ÖBB Annual Report 2025

Group Management Report 68 Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 25 Goods transport amid changing geopolitical and structural conditions The 2025 financial year was extremely challenging for the entire RCG in view of geopolitical challenges, high energy prices and the resulting sharp increase in competitive intensity with road transport as well as Europe-wide infrastructure bottlenecks. Market development and general economic conditions The year was dominated by global uncertainties. The ongoing tariff dispute between the USA and key trading partners led to shifts in supply chains, abrupt changes in the competitive environment and industry-specific uncertainties regarding trade volumes. In addition, Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine led to a further shift in transport flows away from China. On the one hand, there was an increased switch to sea transport, while on the other, rail shipments were diverted to the significantly more challenging Middle and Southern corridors from an infrastructure perspective. This resulted in increased transit times and rising costs. At the same time, rising factor costs and subdued industrial growth in Europe as a whole had a negative impact on transport demand and, in particular, on the competitiveness of rail compared with road. These negative developments are also reflected in the financial results of most state-owned rail freight operators (e.g. DB Cargo, PKP Cargo, CD Cargo). Another weighing on the competitiveness of rail transport is steadily increasing bottlenecks in the European rail infrastructure since 2024. Planned long-term closures such as the Tauern closure in Austria, as well as numerous unplanned or very short-notice construction works along international rail corridors in Germany, Italy and Eastern and Southeastern Europe, placed rail freight transport under severe pressure in 2025. At the same time, shipping lines adjusted their activities with a focus on extending their value chain depth (e.g. expanding their own products and terminal networks) in the intermodal market, thereby increasing the competitive pressure on traditional providers. Outlook The environment remains challenging for 2026. Geopolitical risks as well as Deutsche Bahn’s multi-year infrastructure renewal program involving full closures of international rail corridors and structural market shifts will continue to impact goods transport. At the same time, capital expenditure in the European rail network and the trend towards climate-friendly transport solutions offer non-current opportunities – RCG will actively use these to further expand its position as Europe’s leading railroad logistics provider. Infrastructure: An attractive and high-performance railroad system under challenging conditions The year 2025 was characterized by a challenging business environment. This has been due to continuing geopolitical uncertainties, an intensifying climate crisis and rising costs. Nevertheless, the railroad system is maintaining its position as an attractive and high-performing backbone of sustainable mobility and, as a pioneer for climate neutrality in 2040, advances policy mandate of the Mobility Master Plan (Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), formerly BMK, 2021). In addition, society continues to demand attractive, environmentally friendly transport solutions that are available to current and new users of the railroad system as a stable core service. The railroad system, which continues to operate at high capacity, underscores the significant societal and political importance of rail while also posing major challenges: sharply rising demand is leading to historically high operating volumes and network utilization. This will continue to increase in the coming years, as rising train density is exerting more pressure to provide these services efficiently, cost-effectively and at a high level of quality. In order to meet these challenges, ÖBB INFRA will continue to focus on its #INFRA.mobilitätswende policy in the coming years. The aim is to achieve a clear strategic balance between growth, profitability and quality. The aim is to design the upgrade and modernization of the infrastructure in such a way that capacities are sustainably increased and bottlenecks are reduced without compromising the stability and reliability of existing operations. Numerous initiatives have been launched to improve and stabilize the punctuality performance of the railroad system. These will be continued in the coming years with the significant involvement of ÖBB INFRA. | MR25