Herma grows despite German economic downturn

Amid a continued economic downturn in the German economy, the Herma Group demonstrated crisis stability and resilience in 2024.

The company increased its turnover by 5.4 percent in 2024, to 452.6m EUR (510m USD), compared to 429.4m EUR (483.9m USD) in the previous year. This was due, in part, to Herma's strong business abroad, where it was able to grow by 6.2 percent. However, sales in Germany were also up 3.9 percent on the previous year. As a result, the export share rose slightly from 64.2 percent in the previous year to 64.6 percent.

'In the past financial year, we were once again able to reap the rewards of the Herma 2030 Strategy, which focuses on the further diversification and internationalization of our activities,' said the two managing directors, Sven Schneller and Guido Spachtholz. 'However, all markets were characterized by a sometimes aggressive price war, which we were not always able to escape. All in all, 2024 was a challenging financial year, but we were still able to conclude it with stable profitability.'

For 2025, the two managing directors expect sales growth in the low single-digit percentage range, with continued pressure on margins and earnings.

The number of employees remained almost the same in 2024. The total number of employees was 1,065 compared to 1,089 in the previous year. The number of trainees rose slightly, from 54 to 56.

'Promoting our own young talent is and will remain our most important strategy against the shortage of skilled workers,' said Schneller and Spachtholz.
 
The three divisions — self-adhesive materials, labels and labeling machines — all contributed to the increase in sales in 2024.

In self-adhesive materials, the Herma Group maintained its market share despite aggressive price competition and even grew more strongly in terms of volume compared to the European market as a whole. Film products in particular recorded strong growth. In total, the self-adhesive materials division increased its sales by 6.6 percent.

In the labels division, traditional industrial business was characterized by the slowdown in the domestic economy, particularly in the chemical and manufacturing sectors. On the other hand, Herma recorded a larger increase than planned in logistics labels. Demand for labels for office supplies also fell again due to the economic situation, as well as due to the ongoing effects of home/mobile offices and the further digitalization of previously paper-based processes. However, the decline in sales among globally active office supply retailers, which has been evident for many years, was halted for the first time in 2024. Herma also increased sales of products for schoolchildren and students. This meant an increase of 1.5 percent for the entire labels division.

The labeling machines division detached itself from the downward trend in the German mechanical engineering sector. While the industry as a whole experienced an 8 percent decline in orders for 2024, Herma increased its sales in this area by 6 percent. New market and customer segments played an important role in addition to a growing service business.
 
'Herma also maintained a good position in 2024 because we are active in a large variety of industries and in many different markets around the world. This has a stabilizing effect on the entire group,' said the two managing directors. 'As a family-owned company, Herma also priorities healthy growth and cultivates long-term customer relationships based on partnerships. This makes the company more resistant to crises and creates the optimum basis for sustainable corporate success.'