near Cologne (freeze drying; 250 employees). The administrative headquarters, with around 400 employees, is located in Düsseldorf.
Despite the challenges in the global economy impacting some dairy or brewery customers, delaying investments due to uncertainties and high interest rates, GEA managed to enhance its profitability in agriculture-related sectors through strategic measures like price increases, bundled purchasing, and production consolidation. The company's focus on energy-efficient solutions, such as a half energy-saving spray dryer, is also contributing to its success, as the milk powder produced is utilized in various industries, including baby food.
