Technology group
After the drop in profits: What does Bosch expect this year?
Bosch’s profit collapsed last year. There are several reasons for this. Now the US tariffs are added. That clouds the outlook – and could have consequences for employees.
The technology group Bosch expects a difficult financial year because of the US customs policy. “We are affected by everything, no matter what is being discussed there,” said Bosch boss Stefan Hartung at the balance sheet template in Renningen near Stuttgart. An exact statement of the financial consequences of the tariffs of US President Donald Trump for Bosch is currently not possible. That could range from millions to billions. Anyone who is currently making such predictions needs a “particularly clear glass ball”.
Hartung only expects more clarity in the second half of the year. Until then, you have to wait and see which deals would be made. The new situation will definitely be different than before – and will ensure costs.
Hartung: External effects beat Bosch
The uncertainties are also reflected in the forecast of the world’s largest car supplier: Compared to the previous year, Bosch sales grew by around four percent in the first quarter. However, one could not derive from this that the year as a whole will be the case, said Hartung. On the contrary: “The year is extremely difficult in prediction”. One was not 100 % sure that there would be successful figures in the end. There would be a lot of external effects on Bosch. However, he hoped for a better year of the year than in 2024.
Specifically, the Swabians expect sales growth of one to three percent this year. This is significantly below the group’s medium -term goals. The result is also to be improved according to CFO Markus Researcher. The managers’ gaze is already aimed at 2026. Then significantly more profit should be in the balance sheet again.
Bosch will continue to have to work intensively on costs and structures, said Hartung. “Unfortunately, this also means that the number of jobs, especially in Germany and Europe, will lose weight”. Most recently, the company had repeatedly announced job cancellations. It’s about thousands of jobs worldwide. The number of employees had dropped last year. At the end of December 2024, a good 417,850 people worked at Bosch. That was 2.7 percent or almost 11,600 fewer than a year earlier.
Corporate surplus collapsed by half
The difficult economic situation beat Bosch with full force last year. The adjusted profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) broke up by more than a third to 3.1 billion euros. The bottom line was 1.3 billion euros left (minus 49.5 percent). Sales fell by 1.4 percent to 90.3 billion euros. The group based in Gerlingen originally wanted to grow by five to seven percent. Bosch was also much more optimistic about the profit.
There are some reasons for the situation: The world’s largest car supplier suffers from the low demand for vehicles – especially for electric cars. In addition, consumers are reluctant to buy devices such as cordless screwdrivers, washing machines and refrigerators. The situation was similar in the other mainstays of the group: mechanical engineering is fighting with the weak economy and the European heating market is strained in the area of building technology.
dpa
Source: Stern
