Despite the economic downturn, war in the Ukraine and high energy prices, the 100 largest family-controlled companies in Germany achieved combined sales of 1.6 trillion euros in 2023. That is around 100 billion euros or around 6 percent more than a year before. The sales figures of the largest German family business are at record levels. This is the result of the study “Germany’s 100 largest family businesses” by the law firm Binz & Partner.
“The aggregate growth of all large family companies far exceeded the stagnating gross domestic product of the German economy,” says Mark K. Binz, senior partner at the Stuttgart law firm. Even taking inflation into account, the majority of family businesses managed to remain on a growth path and strengthen their financial strength. “With this resilience in economically turbulent times, German family capitalism makes a significant contribution to prosperity in Germany.”
For the companies listed in the German leading index DAX, the situation in terms of sales growth is more modest. The DAX companies were only able to increase their sales by 1 percent last year – i.e. below inflation. With an average increase in sales of more than 6 percent, family-run companies have a significantly higher rate.
Top 20 companies with 8 percent growth
The growth was particularly significant in the fifth of large family businesses with the highest sales. The sales growth of the top 20 was more than 8 percent. This group accounts for around 70 percent of the sales of the 100 largest family companies Germany.
The ranking at the top remained unchanged. Volkswagen, by far the largest company controlled by a family (Porsche/Piech), achieved an increase of 15 percent with sales of 322 billion euros. The development of the pursuers was also positive. In 2023, the Schwarz Group (Schwarz family) increased sales to 167 billion euros (+9 percent), BMW (Quandt/Klatten families) to 156 billion euros (+9 percent), Aldi Nord/Süd (Albrecht families) to an estimated 113 billion euros (+9 percent) as well Continental (Schaeffler family) to 41 billion euros (+5 percent).
22 of the top 100 family businesses are listed on the stock exchange. These companies grew by an average of 9 percent to sales of 738 billion euros, not least due to Volkswagen’s above-average development.
One in five of the top 100 companies experienced a decline in sales
However, the balance sheet is not untroubled. The number of companies that recorded losses in revenue despite the renewed increase in total sales has increased significantly. For the first time in many years, 20 family businesses recorded declining sales figures in 2023. In 2022 there were only four companies that lost sales.
“Despite the good aggregate figures, it cannot be overlooked that a significant proportion of family businesses are going through a dry spell and are unable to decouple themselves from the overall economic conditions,” says Mark Binz, commenting on this development. At pharmaceutical companies like Merck and Sartorius as well as logistics service providers such as Dachser and Hellmann, the declines are more likely to be seen as normalization: these companies had recorded extraordinarily high extra sales during the corona pandemic.
Viessmann case: Competition for Germany as a location is growing
The heating and air conditioning specialist Viessmann fell out of the ranking of the 100 largest family businesses in 2023 after selling its air conditioning division to US competitor Carrier Global for 12 billion euros. A model that will find imitators?
“There are no signs of an impending sell-off or migration of German family businesses”
Mark K. Binz
“Viessmann is an isolated case. There are no signs of an impending sell-off or migration of German family businesses,” emphasizes Binz. However, an increasingly critical attitude towards Germany as a business location is noticeable among owner families: “Shortage of skilled workers, bureaucracy, rising social security contributions, minimum wage and threatened tax increases are unsettling entrepreneurs. These factors are a bad signal for our economy because they influence investment decisions,” explains Binz.
Warning signal: the number of employees is decreasing for the first time
The number of employees in the 100 largest German family businesses fell for the first time as part of the annual analysis by Binz & Partner. The top 100 companies employed 4.57 million people at the end of 2023, which was one percent less than the year before. “On the one hand, family businesses are working intensively on their productivity, but on the other hand, they continue to find it difficult to recruit suitable skilled workers, especially in Germany,” explains Binz, who, as chairman of the supervisory board of the listed optician chain Fielmann, knows this problem firsthand.
The profit growth of family-run companies is intact. However, only 40 of the 100 family businesses examined publicly report their profits. The added operating result in 2023 was 71.6 billion euros, an increase of 8 percent. Only the electronics retailer Ceconomy (Mediamarkt, Saturn) reported a loss of 21 million euros.
Well equipped with equity
The assessment of financial stability is also confirmed by the analysis of the equity ratios. Figures for 2023 are available for 42 companies. The average is 41 percent, but that is one point less than the year before. Only three companies – metro, Ceconomy, Mann+Hummel – have a ratio of less than 20 percent, with trading companies having a thinner equity base than manufacturing companies due to the industry.
more on the subject
Although many unlisted family businesses have not yet published their EBIT and equity ratio figures for the past financial year, Binz says a conclusion can be drawn: “Germany’s large family businesses are still well financed,” he says. “This gives them scope for investments, especially in future topics such as digitalization, sustainability and increasingly in artificial intelligence.” It is now the task of politicians to ensure that companies continue to invest in Germany in the future and support growth here.