Fiscal 2020/21.
The result of an exceptional financial year.

With unexpected instability in regional markets and countless hurdles in our everyday work routines, our 2020/21 financial year was dominated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, we managed to come through the crisis stably and in an internationally successful position.

Four good reasons for our stability in times of disruption

Market: we make successful investments in debt purchases and achieve record-breaking results in some countries.
Technology: we are pushing ahead with our digitalization process, which improves our business operations and internal integration.
References: our customers and business partners trust in our services, even in challenging times.
Responsibility: we are committed to achieving a debt-free world and want to change the financial situation of our customers and defaulting payers for the better.

Our business figures at a glance.

Read the entire report on our 2020/21 business performance conveniently as an ePaper.

Read our ePaper (3.4 MB)

Market.

Successful result despite difficult market conditions

The global COVID-19 crisis made the last financial year very challenging for EOS. We nevertheless managed to do business profitably in this volatile situation. Although we fell short of the record earnings achieved in 2019/20, our consolidated revenue remained at an exceptionally high level.

earned by EOS Consolidated.

was invested by EOS in innovative technologies and IT core systems.

awarded to EOS by leading rating agency.

“Given the challenges of the past year, this positive result was by no means self-evident. In a declining market, our core areas of expertise allowed us to continue to perform well and remain successful internationally. I am therefore all the more proud of this fantastic achievement by our teams.”
Klaus Engberding, CEO of the EOS Group

Turnover and result: stable despite slight declines

The graph shows the revenues generated by EOS in the last four financial years: in 2017/18 it is €795.0 million, in 2018/19 it is €813.7 million, in 2019/20 it is €853.1 million, in 2020/21 it is €792.5 million.

Revenue growth over the last four years (in EUR million)

EOS Consolidated closes fiscal 2020/21 with slight declines but remains stable at an encouraging level. At EUR 792.5 million, consolidated revenue was 7.1 percent below the excellent value from the previous year.

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The graph shows the results that EOS has generated in the last four financial years: in 2017/18 it is 279.8 million euros, in 2018/19 it is 283.6 million, in 2019/20 it is 343.4 million, in 2020/21 it is 312.4 million.

Earnings performance (EBITDA) over the last four years (in EUR million)

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were EUR 312.4 million in 2020/21. Despite a slight drop in earnings, EOS was able to close the pandemic year with a clear profit.

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Read more facts and figures on the 2020/21 business development in the ePaper.

Read here (3.4 MB)

Performance in detail: Overview of the various EOS regions

The EOS Group's sales in the financial year 2020/21 are distributed among the individual regions as follows: 36.5 % at € 289.1 million is attributable to Germany, 31.5 % at € 249.7 million to Eastern Europe, 26.1 % at € 207.1 million to Western Europe and 5.9 % at € 46.6 million to North America. Eastern Europe accounts for 31.5 %, Western Europe for 26.1 % at € 207.1 million, and North America for 5.9 % at € 46.6 million.

This financial year Germany remained the EOS Group's region with the highest turnover. In general, all regions recorded declines as a result of the coronavirus pandemic affecting all countries: moratoriums and uncertainties in the markets have temporarily reduced the volume of non-performing loans (NPLs), with a consequent decline in investments. Nevertheless, some countries, especially in Western and Eastern Europe, have shown positive balance sheets. For example, Spain recorded record investments in the second half of the year, and some Eastern European countries, in particular Russia and Poland, exceeded the previous year's level of investment.

Highlights from our regions

Stable investment levels:

In Germany, investments totaled EUR 168.2 million and were therefore at a consistent level. Revenues of EUR 289.1 million and a 36.5% share of consolidated sales mean that Germany is once again the strongest performing region in the EOS Group.

Transformations:

In Spain, EOS is transforming to become an investor in the market for the acquisition of unsecured NPL portfolios to build a leading position in the Spanish market.

Targets exceeded:

In Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Poland we were able to substantially improve on the previous year’s results. In Croatia, Poland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, investments were higher than in the previous year.

Solid investments:

In the USA, the debt purchasing segment reached a level well above that of the previous reporting period. In the services segment there was also a substantial improvement on the previous year.

Strengthening our market position:

In 2020/21, the German market for receivables purchases was dominated above all by revolving portfolios. We also managed to increase the volume of fiduciary collections.

High investment level:

In Eastern Europe we were able to increase the NPL investment level of the previous year by around 3 percent to EUR 195.3 million. The highest NPL investments were made in Croatia (30%), followed by Poland (27%) and Russia (14%).

Further figures from our regions

Technology.

Our DNA is digital

The past year has once again made clear the importance of digitalizing business processes. At EOS we have already achieved a lot in this area. AI-supported data analysis is a core element of our business model, while real-time communication and digital tools also support our daily work routines. Our primary consideration is how we can use IT and technology to improve the customer journey at EOS.

“We are improving overarching collaboration within the Group by creating shared databases and standardizing our processes. As a result, the communication and information-sharing options between EOS companies are being substantially improved. Our aim is to leverage technology to support communication and collaboration within the Group.”
Justus Hecking-Veltman, CFO of the EOS Group

Technology in action: Digitalization projects at EOS

Debt collection systems:

The “Kollecto” software and the new web-based version “Kollecto+” are helping us to standardize our processes. As a result, our receivables management has become even more efficient in 12 countries. In Germany, EOS last year recorded an eightfold increase in the number of users of the FX collection software that we developed in-house.

Chatbots:

Virtual co-workers are already being deployed in several countries. They reduce the workload at our service centers, answer automated questions or deal with certain receivables issues. We plan to also install chatbots at other EOS locations in future.

Data analysis:

In France we are working on further improving our collection process with the help of the cloud. EOS in Denmark is currently developing an AI-based decision-making tool designed to help us evaluate the success of judicial collection processes. And with the help of machine learning algorithms, we are analyzing our own processes to develop payment plans to ensure that nobody becomes financially overwhelmed.

For details of these and other projects read our e-paper.

Learn more in our ePaper

Download PDF

References.

Ready to face all challenges together

In fiscal 2020/21, many of our around 20,000 customers were affected by what were in some cases considerable changes in their industries and business activities. We are proud to have been able to help create more stability and security in these turbulent times.

“We have been working with EOS in Switzerland in the field of receivables management for more than 15 years. Our collaboration is based on a strong partnership. The EOS team interacts with our clients’ patients respectfully and professionally and also takes account of their respective financial circumstances. This is especially important in the healthcare sector.”
Switzerland: David Pravato, Swisscom Health

“After 15 years of partnership with EOS we very much appreciate its service and collaboration. The company’s flexibility and solution-driven approach to individual cases have definitely resulted in better payment discipline on the part of our customers who are in arrears. Whether EOS is contacting our customers, negotiating agreements professionally or successfully recovering outstanding debts, the collaboration meets our expectations at all times.”
Slovakia: a.s.-Mgr. Marek Jakab, Všeobecná úverová banka, a.s. (VUB Bank)

Responsibility.

Changing for the better

As a result of digitalization, climate change and the COVID-19 crisis we are living in an era of profound paradigm shifts. Only by being proactive and at the same time taking responsibility can you master these economic and social challenges. EOS is conscious of this responsibility, which is why in fiscal 2020/21 we defined four key areas of our corporate responsibility (CR) strategy. These will be constantly developed and refined in future to effect long-lasting change for the better.

Responsible Collection:

EOS is committed to respectful and fair interaction with defaulting payers and to solution-driven, sustainable debt reduction.

Joint Progress:

EOS assumes social responsibility, within its own company by promoting empowerment, diversity and inclusion, and also in society through its educational initiatives.

Environmental Protection:

EOS is working with focused and readily implementable measures to achieve its goal of climate neutral operation by 2030.

Financial Sustainability:

EOS strongly advocates strict and binding standards in the industry and responsible codes of conduct.

Our CR strategy in detail

Downloads and services

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Fiscal 2020/21.
The result of an exceptional financial year.

Four good reasons for our stability in times of disruption

Our business figures at a glance.

Market.