DB Cargo is in a race against time to break-even. This is a requirement in an EU State Aid procedure against the company. By the end of this year, the freight operator needs to reach its financial goals, but that looks impossible now.
Bernhard Osburg, CEO of DB Cargo, shared this view with German press agency dpa. The CEO believes that reaching operational break-even is out of reach for the company this year. This means that DB Cargo will fail to meet the European Commission deadline.
Osburg refers to the sale of subsidiary DB Cargo UK, part of the restructuring effort to improve the company’s financial position, as the culprit. The book value of the UK branch was around €260 million higher than what DB Cargo is expecting to recover from its sale. This will lead to an equal loss in the company’s 2026 financial performance.
DB Cargo’s international branches under review
DB Cargo should now expand the restructuring programme — previously limited to Germany — across all of its European operations, according to Osburg. This includes 16 international subsidiaries. The CEO explained that an evaluation is currently underway to assess which of these units are key to supporting the operator’s broader European strategy.
Osburg wants to convince the EU that the restructuring proceedings in Germany are going well. Without the DB Cargo UK write-down, the company would have reached the break-even point this year, he said.
RailFreight.com has reached out to DB to find out more about its dealings with the European Commission.