The group, which provides airline catering and in-flight services under the brand name LSG Sky Chefs, closed the year with consolidated revenues of EUR 3.2 bn, a slight increase of 0.8 per cent over the previous year. It sees this as a positive result, considering the impact of foreign exchanges and the voluntary withdrawal from certain markets and customer contracts. Changes in the group of consolidated companies contributed to a growth in sales of EUR 7 million.
However, the group achieved an Adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) of EUR 66 million; EUR 36.5 million below the 2016 figure, primarily due to the increase in transformation costs. The EBIT was hit by huge scale depreciation on fixed assets and amounted to EUR 45 million (2016: 60 million).
CEO Erdmann Rauer said: “Looking ahead, we will keep on pursuing three strategic goals – Market Leadership, Transformation and Profitable Growth – in all of our regions and divisions.
“Digitalization will be a crucial enabler in this endeavour. We are evaluating multiple opportunities to intensify the use of digital solutions in both our operational and administrative processes. This will make us more consistent and able to make the quality and efficiency of our products and services even better.”
The group said it has focused on further expanding its portfolio and transforming its business model to meet the highly diverse and changing requirements of its customers in the airline, railway and convenience retail industries.