Published on: May 12, 2025 / update from: May 12, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
Würth in crisis mode: Analysis of the 4 -percent drop in profits 2024/2025 -creative image: Xpert.digital
Future questions at Würth: Crisis year 2024 as a turning point?
Course drop at Würth: forecasts and opportunities for relaxation for 2025
The commercial group Würth, world-famous as a specialist in fastening and assembly technology, is currently experiencing one of the most difficult economic phases in its company history. In the 2024 financial year, the Group from Künzelsau recorded a dramatic drop in profits of over 40 percent, while at the same time sales decreased slightly. This development is in a strong contrast to the previous successful financial years and raises questions about the future positioning of the company. Despite these challenges, management is behavioral optimistically for 2025, based on a solid financial foundation and the first sign of recovery in the current year.
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The extent of the economic break -in
Drastic decline in profits in the case of stable sales
The figures for the 2024 financial year reveal a dramatic situation for the screw giant Würth. The net profit collapsed by over 40 percent and fell from 1.14 billion euros to only 673 million euros. This development contrasts with earlier success reports of the company, which regarded double -digit growth as the standard for decades. The operating result before tax also fell drastically by more than a third to 940 million euros, after 1.455 billion euros in the previous year.
It is noteworthy that sales with a minus of only 0.9 percent to 20.21 billion euros remained comparatively stable. This indicates that the company's main problems are less in demand than in the cost situation and efficiency. The massive decline in return is particularly striking: instead of 7.1 percent in the previous year, only 4.6 percent remained in 2024. This development represents a fundamental cut for a company that was geared towards growth and high margins.
Regional differences in business development
The economic situation shows significant regional differences. The German business was particularly affected by a decline of 3.9 percent to just under 8 billion euros. Germany remains the most important single market for Würth with a share of sales of 39 percent, but contributes significantly to the negative overall development. Abroad, on the other hand, the group recorded slight growth of 1.2 percent.
The positive development in southern Europe, the group's second most important market, is particularly noteworthy with growth from 3.8 percent to over 3.1 billion euros. However, this growth was strongly influenced by the acquisition of the Italian electrical assistant IDG 01 Spa and does not necessarily reflect organic growth.
Causes of the economic crisis
External stress factors
The slump in profits at Würth can be attributed to several external factors. Robert Friedmann, spokesman for the group management, names a combination of a weak construction economy, declines in industry and geopolitical tensions as the main causes. The persistently weak economy in the processing industry has had a strong negative impact on sales development.
The drastic cost increases have a particularly stressful effect. Raw materials such as acetone cost four times as much as at the end of 2020, nickel prices have doubled, and natural gas was more expensive by 150 percent. These price developments significantly affect the margins and cannot be completely passed on to customers. The costs for packaging, transport and staff have also increased significantly.
The geopolitical situation additionally tightens the situation. Würth-Management speaks of a “right of right” in the country, while upgrading in Europe, trade conflicts with the USA and tariffs on Chinese products burden the business. Würth is particularly hard the US market, which, as the second largest sales market to Germany, depends heavily on imports from China.
Internal factors and strategic investments
In addition to the external factors, internal decisions also contribute to the decline in profits. Würth made considerable investments in the 2024 financial year-1.2 billion euros flowed mainly into IT infrastructure, storage capacities as well as in production buildings and technical systems. These investments burden the operating result in the short term due to increased depreciation, but are intended to secure growth in the long term.
CEO Friedmann emphasizes the company's anti -cyclical investment strategy: "In 2024 we sticked to our anti -cyclical strategy and invested where others moved back". Although this strategy is burdening the result at short notice, it could be an advantage in the long term if the economy attracts again.
Effects on business areas and parts of the company
Different development in the business areas
The economic crisis affects the various business areas of Würth differently. In the core business, the craft divisions of the Würth line developed comparatively satisfactorily with sales at the previous year's level, whereby the divisions in particular (+3.3 percent) and wood (+2.0 percent) recorded growth.
In the Allied Companies, the subsidiaries outside of the core business, electrical gross trade in particular contributed to sales growth with an increase of 11.7 percent. This shows that Würth's diversified corporate structure has a stabilizing effect in crisis times, since not all areas are equally affected by the economic weakness.
Personnel situation and structural adjustments
Despite the economic difficulties, Würth increased the number of employees slightly in 2024. At the end of 2024, the group employed around 88,400 people worldwide, which corresponds to an increase of 1.5 percent. Around 44,900 of these are active in sales.
This development shows that Würth adheres to its long -term personnel strategy despite the drop in profits. Friedmann confirmed that despite the negative development, one wanted to capture the course and continue to hire employees. This indicates a high level of trust in long -term business development.
Strategic adjustments and future orientation
Digitization and e-commerce as a growth driver
Würth increasingly relies on the digitization of his business model. The proportion of e-business in total sales grows continuously and now accounts for about a fifth of total sales. The company is massively investing in the expansion of the IT infrastructure in order to promote digital transformation.
The focus is on the availability and delivery capacity for over four million customers worldwide. The sales activities are expanded across all three channels: field service, branches and e-business. This multichannel strategy is intended to strengthen customer loyalty and open up new markets.
Improvement of the supply chain event management
In order to optimize the delivery performance, Würth has implemented a monitoring system from the software provider AEB. This system helps the logistics to analyze the delivery performance and identify optimization potential at tactical and strategic level. The focus is no longer the individual area productivity, but the promise of delivery to customers.
This adaptation shows a paradigm shift at Würth: Instead of working through customer orders productivity -oriented, the focus is now on commitment, reliability and transparency towards the customer. This change of mentality could contribute to the stabilization of business in the long term because it focuses on customer satisfaction.
Economic challenges: How uncertainties influence Würth
Forecasts for the 2025 financial year
Despite the current crisis, Würth is actively optimistic about the future. For the 2025 financial year, the group is aiming for growth in sales in the middle single -digit range. This forecast is based on first positive developments in the current year. "We grew by almost four percent in the first quarter," said Würth boss Robert Friedmann.
The chemistry areas that were able to build on the success of the previous year develop particularly positively in the area of chemistry. The EISOS group, one of the largest European manufacturers of passive electronic and electromechanical components, is currently currently listing increasing orders in Asia and North America. Since the EISOS group is one of the early cyclists of the Würth Group, this could be an indicator of a broader relaxation.
Growth forecast decreases: How much uncertainty can the economy cope?
Despite the careful optimism, there are considerable challenges. The economic forecasts for Germany have recently been significantly corrected downwards. According to the IFO Institute, the gross domestic product should hardly increase more than 0.1 percent. According to the international monetary fund, the global economy should grow significantly slower at 2.8 percent than expected in January 2025.
The tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump are a special challenge. Friedmann emphasizes the difficulty of submitting reliable forecasts under these circumstances: "Due to the Trump-Zölle, it is reasonably difficult to give a forecast. Nobody has an overview of where what customs works". These uncertainties could affect business development in the current year.
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Evaluation of the company position
Financial stability despite the crisis
Despite the massive slump in profits, Würth emphasizes the fundamental financial stability of the company. With an equity ratio of 48 percent and 9 billion euros in own funds in the balance sheet, the company is on a solid foundation. The rating agency S&P Global again confirmed the rating of the Würth Group with A/Outlook Stable in June 2024.
The 89-year-old corporate patient Reinhold Würth, who handed over the chair of the foundation supervisory board to his grandson Benjamin Würth on January 1, 2025, does not worry about the family business: "The company is very healthy. We have 9 billion euros in our own funds". This solid capital resource enables Würth to survive longer dry spells.
Long -term perspectives and challenges
In the long term, Würth is faced with structural challenges that go beyond the current economic weakness. The closure of a plant for circuit board production in Schopfheim with 300 jobs in October 2024 underlines the pressure by international competitors, especially from China. Würth himself spoke of an economic crisis with “historical dimensions”, especially in the industrial electronics under considerable cost pressure.
At the same time, the heterogeneous structure of the group across a wide variety of industries and regions as well as the established business model offers the necessary stability to master these challenges. Robert Friedmann emphasizes: "Our primary goal is to secure the company's success of the Würth Group in the long term based on healthy and sustainable growth". With over four million customers worldwide and the support of the Würth family, the company has a solid basis for the future.
Burglary, digitization and global competition: Würth's struggle for stability
The drastic drop in profits at Würth in 2024 marks a significant cut in the company's history and reflects the current economic challenges. The combination of a weak economy, rising costs and geopolitical tensions has put the business model of the traditional family company to the test. Nevertheless, Würth is resistant, which is due to the solid financial basis, the diversified corporate structure and the long -term strategy.
The anti -cyclical investments in digitization and logistics as well as the focus on customer orientation and supply chain management could pay off in the long term if the economy attracts again. The first positive signals in 2025 indicate gradual recovery, with external factors such as customs conflicts and geopolitical uncertainties continue to be risks.
The generation change at the head of Reinhold Würth's foundation supervisory board to his grandson Benjamin Würth also marks a transition to a new era in which the company has to adapt to changing economic realities. The ability to successfully design this transformation will be decisive for the future positioning of the group in global competition.
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