Corporate governance

MTU Aero Engines AG

Three letters stand for world-class technology in aviation: MTU. We are experts in the design, development, manufacture, and maintenance of commercial and military aircraft engines in all thrust and power categories as well as stationary gas turbines. With our innovative engines, high-tech solutions, and comprehensive services, we make aviation safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.


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MTU Aero Engines AG is Germany's leading engine manufacturer. The company is a technological leader in low-pressure turbines, high-pressure compressors, turbine center frames, as well as manufacturing processes and repair techniques. In the commercial OEM business, the company plays a key role in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of high-tech components together with international partners. Around one-third of all aircraft in service worldwide today have MTU components on board.

In the commercial maintenance sector, the company ranks among the world’s top three service providers for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. The activities are combined under the roof of MTU Maintenance. In the military arena, MTU Aero Engines is Germany’s industrial lead company for practically all engines operated by the country’s military. MTU operates a network of sites around the globe; Munich is home to its corporate headquarters.

MTU’s 2023 at a glance

MTU Aero Engines AG employs more than 12,000 people and is present in all key regions and markets through its subsidiaries and joint ventures. Over the next few years, the company intends to concentrate on its core business, participate in new engine programs, and expand its service portfolio.

MTU’s OEM segment covers new commercial engines, including spare parts, and the whole of the military sector. The MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) segment comprises all commercial maintenance activities.

MTU Aero Engines worldwide

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This report covers all of MTU’s sites that are treated as fully consolidated in the company’s financial reporting. The company has a presence in global markets through other subsidiaries and maintains joint ventures with partners in Asia; for example, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s joint maintenance shop with China Southern Air or Airfoil Services in Malaysia, a joint venture with Lufthansa Technik for airfoil repair. (*Revenue by business segment before consolidation)

The challenges of the 2023 financial year

MTU aims to continue growing despite exceptional burden

For MTU, 2023 was a year of contradictions. The enormous burdens from the geared turbofan fleet management plan announced in September led to the reported earnings figures being negative for the first time in MTU’s 90-year history. On the other hand, the adjusted results once again demonstrate MTU’s operational strength and meet the company’s ambitious targets. This means that without the exceptional burden described, MTU would have been able to announce record figures for the 2023 financial year.

The key figures were negatively impacted in particular by the geared turbofan fleet management plan, which was adjusted as an extraordinary effect for reasons of comparability. In 2023, MTU generated adjusted revenue (adjusted for the burden from the geared turbofan fleet management plan) of EUR 6.3 billion, 19% more than in 2022 (2022: EUR 5.3 billion). Adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes, calculated on a like-for-like basis—especially adjusted for the burden from the geared turbofan fleet management plan) increased by 25% in 2023, from EUR 655 million to EUR 818 million. The adjusted EBIT margin rose from 12.3% in 2022 to 12.9% in 2023. Adjusted earnings after tax (calculated on a like-for-like basis—especially adjusted for the burden from the geared turbofan fleet management plan) increased by 25% to EUR 594 million (2022: EUR 476 million). The reported key figures reflect the costs of the geared turbofan fleet management plan, which amount to a burden of around EUR 1 billion. For MTU 2023, this resulted in reported revenue of EUR 5.4 billion, reported EBIT of EUR −161 million, and reported earnings after tax of EUR −97 million.

By contrast, the order backlog amounted to EUR 24.4 billion at the end of 2023, with most of the orders for the geared turbofan engines of the PW1000G family, in particular the PW1100G-JM, and for the V2500 engine program. In purely mathematical terms, this corresponds to capacity utilization of more than three years and underscores MTU’s good market position.

Key financial data (in EUR m) > GRI 201-1

 

2023

2022

2021

Revenue adjusted*

6,326

5,330

4,188

Revenue reported

5,363

5,330

4,188

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT, adjusted)

818

655

468

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT, reported)

– 161

508

355

Tax expense

108

130

84

Net income (reported)

– 97

333

231

Net income (adjusted)

594

476

342

Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

511

447

384

*adjusted as of 2023

MTU remains a highly efficient company with extremely positive prospects. We want to continue to grow in 2024 and are holding to our medium-term goals: 8 – 1 – 25, meaning: EUR 8 billion in revenue and EUR 1 billion in operating profit in 2025.

We add value to society

Our commercial success generates added value for our stakeholders and contributes to society’s prosperity and the economic development of the communities where our business activities are located. We offer interesting and future-proof jobs in a high-tech industry and professional training as part of Germany’s dual-track system. At the end of 2023, the MTU Group employed 12,170 people at fully consolidated sites around the world, and there were 318 young people in apprenticeships. We are a major employer in the region at all our network’s major sites and are exporting the successful German training model: in Serbia, our new repair site, we provide specialist aviation training based on the dual-track system. In 2023, MTU Maintenance Canada opened a new training academy in collaboration with the British Columbia Institute of Technology, combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience in engine maintenance. Moreover, we pay our employees attractive salaries and offer a broad range of perks.

As a local investor and patron, we promote education and the academic landscape, for example by maintaining close ties to universities and colleges. We invest in our locations and our new repair site in Serbia started operations in 2023. We create jobs in upstream supply chains and work with some 7,300 suppliers around the world. Most of our suppliers are located in Germany or Europe. We have defined mandatory sustainability standards for our cooperation with our suppliers and enshrined these in a Code of Conduct.

Responsible tax policy

We act as a responsible global corporate taxpayer and comply with applicable tax laws and regulations, enabling us to make a significant contribution to society at our sites in Germany and elsewhere. A binding Code of Conduct supports systematic compliance with legal and regulatory requirements throughout the Group. We promote ethical and transparent business practices and, in particular, do not use tax avoidance measures, such as the establishment of companies solely for this purpose. We have adopted a Group tax policy that establishes our principles, tax strategy, and tax risk management in the company and defines our responsibilities. We report regularly in accordance with applicable regulations and requirements (e.g. IFRS, CbCR), thereby transparently disclosing our tax position.

Value added (in EUR m) > GRI 201-1

 

 

 

2023

2022

2021

Gross value added

5,494

5,385

4,271

Cost of material/ other expenses

4,380

3,702

2,901

Depreciation

282

301

302

Net value added

832

1,382

1,068

Employee wages and benefit

1,063

954

856

Payment to lenders

44

32

34

Payment to public authorities

156

192

64

Payment to shareholders

171

112

67

Gross value added = revenue and other income, dividend payment to shareholders in 2023 financial year for 2022

The value-added statement shows that MTU’s corporate performance amounts to a gross value added of EUR 5.494 billion. After deducting the cost of materials, depreciation, amortization, and other expenses, net value added came to EUR 832 million. In 2023, our employees again received substantial compensation in the form of wages, salaries, and other benefits. In the reporting year, we distributed a dividend of EUR 3.20 per share to shareholders for the 2022 financial year. Our employees continue to have the opportunity to share in MTU’s success on attractive terms through the company’s annual employee share program.


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