For the second time since Lars Brzoska succeeded Hans-Georg Frey as CEO of Jungheinrich in September 2019, the family-dominated intralogistics group from Hamburg has presented guidelines for the coming years. The new „Strategy 2030+“ which was approved by the Supervisory Board at its meeting on 26 September last year, will build on the strategy presented in November 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

At that time, Brzoska announced that the „Strategy 2025+“ would make Jungheinrich more profitable, efficient and sustainable. In terms of technology, the company focused on automation, digitalisation and future-oriented energy systems. There was also a „special focus“ on expanding the company's presence in Europe, China and North America. Looking back, the CEO now states that the „most important goals“ of the strategy have been achieved.

On the stock market, however, Jungheinrich experienced ups and downs during this strategy period: the all-time high of 47.32 euros in April 2021 was followed by a slump to just over 20 euros in September of the following year. The MDax company's share price has since recovered from a 23% drop to 25.66 euros in 2024 to over 33 euros. The company has so far only been impacted by the erratic US customs policy in the spare parts sector. The expansion of the „global footprint“ beyond the core market of Europe, where Jungheinrich generated around 83% of its annual sales in 2024, is now likely to become more important.

Opportunities for a „still very European player“ like Jungheinrich also lie „in expansion outside Europe“. Brzoska explained in the financial year report published at the end of March. In order to become „significantly more global“, transactions can be envisaged above all in North America, but also in the Asia-Pacific region.

When presenting the annual results, Group CEO Brzoska emphasised the „structurally increasing competitive pressure“ to which the company had to react. Chinese companies had caught up and overtaken the competition in terms of technology at low manufacturing costs. They had also gained market share in various product segments in Germany through a combination of good products, export strength, a good dealer network and low prices.

Especially in economic crisis phases such as the current one, customers pay less attention to high-end products, says Brzoska, who has been a member of the Jungheinrich Board of Management since 2014 and was initially responsible for sales and technology. The „mid-tech market“ is not only large in Asia, but also in Europe and the USA, and companies from China are currently occupying this market. The Jungheinrich boss announced that he would provide an answer to the challenge „shortly“ and was confident that the company would not be „overrun by the Chinese wave“.

From an analyst's point of view, Jungheinrich's forecast conveys an „optimistic picture“, especially in view of the persistently weak economy in Europe in 2025. The company is planning a higher order intake of between 5.5 and 6.1 (p.y. 5.3) billion euros and sales of between 5.4 and 6 (5.4) billion euros - with stable supply chains and no escalation of geopolitical tensions. At the upper end of the revenue range, the target figure associated with the „2025+“ strategy would still be achieved. Just over a year ago, Jungheinrich raised the target figure by 500 million euros to 6 billion euros following the acquisition of Storage Solutions, a provider of racking systems and warehouse automation solutions in the USA, which was completed in 2023.

The EBIT margin of between 7.8 and 8.6 (8.1)% expected in 2025 could once again land just within the previous target range of 8 to 10%. At 8.5%, the best value in the Brzoska era to date dates back to 2021. The 52-year-old CEO emphasised that Jungheinrich must continue to work on its own structures in order to improve its cost base. In addition to the digital transformation, the company, which cut almost 200 jobs last year citing a difficult market environment, also wants to further expand its automation business.

The importance of focussing on this important growth area was demonstrated by the establishment of the new Executive Board department for Automation last year. However, the appointed board member Udo Panenka left at the end of February after only ten months in office due to differences of opinion regarding the structure and direction of the department. The successor is still open. In the newly organised Board of Management in 2024, Jungheinrich CEO Brzoska is currently responsible for the business on an interim basis.