Financial markets

Thanks to the lower cost of borrowing, the general conditions in the financial markets were, on the whole, more favorable for the KION Group and its customers than in 2023. The European Central Bank (ECB) progressively reduced the interest rate for its deposit facility to 3.00 percent over the course of 2024. As a result of the decrease in financing costs, the banks responded by cutting interest rates on loans and easing lending criteria, which increased the supply of credit. Nevertheless, demand for credit in the corporate sector bounced back only slowly as many companies were able to fund capital expenditure from their own resources (Deutsche Bundesbank, November 2024; ECB, December 2024). The US central bank also pursued a strategy of cautiously easing its monetary policy stance (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, January 2025).

The KION Group generated 49.2 percent of its revenue outside the eurozone in 2024 (2023: 49.7 percent). The US dollar, pound sterling, and the Chinese renminbi were the most important foreign currencies, which had also been the case in 2023. The euro fell markedly against the US dollar and pound sterling in the year under review. However, there was only a moderate shift in the euro/renminbi exchange rate (ECB, November 2024). Overall, currency translation had only an immaterial effect on the KION Group’s operating performance in the reporting year.