JANDELSBRUNN (dpa-AFX) - The Lower Bavarian caravan and motorhome manufacturer Knaus Tabbert made excellent profits last year. Profits doubled to a good 60 million euros, according to the annual report published on Thursday. The company benefited from strong demand, but also from a relaxation in the supply chains. Turnover also increased sharply: After Knaus Tabbert exceeded one billion euros in turnover for the first time in 2022, it reached 1.44 billion euros in 2023 - as has been known since February.

"The strategic decision we made in 2022 to continue to employ and train our employees despite low capacity utilization was successful," said CEO Wolfgang Speck. "The consistently high capacity utilization of production and the improved product mix have led to a significantly better quality of earnings in the 2023 financial year." In particular, sales of motorhomes and camper vans increased - from 11,426 to 18,584. In contrast, fewer caravans were delivered.

"The interest in caravanning and, in particular, in leisure vehicles from our five Group brands is also reflected in the continued high order backlog of around one billion euros at the end of the year," said Speck. The sales forecast for 2024 nevertheless points to slower growth. It is expected to be between 1.4 and 1.55 billion euros. In terms of earnings (adjusted EBITDA), Knaus Tabbert expects a margin of 8 to 9 percent, similar to last year.

The strong result is also expected to benefit shareholders. The dividend is set to rise from 1.50 to 2.90 euros. The company has been listed on the stock exchange since September 2020 and is not a success story. From an issue price of 58 euros per share, the share price fell to 23 euros in summer 2022. The share price has recently recovered somewhat, but at around EUR 40 is still well below the initial level.

The company is currently valued on the market at just over 400 million euros. The major shareholders are the two investment companies H.T.P. Investments and Catalina Capital Partner./ruc/DP/zb