With an increase of three per cent, the corporate group recorded a provisional net turnover of EUR 1.28 billion (2014: EUR 1.24 billion). "In spite of the tense economic situation in Europe, we continued to build on the steady development of the previous years by investing in facilities, products and human resources and created added value for our customers through intelligent logistics solutions. We are very satisfied with our performance," was how Wolfram Niessner, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss summarised the result. At 56.7 per cent, the equity ratio rose slightly, guaranteeing the company substantial independence from credit institutes (2014: 54.3 per cent).

Expansion in Asia
The total volume of investments in 2015 amounted to EUR 53.75 million (2014: EUR 56.4 million). In addition to expanding locations in Central and Eastern Europe, Gebrüder intensified its operations in Asia, thereby strengthening its position as an international logistics provider. In Singapore, the company opened a new logistics terminal which, together with the locations in Dubai and Shanghai, bridged a geographical gap in Asia. "Our customers in Asia, too, can benefit from logistics services which comply with consistently high European quality standards, combined with specific regional know-now," says Wolfgang Niessner. An example of this is the joint venture, Gebrüder Weiss Automotive Logistics, which since it was founded at the end of 2014 has established itself as the Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) for several international automotive subcontractors and manufacturers.

Focus on e-commerce
The logistics specialist responded to the steady growth in online business by expanding its established eFulfilment solutions in a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In this context, Gebrüder Weiss also added two-man handling and furniture assembly to its home delivery services (B2C), advancing to the position of market leader in Austria. Furthermore, DPD's network in Austria grew to over 1,000 parcel shops. The Gebrüder Weiss parcel service (GWP) is a shareholder in DPD. Overall, the overland transport and logistics business area increased its turnover by 3.9 per cent to EUR 857.7 million (2014: EUR 825.8 million). In 2015, the Air & Sea business area recorded growth of 2 per cent with a turnover of EUR 293.9 million (2014: EUR 288.1 million). In the parcel service (CEP) and New Business divisions, turnover was up one per cent.

From freight forwarding services to global supply chain management
Last year, the corporate group was not only successful in transport and warehouse logistics but also made key strategic decisions regarding its development in the area of global supply chain management. "In order to fully exploit optimisation potential for our customers, we need to consider the complex value creation chain in its entirety and provide support through efficient consulting, planning and logistics expertise," explains Wolfgang Niessner.

Outlook 2016
In 2016, Gebrüder Weiss intends to strengthen its leading position in Central and Eastern Europe and along the former Silk Road toward China and in other overseas markets. "We will continue to align our products and processes to the requirements of our customers and develop innovative solutions in order to keep up with the growing pace of digitisation," says Wolfgang Niessner. "In doing so, we will continue to place our faith in our highly trained and dedicated workforce whose commitment to Service Excellence is enthusiastically welcomed by our customers."