[43] Segment report

The Executive Board, as the chief operating decision-maker (CODM), manages the KION Group on the basis of the two segments Industrial Trucks & Services and Supply Chain Solutions. The segments have been defined in accordance with the KION Group’s organizational and strategic focus.

Description of the segments

Industrial Trucks & Services

The business model of the Industrial Trucks & Services segment covers key steps of the value chain that are required to fully cater to the needs of customers worldwide. These are product development, manufacturing, sales and service, truck rental and used trucks, fleet management, and financial services that support the operating business with industrial trucks and the related automation solutions. The segment operates a multi-brand strategy involving the three international brands Linde, STILL, and Baoli plus the two regional brands Fenwick and OM.

Supply Chain Solutions

The Supply Chain Solutions segment, featuring its KION SCS Operating Unit, is a strategic partner to customers in a variety of industries, supplying them with integrated technology and software solutions for warehouse automation. Manual and automated solutions are provided for all functions along customers’ supply chains, from goods inward and Multishuttle warehouse systems to picking, automated palletizing, and automated guided vehicle systems. Featuring the Dematic brand, this segment is primarily involved in customer-specific project business. With global resources, production facilities in various countries, and regional teams of experts, Dematic is able to plan and deliver warehouse automation solutions with varying degrees of complexity anywhere in the world.

Corporate Services

Corporate Services comprises holding companies and service companies that provide services such as IT and general administration across all segments. The bulk of the total revenue is generated by internal IT services.

Segment management

The KPIs used to manage the segments are revenue and adjusted EBIT. Segment reporting therefore includes a reconciliation of externally reported consolidated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) – including effects from purchase price allocations and non-recurring items – to the adjusted EBIT for the segments (‘adjusted EBIT’). Intragroup transactions are generally conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Segment reports are prepared in accordance with the same accounting policies as the consolidated financial statements, as described in note [6].

The following tables show the segment reports for 2024 and 2023.

External revenue is allocated to the different regions on the basis of the customer’s location. The breakdown of external revenue by region is presented in the > tables ‘Disaggregation of revenue with third parties’. In 2024, revenue in the most significant countries was as follows: €2,077.1 million in Germany (2023: €2,036.1 million), €2,078.8 million in the US (2023: €2,083.1 million), and €1,303.6 million in France (2023: €1,219.6 million).

Net financial income and expenses, including all interest income and interest expense, are described in notes [12] and [13].

The non-recurring items recorded in the reporting year across the Group amounted to a total expense of €27.9 million. This figure included costs of €14.8 million in the Supply Chain Solutions segment (including interest and consultancy costs) that were incurred in connection with the ending of a long-running legal dispute related to the acquisition of a group of companies in 2015 by the former Dematic Group.

In 2023, the non-recurring items had amounted to a total expense of €37.2 million. This figure had included an expense of €24.8 million in the Supply Chain Solutions segment that related to adjustments to staffing capacity to reflect the prevailing order situation. These adjustments had been initiated as a short-term countermeasure in view of muted market demand in the long-term project business. Some of the provisions had been overfunded and were reversed again in 2024.

The effects from purchase price allocations comprised net write-downs and other expenses in relation to the step-ups and charges identified as part of the acquisition processes.

The regional breakdown of non-current assets, excluding financial instruments, deferred tax assets, and assets relating to defined benefit pension plans, is as follows:

As at December 31, 2024, non-current assets attributable to Germany amounted to €3,746.2 million (December 31, 2023: €3,545.4 million) and to the US €2,358.9 million (December 31, 2023: €2,227.6 million).