- Major progress in move to become a fully digitalized Group
- Record-breaking year for receivables purchasing with total €669 million invested in NPLs and real estate
“We owe last year’s success primarily to our more than 6,000 employees. Every single day, and in what are volatile times, they make EOS a more dynamic and digital place,” says Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group. “The last financial year was characterized above all by three factors: Firstly, we were able to build on our core areas of expertise in the purchase and processing of non-performing receivables while reinforcing our status as experts in this field. This was complemented by the outstanding international and cross-border cooperation between our companies in 24 countries. And lastly, increasing automation allowed us to constantly improve our business processes. In what was a challenging year, these are achievements that we as a team can be very proud of,” Ramcke continues.
EOS reinforces leading position and pushes ahead with digital transformation
Over the years, the EOS Group has earned a very good reputation as an international provider of debt collection services and as an investor in receivables packages (NPLs). Backed by the financial strength of the Otto Group, EOS was able to once again make significant investments on the NPL market. The distinct focus on process automation and the use of data-driven collection software also allowed receivables to be processed more successfully and efficiently.“We have made promising progress towards creating a shared analytical data repository that will deliver clear benefits for managing the receivables processing in future. The associated investment was and continues to be a major step to becoming a fully digitalized group of companies,” says Justus Hecking-Veltman, CFO of the EOS Group. The development and use of chatbots in communications with consumers, or the 27/4 service portals already implemented in several countries, are further examples of the digital transformation at EOS.
With its long-standing expertise as a debt collection company and its focus on digitalization and international networking, EOS was able to reinforce and build on its leading position in receivables management in numerous markets in fiscal 2021/22. It was a record-breaking financial year for EOS especially in the field of receivables purchasing, with the Group investing a total €669 million in NPLs and real estate during this period. Thanks to this result, the volume of the previous financial year was significantly exceeded.
EOS implements its ambitious sustainability concept
With its corporate responsibility (CR) strategy launched at the start of the last financial year, EOS is approaching its own commitment to sustainability in a structured manner and with ambitious goals. Joining the UN Global Compact emphatically underscores the company’s endeavors in this area. In the meanwhile, more than 16,000 companies from over 160 countries are participating in the UN initiative to make the world a fairer and more sustainable place. The numerous CR activities undertaken by EOS go far beyond environmental protection, and the company’s social and corporate engagement is already delivering its first results: As a recipient of the Top Women Leaders Award and a gold medal from prestigious rating agency EcoVadis, the EOS Group already won two accolades for its efforts in the field of CR in the last financial year.The company also intends to build on its existing sustainability initiatives in the year ahead. “We take responsibility, not just for our own workforce and customers, but for consumers and the entire debt collection sector as well. Or to put it in a nutshell: changing for the better,” says Ramcke “Personally, I would like to drive the issue of diversity in particular. This is one of the greatest strengths of our international Group. Last year, for example, some of our committed employees established the LGBTQ+ community Queer@EOS and the women’s network W:isible.”
Western Europe: Substantial increase in revenue and continuous growth
In Western Europe, the national subsidiaries reported a growth rate of 9 percent. In particular, France, Spain and Denmark enjoyed a significant growth in earnings. There was significant backlog in the NPL segment, attributable to the waning of the pandemic. Because in many countries in Western Europe the courts and debt enforcement offices had been shut for a long time due to the pandemic, the widest possible return to regular operations greatly simplified the processing of NPL portfolios acquired in the previous years, and substantially increased operating performance in countries like France and Belgium. “In addition, we invested €144.5 million in receivables packages and real estate in Western Europe. The EOS national subsidiary in Spain also successfully acquired its first secured NPL portfolio. This is an important step for the region,” says Dr. Andreas Witzig, member of the EOS Group’s Board of Directors with responsibility for Western Europe. “We are going to continue to develop our position on the NPL market and become even more active, especially when it comes to secured receivables,” stresses Witzig.Go to our ePaper for the online version of th Annual Report for more detailed information on fiscal 2021/22 and to download our Annual Report.
About EOS Group
The EOS Group is a leading technology-driven investor in receivables portfolios and an expert in the processing of outstanding receivables. With over 45 years of experience and branches in 24 countries (as at fiscal 2021/22), EOS offers its some 20,000 customers worldwide smart services for all their receivables management needs. Its key target sectors are banking, real estate, telecommunications, insurance, mobility, utilities and e-commerce. EOS employs more than 6,000 people and is part of Otto Group.For more information on EOS, please go to: eos-schweiz.com