D’Ieteren: another record year with €1 billion profit before tax

Brussels-based holding company D’Ieteren enjoyed a record year with over a billion euros in pre-tax profits. The importer of VW vehicles and parent company to auto glass repairer Belron/Carglass, among others, came in at 1,065 billion euros in 2024. That’s 9.6% better than in 2023. Total sales also rose 3.5% to 12.07 billion euros.

More than half of that profit was attributable to auto glass repairer Belron (Carglass), of which D’Ieteren owns just over half. Sales grew by 6.8% to 6.48 billion euros, giving a profit of 519.3 million euros.

Super-dividend

However, there were additional financial charges compared to 2023 due to the decision to pay a super-dividend of 74 euros per share, accounting for a 4-billion-euro operation, to finance a family realignment within the holding company.

Chairman Nicolas D’Ieteren and his vehicle Nayarit bought out his nephew Olivier Périer with the holding company SPDG Group, accounting for 16.7% of the shares. Nicolas D’Ieteren now holds 50.1% of the holding company.

Slight decrease in car sales

At 5.3 billion euros, car imports still account for a large part of D’Ieteren’s sales, even though sales shrank 0.5%. But despite a contraction in the Belgian car market, D’Ieteren Automotive achieved a record adjusted operating margin of 5.1%, mainly thanks to the performance of Škoda and Porsche, and operating profit rose 21.2% to 270 million euros.

CEO Francis Deprez said the impact of the Audi Brussels plant’s closure on sales is “not immediately noticeable. ”

Subsidiary PHE (Parts Holding Europe), a distribution leader in the independent aftermarket for vehicle parts, also posted an 11% operating profit, accounting for 257 million euros, despite limited sales growth of 8%. Forklift specialist TVH, in turn, saw operating profit rise by more than a fifth despite limited sales growth of 4%.

Lower profit expectations for 2025

This year, adjusted consolidated profit before tax or group share—which D’Ieteren considers its key “performance indicator”—is expected to decline due to financial costs, mainly at Belron.

The Brussels-based holding company operates in many sectors. D’Ieteren Automotive, for example, also invests in shared mobility with Poppy and bicycle stores under the Lucien name. The group is also active in real estate and Moleskine notebooks, which lost 3 million euros.

In 2023, D’Ieteren and its subsidiaries also paid taxes totaling 63.2 million. Adjusted consolidated profit before taxes was 970.8 million that year.