Blum ends financial year with a turnover of €2.3 billion

Austrian furniture hardware manufacturer Blum recently announced its financial results for fiscal year 2023/2024, ending June 30, 2024. Despite a difficult economic backdrop, the company managed to maintain a stable turnover, recording revenues of €2,297.16 million.

Stability in uncertain times

The reported turnover represents a slight decrease of 1.2% year-on-year. Philipp Blum, Managing Director of the Blum Group, commented, "The first months of the financial year were challenging for us and for the industry as a whole. However, we have seen some positive signs in the second half of the year."

Furniture companies face high costs for raw materials, energy and staff. At the same time, end-consumers are more cautious about investing due to inflation and rising prices.

Continuous investment

Despite the uncertain economic climate, Blum continued to invest in the company's future. In the financial year 2023/2024, the group invested a total of 287 million euros. A significant part of this, €182 million, was earmarked for the development of the headquarters in Vorarlberg, Austria.

An important step was the acquisition of the Belgian company Van Hoecke, a long-standing partner and sales agency for the Benelux. Blum also opened or redesigned showrooms in cities such as Christchurch, Istanbul, Tunis, Melbourne, Melbourne, Johannesburg and Tokyo.

Investing in people

Managing Director Martin Blum emphasizes the importance of investing in people: "The most important investments are the ones we make in our people." The company will take on more than 80 young apprentices in the fall, helping to train the next generation of specialists.

Blum has managed to keep jobs stable for its 9,294 employees worldwide, even in difficult economic times.

Outlook for the future

Although they expect challenges ahead, both Blum CEOs are optimistic about the future. "We are confident that the economy will recover towards the end of 2024 and that demand for our products will grow again," said Philipp Blum.

Martin Blum added: "Regardless of economic developments, we will invest all our energy, ingenuity and innovative strength to remain a reliable partner for our customers and a stable employer for our employees."

For the wood and furniture industry, Blum's results provide insight into current trends and challenges, emphasizing the importance of continuous innovation and investment to remain competitive in the global marketplace.