Group Performance

Strong First-half of 2024/25

dormakaba continued its trajectory and achieved strong organic net sales growth with adjusted EBITDA margin expansion in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year.

In the first half of 2024/25, dormakaba’s net sales grew organically by 5.1%. Volume growth remained at a high level and contributed 3.3%, driven by all core countries and Key & Wall Solutions and OEM. Pricing contributed 1.8% in the context of softening inflation. Both business segments contributed to the organic growth of the Group. Total sales amounted to CHF 1,421.3 million, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year. Negative currency translation effects eased in the period under review and amounted to –1.6%.

In line with our strategic update Shape to Growth, designed to accelerate growth, the company has re-launched its M&A activities. A first bolt-on acquisition was announced in February 2025. The company acquired Montagebedrijf Van den Berg B.V. to expand its projects and service footprint for access solutions in the Netherlands.

The transformation program continues to deliver: dormakaba has made further progress in operational efficiency and procurement initiatives that deliver tangible and sustainable results. The ramp-up of shared services for transactional activities is progressing well. Currently, around 370 employees work in the shared service centers in Sofia (Bulgaria), Nogales (Mexico), and Chennai (India). As of today, transactional activities have been transferred from Scanbalt, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux, China and the USA. The integration of Germany is progressing ahead of plan. The first half of 2024/25 was also marked by achievements in reducing company complexity. The consolidation of sites in Montréal was completed with the sale of the former factory building. Additionally, the company closed two divestments: the service business for entrance system automatics in the UK was handed over to two external parties, while the Sub-Saharan business in South Africa was sold to the local management teams, retaining exclusive dealership agreements.

dormakaba launched its commercial transformation in the first half of 2024/25 and reached a first important milestone by finalizing negotiations with the German employee representatives. The complexity reduction program for door closers has also been accelerated. Both initiatives are progressing as planned and are expected to deliver by 2027/28.

The first half year of 2024/25 marked the fifth consecutive semester of improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin. Adjusted EBITDA closed at CHF 216.1 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.2% (incl. one-off expenses for work-shadowing), an increase of 60 bps over the previous year. The company recorded items affecting comparability (IAC) of CHF 15.3 million on EBITDA level. The impact of goodwill amortization on EBIT level was CHF 12.7 million. Net profit amounted to CHF 96.7 million, a substantial increase of 99.4% over the previous year.

While dormakaba recorded a decline in free cash flow from CHF 55.7 million to CHF 50.9 million in H1 2024/25, operating cash flow margin decreased slightly by 90 bps to 5.6%. Cash flow has been impacted by challenges in supply chain and project-specific inventory build-up as well as a tough prior-year baseline.

Key Balance Sheet Figures

Net working capital increased from CHF 671.6 million to CHF 708.5 million. The main driver for this development was a build-up in inventories. Trade receivables increased under-proportionately to organic net sales growth from CHF 425.8 million to CHF 433.8 million. Trade payables amounted to CHF 167.2 million, an increase of CHF 5.2 million against the previous year.

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to CHF 135.9 million, an increase of 18.8%. The company was able to generate free cash flow of CHF 50.9 million. Net debt stood at CHF 466.4 million and leverage (Net debt/adjusted EBITDA) at 1.1x. Return on capital employed (ROCE) increased by 240 bps to 29.9%, due to the increase in profitability.

Growth and margin expansion in both business segments

Both business segments recorded organic growth and further margin expansion. A strong order backlog will allow the company to progress further in the second half of the financial year, in line with its mid-term targets.