Keystone (Archivbild)
The recent storms have hit Stadler Rail hard, leading to production delays and an adjustment to forecasts for 2024. A major order from Berlin is also affected.
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- The eastern Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail has to adjust its forecast downwards.
- The reason for this is the effects of storms in several plants and problems with a large order in Berlin.
- Production in Spain in particular was severely affected by the natural disasters at the end of October.
- So far, only 376 of the 1,500 cars have been ordered, which means that the plant in Berlin-Pankow is underutilized.
The recent severe weather events have had a significant impact on train manufacturer Stadler Rail. Production in Spain in particular was severely affected by the natural disasters at the end of October.
Although the plant itself and its approximately 3,000 employees remained intact, several external warehouses were damaged. This led to significant delivery bottlenecks, as around 30 of Stadler Valencia’s suppliers are no longer able to supply the required components.
As a result, the factory will have to operate at reduced capacity, resulting in the postponement of 150,000 to 200,000 hours of production to 2025. The planned delivery of vehicles will be delayed accordingly.
Supply chain challenges
The supplier Constellium in Valais is also struggling with the consequences of a flood at its factory in June. The manufacturer of aluminum profiles does not expect to be able to catch up until the end of August 2025. In Austria, a Stadler commissioning center was also flooded in September, causing further challenges in the supply chain.
Problems in Berlin
Regardless of the severe weather events, Stadler Rail is faced with other difficulties in Berlin. After winning a major tender from the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in 2019, there were delays due to an appeal by Alstom and production problems as a result of the Covid pandemic.
Recently, a software problem occurred, which further delayed the delivery of the ordered cars. So far, only 376 of the 1,500 cars have been ordered, which means that the plant in Berlin-Pankow is underutilized.
Adjustment of company forecasts
Due to these challenges, Stadler Rail expects a reduction in the EBIT margin of up to 2 percentage points in 2024. The company had originally expected profitability of over 5 percent. The sales target of 3.5 to 3.7 billion francs for 2024 can no longer be achieved because part of the sales will be postponed to 2025. The exact amount of the shift is currently unclear.
Stadler Rail has also suspended the guidance for the 2025 and 2026 financial years because the long-term effects of current events cannot yet be estimated. The company plans to provide updated financial guidance in the first quarter of 2025 once the 2025 budget has been revised. A “catch-up program” is currently being developed to clear the backlogs as quickly as possible, similar to what was successfully implemented after the Covid pandemic.
SDA
