Giesecke + Devrient has been printing banknotes for 171 years. In 1854, company founders Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient started with a ten Thaler note for the Weimar Bank. Today, banknote printing still accounts for a tenth of turnover, as Jan Thyen explains. He has been Managing Director for Finance at the Munich-based family business for a year now.

G+D describes itself as a security technology group. The three business segments are Currency Technology, Digital Security and Financial Platforms. According to Thyen, the business with the longest tradition still has a long future ahead of it: „Cash will not disappear in the coming decades,“ he says in an interview with Börsen-Zeitung. The demand for banknotes is stable.

Thyen himself only pays digitally, but cites arguments in favour of cash: secure, crisis-proof, anonymous and even a means of payment that works in the event of a power cut. „In industrialised countries, demand is relatively stable due to people's caution", he says. In emerging countries such as India, Africa and Latin America, banknotes are still in high demand. Many people there do not yet have a bank account. In addition, the demand for banknotes is increasing in some countries due to high inflation, such as in Argentina. In addition, there are one-off effects, such as the printing of new notes with the likeness of King Charles in the UK.

G+D's growth is being fuelled by the increasing use of „sustainable materials“ such as organic cotton and mineral oil-free ink for the production and printing of banknotes. Thyen also recognises other impulses, saying that "there are a number of trends that are positive for us.“ He cites digital payment, the Internet of Things, and security against cyber attacks, as examples.

G+D has set itself the goal of increasing its annual turnover to 4 billion euros by 2030. In 2023 it was just under 3 billion euros, while in 2024 it exceeded 3 billion euros for the first time, at 3.13 billion euros to be precise.

On the subject of cyber security, Thyen points out that the competition with counterfeiters began a long time ago with banknotes. Later, their criminal energy was also directed at SIM cards for mobile phones and payment cards. „Today, it's generally about communication worth protecting, data storage, and security in the cloud,“ he reports.

Many criminal offences are politically motivated - whether they come for example from Russia, China or North Korea. For G+D, it's about always being one step ahead: „We have to understand the business better than the counterfeiters and hackers", he says. G+D invests heavily in this, and develops solutions with customers. As an example, he cites the US Federal Reserve, which has been supplied by the company for 50 years. „Together, we are trying to stay five to ten years ahead of counterfeiters.“

Giesecke + Devrient also works together with companies. „Partnerships are becoming increasingly important,“ says Thyen, "because the world is becoming ever faster and more dynamic.“ G+D is expected to announce a new cooperation in the field of mobile security/connectivity in around three months' time.

The CFO is optimistic that contracts for one or two acquisitions will be signed in three to five weeks. He is not talking about large acquisitions. G+D is adhering to the motto of the consulting firm McKinsey, which states that it is better to acquire three small companies than one large one. „We are on the lookout in the areas of digital offerings and software offerings, especially for our Digital Security and Financial Platforms segments", he says. The aim is also to expand the business regionally.

Acquisitions are included in the turnover planned for 2030. On the earnings side, G+D reported a decline for the past year. Earnings before interest and taxes fell to 170 (previous year: 176) million euros. This was due to restructuring costs totalling 17 million euros. The net profit for the year fell by just under 4 million euros to 88 million euros. „We are dealing with a large number of smaller measures,“ Thyen replies to the question about restructuring. There is a fitness programme every year. Expenses are only reported separately if they exceed 10 million euros, as was the case last year. It remains to be seen how high it will be this year. „We are currently in the analysis phase."