ÖBB Annual Report 2025

45 Group Management Report Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 2 General economic conditions Economic development In 2025, the Austrian economy fluctuated between optimism and apprehension. Contrary to expectations, there was no renewed decline in GDP. Another year of recession after 2023 and 2024 was avoided. With an increase of just 0.5% compared to the prior year, GDP growth was nevertheless extremely subdued following the downturns of prior years. 1 Private consumption once again provided positive impetus, albeit at a much more subdued level than in the prior year due to high inflation. Sentiment in the construction industry also slowly turned positive over the course of the year. Following the expiry of the KIM Regulation and a decline in interest rates, building construction was once again a driving factor. 2 Industry is also likely to have bottomed out, with production increasing again for the first time in two years. However, due to high material costs and weak export development, value added fell by 0.5% year-on-year for another year in succession. 3 In the second half of the year, the outlook deteriorated again due to a decline in orders. The inflation rate, which was significantly higher than in the eurozone, remained a cause for concern. While the 2% target was reached in the eurozone after several interest rate cuts by the Central Bank, inflation in Austria remained at 3.6% in 2025. This was primarily due to higher network charges for energy and the prices of labor-intensive services. In any case, high inflation is having a dampening effect on Austria’s competitiveness. The outlook for 2026 also remains subdued, with GDP growth forecast at just 1.2%. Economic development in core markets of the ÖBB Group 2024 to 2026 (changes compared to the prior year in %, real) Gross domestic product Industrial production 2024 2025 2026 2024 2025 2026 World trade 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.4 2.9 Eurozone 0.9 1.3 1.2 -3.1 1.5 0.6 Austria -0.7 0.5 1.2 -4.7 2.0 0.1 Hungary 0.6 0.3 2.0 -3.8 -3.6 3.3 Germany -0.5 0.2 0.7 -4.6 -1.3 0.6 Italy 0.5 0.5 0.6 -3.9 -0.7 0.7 Romania 0.9 1.6 2.0 -1.7 -0.1 2.9 Czech Republic 1.1 2.5 2.0 -1.0 0.9 2.6 Slovenia 1.6 0.7 2.7 -1.1 1.1 3.3 Bulgaria 2.7 3.3 3.3 -3.7 -7.4 2.0 Croatia 3.9 3.2 2.5 -2.4 2.6 0.9 Slovakia 1.9 0.8 1.8 -0.3 -2.8 1.2 Poland 3.0 3.4 3.5 0.8 1.5 2.7 Greece 2.3 2.0 2.1 5.2 0.4 3.2 Serbia 3.9 2.4 3.6 - - - Sources: EU Commission, Eurostat, Oxford Economics, WIFO, IMF. The same applies to the global and European environment. From the former, there is cause for hope. The global economy, and global trade in particular, have already proven to be surprisingly robust in the face of the confusion surrounding the US tariffs and corresponding countermeasures drawn up by individual countries and the EU. The development of global container throughput was stable overall. In Europe, there was a slump in the second half of 2025. However, this was probably mainly due to anticipatory effects in view of Trump’s proclamation of what he called “Liberation Day.” Container throughput at Europe’s northern ports recovered again at the end of the year. 4 Container transport prices also showed no particular fluctuations. 5 1 WIFO. 2 WIFO. 3 Oxford Economics. 4 RWI / ISL. 5 Trading Economics. MR2 |