EQS-News: KNAUS TABBERT ACHIEVES SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE GROUP'S REALIGNMENT

•    Numerous measures introduced for stabilization
•    Management team strengthened with experienced industry experts to accelerate the realignment
•    Positive outlook for the 2025 financial year

Knaus Tabbert is undergoing an intensive process of stabilization and realignment under the leadership of the new Management Board. In recent months, a comprehensive package of measures has been initiated to strengthen the company's competitiveness and stability. This package includes significant steps to improve production efficiency, sales-related activities and measures to support dealers, as well as significant cost reductions.
 
From model year 2026 on, we will increase our production efficiency by simplifying the chassis portfolio, which should also have a positive impact on costs. Knaus Tabbert is optimizing the model portfolio for 2026 to eliminate product versions with insufficient demand and focus more on high-demand categories. The company has also conducted intensive negotiations with its suppliers in recent months in order to achieve improved price and delivery conditions. In addition, cooperation with suppliers whose products or services did not provide sufficient added value for customers was terminated. Targeted marketing campaigns and a strong showing at the CMT in Stuttgart and other trade fairs attracted a high level of customer attention. Targeted incentives were also introduced to further promote sales. These include attractive discounts at trade fairs and additional sales campaigns to support dealers. As a result, the vehicle stock has been reduced by around 2,000 units since October 2024, within the company and at dealers combined.
 
The management team is now receiving additional support for the ongoing realignment. Jochen Hein, an experienced industry expert, should join the management team as Chief Operating Officer from May 1, 2025. He brings a broad range of experience in managing medium-sized companies and implementing operational excellence initiatives. Among other things, he was a long-standing shareholder and Senior Partner of the Conmoto Consulting Group and spent eight years as Technical Managing Director of Hymer GmbH. As Director for Digitalization, he also played a key role in developing the digitalization strategy of the Erwin Hymer Group. Knaus Tabbert has also appointed Matjaž Grm, a renowned industry expert, as a consultant. The former Chief Sales Officer of Adria Mobil brings with him many years of experience in the caravanning industry and has already proven his expertise by successfully managing a high-performance product development and sales and marketing organization. These additions to the existing management team will strengthen Knaus Tabbert's progress in its strategic realignment under the motto “back to our roots”. The aim is to adapt the product portfolio more consistently to customer demand, increase production efficiency and focus on the quality of existing products.  

CEO Wim de Pundert: “Knaus Tabbert is undergoing a comprehensive transformation process in which we are setting clear priorities: Customer focus, efficiency and quality. With the optimization of our model portfolio and targeted measures in sales and marketing, we are creating the basis for a successful future. Knaus Tabbert stands for innovation and quality. We will continue to focus on these values and our strengths as a traditional manufacturer of leisure vehicles with decades of experience together with our dealers and partners in the future.” 

Structural adjustments for a stable future 
After the entire caravanning industry has experienced a boom during the coronavirus pandemic and production has increased significantly in line with this extraordinary demand, manufacturers' and dealers' inventories have increased in the context of the current economic situation in many European countries. Knaus Tabbert's structures must continue to be adapted to the currently normalized but stable demand. This has involved temporary production breaks or short-time working at various locations, budget cuts in administration and the discontinuation of inefficient development projects. These include the termination of the “KNAUS CASCAN” van or the launch of the “XPERIAN” brand. 
In January 2025, necessary personnel reductions were also implemented. Among other things, a social plan and corresponding agreements for the reduction in headcount at the Jandelsbrunn site were negotiated and signed in January 2025. As a result of the necessary structural adjustments at all four locations, the headcount was reduced by around 15 percent in the period from October 2024 to February 2025. 

CFO Radim Sevcik: “We have taken decisive steps in recent months and initiated the necessary optimization measures to get Knaus Tabbert back on track. These measures, some of which were cost-intensive, had a correspondingly negative impact on the earnings and financial figures for the 2024 financial year. However, these measures form the basis for sustainable positive development from the 2025 financial year onwards. The current progress and the feedback from our partners show that we are on the right track.”  

Positive outlook for the 2025 financial year 
In the 2025 financial year, the Management Board expects revenue of around one billion euros (EUR 1,000 million). Earnings power, expressed in terms of the adjusted EBITDA margin, is expected to be in the range of 5.0% to 6.5%. The implementation of various measures will have a significant impact on achieving this.