- Profit growth driven by strong business growth in Eastern Europe
- High investment in secured and unsecured receivables
- Strong focus on digitalisation
Hamburg, Germany, July 15, 2020 – By consistently following its strategic direction as a technology-driven debt collection provider and financial investor, the EOS Group headquartered in Hamburg has again increased its revenue in the 2019/20 financial year. With a 4.8% increase in revenue to EUR 853.1 million, the previous year recorded very positive results. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew to EUR 343.4 million.
Regional strengths, push for digitalization and high level of investment key success factors
The international provider of tailored financial services, which is part of the Otto Group, can largely attribute its increase in earnings to a substantial 31.3% increase in revenue in Eastern Europe. Other important success factors include the strong push towards digitalization and the cultural development of the EOS Group combined with the consistently high level of investment of EUR 651.3 million in secured and unsecured receivables and real estate.
“I feel very proud as I look back at the last financial year. It is the most successful year in the history of the EOS Group,” says Klaus Engberding, CEO of the EOS Group. “Above all, I would like to single out the tremendous progress we have made in digitalization, with EUR 25 million invested in expanding our core IT systems, and the focus on our cultural transformation process. The use of artificial intelligence and advanced data analyses will help boost innovation in our industry. And in uncertain times like in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, in particular, reliable processes, highly professional receivables management and sustainable financing are more important than ever for companies. We can offer all of this to our customers and we expect successful growth for our business in the coming year too.”
Overview of relevant indicators:
|
|
2019/20
|
2018/19
|
Revenue (€ million)
Of which
Germany
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
North America
|
853,1
303,3
232,0
266,7
51,0
|
813,7
341,1
220,9
203,2
48,5
|
EBITDA (mio. €)
|
343,4
|
283,6
|
For accounting reasons, differences may appear in the tables due to rounding.
Further important indicators can be found in our
online business report.
Germany remains the EOS Group's most important market
Germany remains the EOS Group's highest revenue region with a 35.6% share of total turnover. The decrease to EUR 303.3 million compared to the previous year is due to the sale of EOS Health Honorararmanagement AG. Although a smaller number of relevant claim packages were available in the highly competitive German market, the EOS Group was able to build on its long-standing experience and good reputation to acquire decisive renewable portfolios and thus consolidate its leading position. With a total of EUR 236.0 million, the level of investments exceeded that of the previous year - especially in the area of unsecured claims.
"Our success in Germany is mainly due to our operational excellence and intensive customer-focused sales. Our many digitalization initiatives and our excellent reputation - also in the area of data protection - make us a reliable and attractive partner," says Andreas Kropp, EOS Group Managing Director and responsible person for Germany. "To this end, and to secure our future, we are investing in our most important areas in a focused way: our colleagues, culture and technology."
Significant traffic growth in Eastern Europe sets new records
In Eastern Europe, EOS saw turnover grow from €63.6 million to €266.7 million, a real record compared to the previous year. The significant growth in turnover from receivables purchases, especially in Russia and Poland, played an important role. At the same time, we also saw a marked increase in turnover in Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. Important drivers of the success include the development of the collection software "Kollecto+" and the resulting increased efficiency in the processing of receivables. In addition, EOS was also able to realise significant business in the area of non-performing loans in Eastern Europe in the past financial year. The largest investments in non-performing loans were made in Poland, Croatia, Russia and Hungary. Bulgaria also made the largest ever secured purchase of receivables on the Bulgarian market with a non-performing loan portfolio of EUR 350 million.
"Our extensive knowledge of the local environment, the fair treatment of bad debtors and the partnership and often international cooperation with our customers pays off," explains Marwin Ramcke, EOS Group Managing Director and Eastern Europe Country Manager. "This has allowed us to introduce significant incentives for both secured and unsecured receivables and to share expertise within the Group. In addition, we have invested heavily in secured receivables packages in Slovenia and Serbia and are now able to optimally process secured and unsecured receivables in all Eastern European countries," says Ramcke.
Stable business development in Western Europe
In Western Europe, the very positive business development in Belgium, France and Austria led to an overall increase in turnover of 5% and thus an improvement on the previous year.The EOS Group's regional companies thus re-established themselves as leading providers for the underwriting of receivables. Despite the challenging market environment, France stood out and invested significantly more heavily in both real estate secured and unsecured portfolios. Belgium and Spain were also able to strengthen their investment activities. For example, the nominal value of the 47,000 receivables purchased by EOS Aremas in Belgium from bpost bank amounts to EUR 36 million.
"The EOS Group is very well positioned in Western Europe. Thanks to our expertise and many years of experience, especially in the banking and telecommunications sector, we are a preferred strategic partner for our customers," comments Dr. Andreas Witzig, Member of the EOS Group Management Board and responsible for Western Europe and North America. "We invest heavily in big data and analytics and help to solve non-performing loans. Despite the coronavirus crisis, which has particularly affected France and Spain, we remain a reliable and preferred strategic partner in the field of debt recovery and underwriting," confirms Witzig.
Future investments in North America
With an increase in turnover of €2.6 million, the North America region was slightly above the previous year's level, up 5%. In the US, the strategic focus on debt underwriting in particular paid off, with the EOS Group investing a total of €28.8 million, almost €4 million more than the previous year.In Canada, turnover was noticeably above the 2018/19 financial year and thus significantly above plan. Above all, we were able to focus even more strongly on claims management.
"The North American market is not an easy environment for the EOS Group, but Canada is developing very well," commented Dr. Andreas Witzig, Member of the EOS Group Management Board and responsible for Western Europe and North America. "We have developed into one of the leading claims management companies there in recent years and have significantly exceeded our turnover and profit expectations for 2019/20. Together with our Canadian team, we are very proud of this. In the US, increased investment in receivables purchases is indicating positive trends. We intend to continue this focus in the current financial year," Witzig adds.
About EOS Group
EOS Group is one of the leading technology-based financial investors and an expert in the processing of overdue receivables. Its core business is the underwriting of unsecured and secured receivables portfolios. With over 40 years of experience and locations in 26 countries, EOS offers smart receivables management services to its 20,000 customers worldwide. The main target sectors are banks, distribution companies, the real estate sector and e-commerce. EOS employs more than 7,500 people and is part of the Otto Group.
Further information about the EOS Group:
eos-solutions.com