May the 16th, 2023 - A company within the scope of well known and wider Croatian company Djuro Djakovic has contracted a job for GATX Rail Europe worth almost ten million euros.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Djuro Djakovic specijalna vozila (special vehicles), a company which operates within the wider Djuro Djakovic Group, has contracted a job totalling the aforementioned amount for GATX Rail Europe. It regards the production and delivery of freight wagons which the Slavonski Brod-based company will deliver to their client during the second half of this year.

It is worth noting that according to the data from this company's financial report for the first three months of 2023, the wildly successful Djuro Djakovic specijalna vozila branch enjoyed profits totalling 1.2 million euros and consolidated revenues of 23.1 million euros in the first quarter.

"Djuro Djakovic specijalna vozila managed to reach the company's planned level of production, sales and costs and achieved a positive net result overall. The EBITDA margin is 8.4 percent, while the net result was very strongly influenced by financial expenses.

The growth of the EBITDA margin in relation to 2022 was mostly contributed to by high levels of realisation mainly resulting from the delivery of 201 wagons in the first quarter of 2023 and the optimisation of the company's operating costs," the report stated.

As has been pointed out, this well known domestic company generates the majority of its revenues from exports, and this trend is expected to continue throughout this year and into the future as well, on top of that, the continuation of activities being carried out on additional business improvements is also expected.

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January the 5th, 2023 - The Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group has some very ambitious plans for this year, and following a rather complicated procedure which is now finally completed, railway wagon production could see the group catapulted to new heights at no less than the EU level.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a complex process involving the restructuring and recapitalisation within the Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group was finally carried out in 2022, which enabled the strategic partner, the Czech company DD Acquisition, to acquire majority ownership. At the very end of that same year, it was announced that another decision had taken place, and one which has aims for this year set very high indeed.

The construction of more brand new plants

According to information on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, CERP signed an agreement on behalf of country with the Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group (Special vehicles) on the entry of claims into the company's share capital in the amount of 8.97 million kuna, thereby acquiring five percent of the shares, all based on the restructuring programme and the decision made by the Croatian Government back on February the 3rd, 2022.

The Special vehicles company is part of the wider Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group, and is also its "backbone", but exactly which claims are involved, when and how they arose, hasn't been stated in the announcement, nor has the government's actual decision, since it is marked as confidential.

The state already included the claims that the banks had from the companies which make up the Djuro Djakovic Group during earlier assemblies, after which DD Acquisition carried out its recapitalisation by investing a massive 231 million kuna. The Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group otherwise held a 99.9% stake in Special Vehicles.

This segment is still waiting for a some fresh perspective to take charge, because the new owners have some big plans for the Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group precisely in the business of the production of railway wagons, but also in a military sense.

Adam Sotek, the CEO of CE Industries, owned by one of the partners in DD Acquisition, had a recent interview with the Slovakian business daily Hospodarske noviny, in which he pointed out that in 2023, the production of more than 800 wagons is planned within the group, while 264 were produced in 2021, and 580 in 2022.

The goal, on the other hand, is for the Croatian Djuro Djakovic Group to become the third largest wagon manufacturer in the entire EU. With small investments in the existing facilities, he says, 1,200 wagons can be produced annually.

Part of the production will take place in Serbia?

"Our vision is to have two separate factories with a total production of 2,500 wagons. That would make us third in Europe," said Sotek.

The Croatian Djuro Djakovic Groups's share in the wagon market back at the time the restructuring programme was approved was insignificant, standing somewhere between 3 and 4 percent, and the key players were Greenbrier Europe and Tetravagonka with around 30 percent share, and Transvagon with 10 percent share. It is a market with somewhat stronger growth, because the demand for rail transport is on a strong upward trajectory.

The new owners will direct the production of wagons with higher added value to Slavonski Brod, and due to costs, at least according to Sotek's interview, they aren't ruling out the possibility that part of the production will be done in neighbouring Serbia as well. The defense programme, which is also under Djuro Djakovic Special vehicles, has a weaker representation when it comes to the group's revenues, but the new owners have pointed out that changes are set to come in that segment as well.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

August the 25th, 2022 - Croatia's Djuro Djakovic company has contracted a significant 190 million kuna job for a well known company - GATX Rail Europe, despite undergoing a transformation of sorts of its own.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, while waiting for the ownership transformation to be completed, Croatia's Djuro Djakovic still successfully manages to contract new jobs. The company has just contracted the construction of new Shimmns freight cars for GATX Rail Europe, the value of which stands at almost 190 million in total.

The production and delivery of wagons is planned for the first half of next year, and the Slavonski Brod-based group has pointed out that with this project, Djuro Djakovic group has confirmed its strategic orientation towards the development and production of wagons for special purpose and performance, with the use of new generation production equipment with which the company is rounding off its development and production processes in the meantime.

According to the Djuro Djakovic group's latest financial report for the first half of this year, the value of the previously contracted production of Shimmns freight wagons amounted to almost 150 million kuna, and the value of the Uacns wagons contracted with a Swiss client stood at approximately 94 million kuna. Their capacities have been filled for this year and the company is already preparing itself for new construction contracted for next year.

In addition to the transport segment, the Djuro Djakovic group has contracted jobs in the defense, energy and industry segments, and the total value of all jobs, before the latest contract, was a very impressive 310 million kuna in total.

From the communication heard from the company undergoing a transformation so far, the production of wagons will be a priority in the further development of this well known industrialist from Slavonski Brod with the new majority owner, the company DD Acquisition, owned by Czech investors Rene Matera and Jaroslav Strnad, who will soon recapitalise the company.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

January the 17th, 2021 - This year began with a little bit more optimism for the Slavonski Brod-based Croatian company Djuro Djakovic, unlike last year, when they fought for their salaries with protests.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Djuro Djakovic's restructuring process has now begun, and a strategic partner is actively being sought, without whom it will be difficult for the Croatian company to be able to stand on its own two feet.

The halls of Djuro Djakovic's Special Vehicles are working at full steam, they are the largest within the wider Djuro Djakovic group, and freight wagons are their current trump card, HRT writes.

''They have reduced losses on the wagons and have managed to reach the stage of operating for certain months with profit,'' said the President of the Management Board of the Djuro Djakovic Group, Hrvoje Kekez.

''So far things are good, we'll have to see what will happen later,'' said Sinisa Rajkovic, a Djuro Djakovic Special Vehicles employee, adding that they say the company is now moving in the right direction. In fact, they're moving in only possible one, which is the direction of proper restructuring under the watchful eye of the EU's capital of Brussels.

''This year has started out in a much better way. As the company's management has informed us, the agreement that has been reached is good,'' said Ivan Baric, Deputy Trade Union Commissioner in the Djuro Djakovic Special Vehicles company.

Last year, which was horrendous for the majority of companies, the company started with massive debts of 600 million kuna. To prevent them from slipping into bankruptcy, the state helped with a loan guarantee of 300 million kuna. Now they are working again, bringing order to the table and seeking a strategic partner. Two non-binding offers came from the Enno Group of Pavle Vujnovac and a consortium of Czech companies that have recently owned a stake in Djuro Djakovic.

''I think that both potential investors have the strength and vision and certain needs for such a group,'' stated Kekez.

The Metalworkers' Union expects that the high level of social rights that Djuro Djaković's employees have in the collective agreement which has been reached will be maintained, said Antun Stivic, Deputy President of the Croatian Metalworkers' Union. The company's employees want to believe in the survival of the company.

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