Access Solutions

Organic net sales growth across core countries

While the global economy avoided a broad recession in the financial year 2023/24, it still experienced subdued GDP growth that fell short of pre-pandemic levels. This slowdown was driven by persistent high inflation, elevated interest rates, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Regionally, economic performance was uneven. The US economy displayed notable resilience, while Europe faced downturns, with Germany experiencing negative growth. China fought with a sluggish housing market.

Elevated interest rates impacted affordability of property, and therefore demand for residential construction. In contrast, the non-residential sector, in which dormakaba is primarily active, displayed more robust growth in 2023/24.

The Access Solutions business segment reported strong organic net sales growth of 4.9% and total sales of CHF 2,405.9 million. Price realizations contributed +3.0%, while volumes grew by 1.9%. All major product clusters as well as After Sales Services contributed to growth.

Core markets recorded positive organic net sales growth. Germany reported growth of 10.0% supported by strong project business. Growth of 2.5% in Australia/New Zealand was driven by automation and hardware solutions. Both these markets also saw gains in market share. North America reported solid sales growth of 5.2%. Switzerland recorded a strong performance in Access Solutions, with the project as well as service business being the primary growth drivers. This strong performance was offset by softer demand for contactless smart cards resulting in organic net sales decline of 0.6%. United Kingdom/Ireland was able to turn around its growth: after experiencing negative sales growth in the first half of the financial year, the market was able to generate positive growth in the second half, ending the financial year with overall organic net sales growth of 0.6%.

dormakaba’s business in India maintained its momentum and recorded double-digit organic growth, while China was able to increase volumes in the second half of the financial year, ending with positive organic net sales growth.

The Rest of the World Access Solutions markets reported favorable organic net sales growth, with strong growth rates in Scandinavia/Baltic, Austria, and France and very strong, primarily volume-driven rates in mid-sized markets such as Italy, Iberia, Singapore, and Eastern Europe. Following the first half of the financial year, Middle East continued to record a decline in net sales due to project delays and a high prior-year baseline.

The financial year 2023/24 marked the first year in the ongoing transformation program announced on 3 July 2023. dormakaba made significant progress on the individual components of the transformation. The company successfully established three shared service centers for HR and Finance in Mexico, Bulgaria, and India. While currently in ramp-up, these have already started taking over activities from operational businesses. Moreover, agreements were reached with employee representatives in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. This enables dormakaba to take the next step in successfully executing its transformation program.

Activities that focus on further consolidating the company’s supplier base, the impact from the transformation program, lower raw material expenses, and price increases as well as increased procurement and operational efficiencies resulted in a tangible, positive contribution to the segment’s profitability in the financial year 2023/24. Consequently, adjusted EBITDA for Access Solutions increased to CHF 366.3 million, reaching an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.2%.