SPANISH rolling stock manufacturer CAF has announced plans to achieve annual sales of approximately €4.8bn and Ebit of close to €300m within four years, under its newly announced 2026 strategic plan.

The plan was presented by CAF CEO, Mr Javier Martínez Ojinaga, and chief financial and strategy officer, Mr Aitor Galarza, who both emphasised the company's transformation capacity during the recently completed 2016-2021 strategic cycle, as well as CAF’s resilience in the challenging operating environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

CAF says the major milestone in 2016-2021 was the acquisition of zero-emission bus manufacturer Solaris, along with consolidation in demanding international markets such as France and Germany. 

During the previous period, annual sales rose from approximately €1.3bn to close to €3bn, whilst Ebit increased from €112m to €165m, with profitability being affected recently by the atypical situation brought about by the pandemic, inflation and supply chain disruption. Earnings per share rose from €1 to €2.5, and the distributed dividend from €0.58 to €1 per share.

With its new strategic plan, CAF aspires to achieve its vision of “growing as a provider of comprehensive rail and bus transport solutions by maximising the digital proposition of the organisation,” and will focus on four strategic areas to achieve this:

  • business focus
  • operational efficiency
  • innovation, and
  • sustainability.

CAF will focus its business strategy on Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, which it says are attractive markets with both high volumes and repeat business opportunities.

Operational efficiency will be improved in production, engineering and procurement. CAF plans to establish new operations in Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific for the rail division, and in North America for the bus sector.

The company will also establish an innovative mobility strategy that incorporates smart mobility solutions geared towards optimising urban transport infrastructure such as fleet management, optimisation of traffic or intermodal operation, and the strengthening of the core businesses and the integrated project business.

CAF plans to continue its decarbonisation strategy by expanding the range of trains and buses powered by alternative energy sources such as electric and hydrogen, by automating urban transport systems including metros and light rail, and by digitising processes. CAF will also continue to pursue its sustainability strategy, addressing the priority material issues identified by its stakeholders.

To achieve these milestones, CAF’s main goals for the new period are:

  • growth at a higher rate than the market and total sales of approximately €4.8bn
  • bringing Ebit to approximately €300m in the 2026 financial year
  • distributing dividends in line with increasing profits
  • reaching a net financial debt/Ebitda ratio of approximately 2.2x, and
  • reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by up to 30%, and scope 3 emissions by up to 40% relative to 2019, with the end goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2045.

Achieving this will require approximately €550-650m of investment.