Bosch reports sales revenue of 90.3 billion euros, 1.4 percent down in 2024

The Bosch Group published its financial results for 2024. At 90.3 billion euros, the supplier of technology and services generated 1.4 percent less sales revenue in 2024 than in the previous year. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) from operations stood at 3.1 billion euros (2023: 4.8 billion euros); the EBIT margin from operations was 3.5 percent.

Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, said: “In the 2024 business year, we achieved important improvements in terms of costs, structures, and portfolio. We are sticking to our ambitious targets in order to continue to grow and strengthen our financial independence. Our Strategy 2030 gives us the orientation we need, especially in times of global turbulence, to become one of the top three providers in our core markets in five years’ time at the latest.”

In the first quarter of 2025, Bosch has increased its year-on-year sales by 4 percent, both in euros and adjusted for exchange-rate effects. The Bosch Group is still aiming for a target margin of 7 percent in 2026. Hartung sees this as an extremely challenging task in view of global upheaval and, above all, significantly stronger competition from Asia: “We will continue to work intensively on our costs and structures and focus on profitable business areas.” Bosch has already announced structural adjustments and job cuts in various areas, with an eye to strengthening the company’s competitiveness. The company is in contact with employee representatives and is urging them to reach an agreement quickly and start the implementation process. “Only then will we be able to take advantage of opportunities in a dynamic market environment, including those that crop up suddenly. We can no longer afford delays, as this would further weaken our competitive position.” Overall, Bosch assumes that the number of jobs in the company will continue to decline, particularly in Germany and Europe.

The 2025 business year: growth opportunities despite uncertainties

Given the volatile developments in global trade, Bosch believes the outlook for the current year is fraught with uncertainty. The consequences of additional tariffs and possible economic effects from European and German infrastructure investments also make an assessment more difficult. For the current year, Bosch is still anticipating modest growth in the global economy of 2.25 to 2.75 percent.

The 2024 business year: development by business sector

All business sectors felt the effects of weak developments in their core markets. In light of the global decline in vehicle production, sales revenue in the Mobility business sector was 55.8 billion euros, and thus 0.7 percent below the previous year – however, adjusted for exchange-rate effects, sales revenue grew 0.2 percent. The EBIT margin from operations was 3.8 percent (2023: 4.4 percent). The Industrial Technology business sector achieved sales of 6.4 billion euros.

This represents a decrease of 13.0 percent, or 12.5 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects. A key role in this was played by the steeper than expected decline in the construction and machinery sectors in the main markets of Europe, North America, and China. The EBIT margin came to 1.2 percent (2023: 9.1 percent). The Consumer Goods business sector increased its sales revenue by 1.6 percent to 20.3 billion euros, which corresponds to growth of 2.9 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects. The EBIT margin was 3.5 percent (2023: 4.5 percent). In the Energy and Building Technology business sector, sales revenue fell by 2.7 percent year on year to 7.5 billion euros. After adjusting for exchange-rate effects, this was equivalent to a fall of 2.6 percent. The main reason for this was the market slump in the European heating business. The EBIT margin was 4.9 percent (2023: 9.0 percent).

The 2024 business year: development by region

Bosch felt the weakness of its core markets most acutely in Europe. While sales revenue in this region declined by 4.9 percent (4.6 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects) to 44.5 billion euros, the company recorded growth in the other regions of the world: in the Americas by 4.8 percent (5.7 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects) to 17.8 billion euros, and in Asia Pacific by 0.7 percent (2.8 percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects) to 28.0 billion euros.

The 2024 business year: development of headcount The Bosch Group employed 417,859 people worldwide at year-end 2024 (2023: 429,416). The overall headcount fell by 2.7 percent, bringing it 11,557 below the previous year’s figure.