- Expert organization increases revenue to more than 3.5 billion euros in 2021
- Adjusted EBIT of 226 million euros, 15 percent up on previous year
- Motor-vehicle inspection business: Entry into three new markets consolidates 
global market leadership
- E-mobility: Patented rapid test shows state of health of traction battery
- Sustainability services offer huge market potential
- DEKRA anticipates expansion in 2022 despite difficult conditions

Despite the massive economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, DEKRA expects 
growth of around five percent in the current fiscal year. The number of 
employees is expected to increase further by over 1,000 (2021: 47,770, 2020: 
43,990). In the second year of the pandemic, the expert organization proved its 
resilience: Revenue grew by 10.9 percent to more than 3.5 billion euros in 
2021. At 226.0 million euros, earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted 
EBIT) were approximately equal to the pre-coro- navirus figure in 2019. Net 
profit increased by around 50 percent, or 47.6 million euros, to 141.5 million 
euros in 2021 (previous year: 93.9 million euros) – and was thus more than 20 
million euros higher than in the strong year 2019.

Stan Zurkiewicz, the new Chairman of the Management Board, attributes these 
positive developments in a volatile environment mainly to the Company's strong 
market position, customer centricity, dedication of employees and accelerating 
digitalization. "We are closely in touch with our customers' needs and are 
concentrating on five high-growth focus areas where we are developing the 
digital services of the future," said the 42-year-old, who took on the baton 
from long-serving CEO Stefan Kölbl in April. In the context of digitalization, 
DEKRA is benefiting from completely new safety requirements that must be met, 
for example in relation to issues of cyber security and connected mobility. 
With capital expenditure of more than 140 million euros in 2021, DEKRA has laid 
the foundations for further growth around digitalization and driven forward 
internationalization – for example in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

The new DEKRA CEO made it clear to journalists in Stuttgart that safety 
requirements are evolving rapidly due to increasing product and system 
connectivity and climate change. While DEKRA will keep all aspects of safety 
for people in focus, at the same time digital security of personal data and 
networked systems is also high on the agenda. "We have refined our strategic 
positioning and added digital security and sustainability to our Strategy 2025 
strategy," said Stan Zurkiewicz. "Both are now part of our DNA." This is also 
reflected in DEKRA's strategic goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.

The further development of Strategy 2025 involved setting a strategic course 
last year. In the future, DEKRA will concentrate on five focus areas that 
represent significant fields of growth: artificial intelligence & data 
analytics, future vehicles and mobility, remote services, information & cyber 
security, and sustainability services. DEKRA's expanded understanding of safety 
is reflected in these focus areas. Just a short time after the launch of its 
Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security hubs, the DEKRA DIGITAL innovation 
unit is already generating double-digit growth rates with a total of more than 
100 employees. "We will exploit all growth opportunities with new digital 
services and a strong customer focus in particular," explained the new DEKRA 
CEO. "This will make us the global partner for a safe, secure and sustainable 
world by the 100th anniversary of our founding in 2025."

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1810625/DEKRA_Trailer_2022.mp4

Position of strength

"We are pursuing our goals from a position of strength. In 2021, for example, 
equity rose to 33.5 percent, or almost one billion euros," said CFO Wolfgang 
Linsenmaier. Growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region was particularly strong, 
with revenue up 17.8 percent to 221.2 million euros. The Germany region also 
made significant gains, posting an increase of 11.2 percent to 2,145.7 million 
euros. "Germany is and remains the largest and most important market for 
DEKRA," said CEO Stan Zurkiewicz.

The positive development in the past fiscal year is also reflected in the 
strategic business areas. Following the crisis in the wake of the coronavirus 
pandemic, Temp Work saw the largest percentage jump in its revenue by 43.2 
percent to 438.5 million euros. Vehicle Inspection, among others, also proved 
again to be extremely resilient: Sales in the business area grew by 7.6 percent 
to 1,217.7 million euros and set a new record with 28 million inspections in 23 
countries. Zurkiewicz: "We are already the global market leader, but we are 
systematically expand- ing our position." The Company aims to exceed the 30 
million inspections mark by 2025, its centenary year. In 2021 alone, DEKRA 
introduced its emissions and vehicle inspections in three additional countries: 
Chile, Mexico and Finland.

Secure connectivity

"Success and acceptance of digitalization substantially hinge on secure 
connectivity," remarked Ulrike Hetzel, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) on 
DEKRA's Management Board. The expert organization focuses on the three pillars 
of cyber security when developing appropriate solutions: people, products, and 
processes. This is how DEKRA helps its customers become more robust with regard 
to internal and external attacks. DEKRA ensures a secure Internet of Things 
(IoT), for example,  with tests  and certificates  in  accordance  with  the  
new EN 303  645 European standard – the basis for cyber security in the smart 
home. Last year, DEKRA awarded the first EN 303 645 certificate to a household 
appliance manufacturer in China. DEKRA expects the market for cyber security 
solutions to grow by around 40 percent annually until 2025.

In the emerging field of automotive cyber security, the Federal Motor Transport 
Authority granted DEKRA the status of type tester for new international 
regulations on cyber security and software updates in 2021. Under UNECE R155 
and R156 regulations – a gold standard for the automotive industry – 
manufacturers must demonstrate appropriate management systems throughout the 
life of a vehicle and have them audited every three years. The DEKRA Technology 
Center in Klettwitz plays an important role in this, and it is here that DEKRA 
plans to expand test tracks for automated and connected driving in 2022, with 
capital expenditure in the tens of millions of Euros. Many leading vehicle 
manufacturers rely on DEKRA's cyber security services. DEKRA expects strong 
growth in this business area in the next few years, with revenue projected to 
be in the upper double-digit million range by 2025.

With regard to industrial cyber security, e.g. in the field of critical 
infrastructure, the approval according to the industrial cyber security 
standard IEC 62443 in the growth market China was an important success. In the 
industrial environment, safety issues arise around the control and digital 
monitoring of machines and plants. The importance of online monitoring 
services, remote assisted inspections and remote inspections with 
remote-controlled robots and drones is growing worldwide. Remote inspections 
are important, for example, in dangerous or hard- to-reach places in the 
production process. In 2021, DEKRA received an order worth millions of euros 
from one of the world's largest chemical companies for remote inspections with 
robots.

Helping shape the AI ecosystem

Trust in safety plays a crucial role when it comes to artificial intelligence 
(AI). "AI is evolving rapidly and our goal is to help shape the AI ecosystem of 
the future as a neutral third party," explained Ulrike Hetzel. DEKRA is 
involved in the implementation of statutory regulations in technical standards 
and norms, for example. In 2021, DEKRA became a shareholder of Spearhead. This 
Swiss company uses AI to help motor insurers and fleet operators digitalize the 
processes surrounding the recording and settlement of claims. DEKRA expects the 
market for digital claims processing to grow rapidly and that corresponding 
solutions will be used in well over 50 percent of claims as early as 2025.

Expansion of the portfolio of sustainability services

In the growth area of sustainability, DEKRA sees potential in holistic 
solutions for managing the energy transition, for environmental, social and 
governance (ESG) standards, and for the circular economy. These include, for 
example, services for analyzing and reducing the carbon footprint of companies 
or their products. Lenovo's CO2 Offset Service for customers was verified by 
DEKRA in 2021, since when the Company has won further carbon footprint 
projects. The markets for sustainability audits, sustainability management 
systems and product testing in line with the latest environmental standards are 
similarly diverse.

DEKRA has further strengthened its market position in the field of e-mobility 
with a range of new services. The rapid battery test, for example, which has 
been patented and validated by RWTH Aachen University and in tests by vehicle 
manufacturers, allows the state of health of traction batteries to be recorded 
quickly and reliably. The solution enables DEKRA to answer the key questions 
about used electric vehicles: What is the battery's state of health and how 
much residual capacity does it retain? This question is very important in 
residual value management of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). The service is 
initially aimed at major customers such as leasing companies that remarket 
electric vehicle returns or car dealership chains that trade in used e-vehicles.

DEKRA achieved another success in California, the leading global market for the 
mobility of tomorrow, when it was contracted by the California Energy 
Commission to set up a Vehicle-Grid Innovation Laboratory. "The lab will 
improve the interoperability of the charging infrastructure and help introduce 
safe vehicle-to-grid solutions," reported CTO Ulrike Hetzel. The San Francisco 
Bay Area lab will be a kind of twin of DEKRA's state-of-the-art lab in Arnhem, 
Netherlands, and will start operations in the summer of 2022.

Besides e-mobility, DEKRA is an important player in the testing of solar 
industry products, particularly in China. As a member of Hydrogen Europe, the 
expert organization supports the safe use of climate-friendly hydrogen 
technologies. They also promote sustainable waste management by awarding the 
new Zero Waste certification seal. Given its excellent market position and the 
increasingly intensive measures worldwide for sustainable development of 
products, industries, communities and other areas, DEKRA expects strong demand 
for sustainability services with annual double-digit growth rates.

DEKRA is also successfully pursuing its own sustainability strategy. In April 
2022, for example, EcoVadis – the leading international standard for 
sustainability in global value(-added) chains – awarded the TIC (testing, 
inspection, certification) company Platinum for the second time in a row. As a 
result, the world's largest non-listed expert organization continues to secure 
a place among the top one per- cent of comparable assessed companies. EcoVadis 
assesses performance in environment, labor and human rights, ethics and 
sustainable procurement.

Outlook

DEKRA has made a good start to 2022, with revenue for the first quarter almost 
ten percent up on last year. According to the DEKRA CEO, growth in Germany, 
Europe and the world will shrink as many industries face disruptions to their 
supply chains and a shortage of raw materials as well as intermediate products. 
He also anticipates that high energy prices will continue to fuel inflation. 
Despite these uncertainties, DEKRA is planning ambitious growth of around five 
percent for 2022. DEKRA expects to see increasing investment in cyber security, 
for example in the automotive industry.

About DEKRA

DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for almost 100 years. Founded in 
1925 in Berlin as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein e.V., it is today 
one of the world's leading expert organizations. DEKRA SE is a subsidiary of 
DEKRA e.V. and man- ages the Group's operating business. In 2021, DEKRA 
generated sales totaling more than EUR 3.5 billion. The company currently 
employs almost 48,000 people in approximately 60 countries on all continents. 
With qualified and independent expert services, they work for safety on the 
road, at work and at home. These services range from vehicle inspection and 
expert appraisals to claims services, industrial and building inspections, 
safety consultancy, testing and certification of products and systems, as well 
as training courses and temporary work. The vision for the company's 100th 
birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe, secure 
and sustainable world. With a platinum rating from EcoVadis, DEKRA is now in 
the top one percent of sustainable businesses ranked.

SOURCE: DEKRA