RCA Balance Sheet 2009: Gotten stronger during crisis
03-May-2010
Despite revenue losses, Rail Cargo Austria has come out as a winner in an international comparison.
Of all European railways, ÖBB’s freight transport subsidiary has shown the best results in the year of the economic crisis. Today, RCA is Europe’s second strongest freight railway and number 1 in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Internationalisation was and will continue to be advanced: apart from Austria, RCA is now operating its own trains also in Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Romania. With the "Joining Forces" project, MAV Cargo was optimally integrated into the Group and renamed to Rail Cargo Hungaria in March 2010. The synergy effects between Rail Cargo Austria and Rail Cargo Hungaria have brought in about 20m EUR in 2009 and will bring about increases of up to 50m EUR in the coming years.
Very pleasing was the result of the Highway on Wheels on the Brenner, where 225,000 trucks were transported on the railway in 2009 – this means an increase of 12.5% compared with the record year 2008.
Rail Cargo Austria has turned the crisis into an opportunity and improved internal structures, expanded its international production and ideally positioned itself in the market. The prognoses for the business year 2010 are optimistic. Thus for example the Highway on Wheel on the Brenner was able to achieve an increase of 17% in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 2009. In some areas of the strategic business unit Cargo & Logistics, a strong upward trend is becoming apparent in conventional full-load traffic. The month of April alone showed an increase of the transport volume by more than 40% in the coal and steel sector compared with the previous year. This can also be attributed to some massive stockpiling of raw materials.
Rail Cargo Austria Group Facts 2009
- Market position as Rail Cargo Austria Group strengthened:
# 2 in Europe
# 1 in CEE - 120.3m tons transported (+ 21.8m tons)
- EUR 2.3bn total returns
- More than 225,000 trucks transported with Highway on Wheels on Brenner