Bechtle turns to the UK after FY24 revenue lag

CEO Thomas Olemotz is “anything but happy” with the figures

German VAR Bechtle’s results dipped in 2024, but a glimmer of hope springs from Belgium, the UK, and Spain.

Revenue went down 1.8 per cent to €6.3bn (£5.31bn), compared to €6.42bn last year, as the group’s most important markets, Germany and France, have been impacted by uncertainty and a reluctance to invest.

The company is now looking for opportunities across other European countries such as the UK, Belgium, and Spain, as all territories have seen positive development in 2024.

The partner firm doubled down its focus in these regions last year through the buyouts of Driveworks and Qolcom in the UK, and iDooTech in Spain.

The company also acquired MMN in Italy.

“2024 was an incredibly challenging year for Bechtle,” said Thomas Olemotz, CEO of Bechtle.

“While we are, of course, anything but happy with our figures, we have performed relatively well considering the conditions we were working in.

“Our international presence has once again proven its value.”

EBT also plummeted to €345.1 m, an 8.1 per cent decrease, as revenue stood at €374.5m the year prior.

EBT margin stood at 5.6 per cent, compared to six per cent in 2023.

These negative results come after the reseller shared declining results in Q1, Q2, and Q3 FY24, not only because of “a reluctance to invest” in France and Germany, but also due to less demand from SMEs, and a large-volume software project that had a positive impact in 2023 but did not repeat.

As of 31 December 2024, Bechtle had 15,801 employees, 4.2 per cent more than in the previous year.

Among the 642 new employees, around 60 per cent joined through acquisitions.

New year same challenges

According to Olemotz, Bechtle is already off to a rough start in 2025, “characterised by choppy economic conditions” as well as “significant uncertainties regarding how the economy will develop.

“While it is not currently possible to predict if, when and to what extent customers will invest, we do not expect IT demand to pick up until the second half of the year.

“We are currently navigating our way through turbulent times but will give our all to return to profitable growth and gain market share.”

The company also intends to make investments in company acquisitions and expand its AI activities, as well as in its cloud business and internal IT.