05.05.2020, 23:59
Helping Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19
The Dussmann Group has reported record revenue growth of 6.3 per cent to €2.13 billion in 2019, as it continues to support critical workers in Germany and at its care home operations in Italy.
In 2018 the group announced major new strategic vision, “Dussman Next Level”, and re-aligned its business units to focus on the delivery of facility and technical (hard engineering) services through its FM division, Dussman Service, and a new subsidiary.
Wolf-Dieter Adlhoch, Dussmann Group executive board spokesperson, explains: “2019 was a sound financial year with satisfactory earnings. By founding our new company division, Dussmann Technical Solutions, which enables us to support our clients with building systems and plant engineering, we have taken an important step forwards in the strategic development of the company.
“We will continue to diversify our business model as this puts us in a strong position, particularly in the current situation. Many of our services such as cleaning, disinfection or nursing and care are classed as essential during the corona crisis. Nevertheless, the shutdown of operations by some of our clients has, of course, affected us too and we will see consequences. It is, as yet, too early to assess the economic impact of the corona pandemic on the current financial year”.
Catherine von Fürstenberg-Dussmann, chairwoman of the Dussmann Group board of trustees, adds: “Stability, agility and reliability have always been important cornerstones of our activities as a family enterprise and in times of crisis this is more so than ever. Our employees are doing a great job under enormous pressure. Those who come into direct contact with the virus during their work and selflessly battle its spread are the real heroes, not only at this time.”
COVID-19 Pandemic
The Dussmann Group is contributing a wide range of expertise and resources to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on its own and client operations, including hospitals and care homes where Adlhoch says: “our employees carry out cleaning and disinfection to enable doctors and nurses to work under hygienic conditions and the teams in our Kursana facilities continue to provide care for residents.”
In other countries, the company is playing an active role in national crisis – and particularly in Italy, where it maintains its largest operations outside Germany.
Dussmann teams have been battling the spread of the corona virus and its consequences since the outbreak of the disease. This includes cleaning in hospitals in the badly affected Lombardy region, disinfection of the vaporetti and ferries in Venice and catering in a field hospital set up to care for Covid-19 patients in Bergamo, a worldwide epicenter of the corona crisis.
The group also reports a cleaning team from Dussmann Service has carried out cleaning operations in other sectors during the pandemic; including at the premises of Webasto, a leading automotive supplier with headquarters in Stockdorf, after several employees there tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 (Germany’s first known cases of the coronavirus).
Delivering essential nursing and childcare services
The company division Kursana, which operates 116 nursing and care facilities for the elderly initiated the preventive measures stipulated by the Infection Protection Act to protect residents and employees from coronavirus infection. There has been a ban on visitors since mid-March and tablets have been purchased to enable residents to maintain at least digital communication with their families. The concept for the prevention and control of infectious diseases is based on the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute and takes the form of a step-by-step plan, which is implemented in close coordination with the authorities.
At Dussmann KulturKindergarten facilities, educator teams are providing emergency childcare for key workers including hospital staff.
Dussmann Service, which includes the new Dussmann Technical Solutions division and deliverers the group’s integrated facility management, offering, contributed €1.67 billion of the group’s consolidated group sales revenue, representing growth of 6.6 per cent on the 2018 figure. The company attributes the achievement to new service contracts won by the Dussmann Service subsidiaries in Italy, Luxembourg and Austria. The acquisition of the electrical engineering specialist, STS, in the summer of 2019, and the inclusion of Gaetano Paolin S.p.a., Padua, purchased in 2018, also contributed to the increase. Care & Kids, which combines Kursana and Dussmann KulturKindergarten, grew by 5.3 per cent, contributing € 433 mill.to consolidated group sales following the opening of Kursana facilities in Eschenburg (Hesse) and Hamminkeln (North-Rhine Westphalia) in Germany.
The group also divested its operations in Latvia in autumn 2019, and in China and Hong Kong at the start of 2020, with the stated objective of is to concentrating resources on Europe, the Middle East and selected Asian markets.
Author
