Deutsche Bahn is making a profit again. For the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic, the DB Group has generated a positive operating result and has thus returned to its profitable growth path. DB closes the first half of 2022 with an operating profit (EBIT adjusted) of 876 million euros. Group revenue increased by 28.4 percent to around 28.0 billion euros compared to the first six months of 2021. Significantly more travelers used local and long-distance transport. International logistics was also in greater demand than ever before: "The turnaround has been achieved: Demand is booming and we are back in the black," said Dr. Richard Lutz, DB CEO, in Berlin.
The Group's operating result improved by around 1.9 billion euros compared to the first half of 2021. At that time, DB still had to report a loss of almost one billion euros due to the pandemic. In total, the Corona losses in DB's core business have added up to more than 10 billion euros since the start of the worldwide waves of the disease. The logistics subsidiary DB Schenker made by far the largest contribution to the Group's current success. It was able to almost double its operating profit compared to the first six months of 2021 to around 1.2 billion euros.
Chief Financial Officer Dr. Levin Holle highlighted the performance of DB Schenker in addition to the strong upswing in the core business: "The first half of 2022 is Schenker's most successful in the 150-year history of the company. Our logistics subsidiary is providing enormous support for the positive development of the DB Group." He added that the European local transport subsidiary DB Arriva had improved its operating result compared to the first six months of 2021 and was developing as expected.
Holle cited the sharp rise in inflation and, in particular, the "energy cost explosion" as major economic challenges. In the short term, energy costs could have been hedged in larger areas. However, DB would not be able to escape the general price trend in the future.
The forecast for the full year 2022 is subject to high uncertainties due to the as yet unforeseeable development of the Ukraine war and the Corona pandemic. Nevertheless, DB expects significantly higher turnover and a much better operating result at the end of the year than forecast in March.
For the full year 2022, DB currently expects an operating profit of more than one billion euros. Turnover is expected to grow to more than 54 billion euros. Together with its owner, DB wants to increase its investments to more than 16 billion euros gross and more than 6.5 billion euros net in the current year. This will again exceed the high values of the previous year.
