KION shares

DAX defies crises and makes gains

Germany’s leading index rose sharply over the course of 2024. Having closed 2023 at 16,752 points, the DAX added 18.8 percent to stand at 19,909 points at the end of 2024 and was thus close to the all-time high of 20,426 points that it had reached on December 12, 2024.

Following a stable start to 2024, the markets initially appeared optimistic thanks to the expectation that monetary policy would be eased in view of falling inflation rates and the positive effects of diminishing borrowing costs. However, macroeconomic uncertainty during the summer – partly as a result of turmoil in the Japanese stock market and escalation of the conflict in the Middle East – led to increased volatility and price falls. The European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve then lowered interest rates, heralding a positive trend that was reinforced by a further rate cut by the Fed in November. This trend continued until the end of the year. Falling inflation rates and the outcome of the US presidential election also contributed to the price gains. However, the MDAX did not benefit from these effects, dropping by 5.7 percent compared with the end of 2023 to close at 25,589 points.

KION shares end 2024 with price falls

Amid generally subdued stock market conditions for the mid-cap stocks included in the MDAX, KION shares declined by 17.6 percent to close 2024 at a price of €31.86. The shares therefore did not match the performance of their benchmark index in the year under review. The price gains made in the first quarter were almost entirely canceled out by mid-2024. Although most analysts’ opinions were positive, this downward trend continued for the remainder of the reporting period.

The closing price on December 30, 2024, based on around 131.1 million outstanding shares, equates to market capitalization of €4.2 billion, of which approximately €2.2 billion was attributable to shares in free float.

Share price performance in 2024 compared with the DAX and MDAX (both indexed to KION)

Planned dividend of €0.82

KION GROUP AG’s 2024 Annual General Meeting was held as an in-person event in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on May 29, 2024. Approximately 84 percent of the share capital was represented and all of the motions were approved by a majority of votes. The proposals approved by the Annual General Meeting included the distribution of a dividend of €0.70 per share, resulting in a total distribution to shareholders of around €91.8 million.

The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG will propose a dividend for 2024 of €0.82 per share (2023: €0.70) to the Annual General Meeting on May 27, 2025. This gives a total dividend payout of €107.5 million. The increase compared with the prior-year dividend reflects the improvement in earnings and free cash flow. With earnings per share for 2024 of €2.75, this equates to a dividend payout rate of around 30 percent (as in the previous year), which is once again within the target corridor of between 25 percent and 40 percent.

Stable shareholder structure

As far as the Company is aware, the shareholder structure remained unchanged in the reporting year. Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang, People’s Republic of China, had a stake of around 46.5 percent as at the end of 2024, which means it is still the biggest single shareholder, while KION GROUP AG continued to hold around 0.1 percent of the shares. Consequently, the number of shares held in treasury was unchanged at 73,876 as at the reporting date (December 31, 2023: 73,876). The free float was therefore also unchanged at 53.4 percent as at the reporting date (December 31, 2023: 53.4 percent). To the knowledge of the Company, approximately 62 percent of the free float was attributable to investors in Europe, approximately 37 percent to investors in the Americas region, and approximately 1 percent to investors in the APAC region.

Shareholder structure as at December 31, 2024

Free float by country as at December 31, 2024

KION shares recommended as a buy by majority of analysts

As at December 31, 2024, 22 brokerage houses were following and regularly reporting on the KION Group (December 31, 2023: 24). Of this total, 14 analysts recommended KION shares as a buy and eight rated them as neutral. The average target price specified by the sell-side analysts was €46.11 (December 31, 2023: €44.81).

Stable credit ratings

The KION Group continues to have an investment-grade credit rating. Standard & Poor’s confirmed its rating of BBB– in February 2024, even after taking into account new criteria for captive finance. The outlook remains negative. In May 2024, Fitch Ratings awarded an unchanged long-term issuer default rating of BBB with a stable outlook and a short-term issuer default rating of F2.