Development in the year under review

• The waning negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, new transport contracts and 9-Euro-Tickets are the key to the development.
• Increases in energy prices were compensated for by price escalation clauses.
• Operating profit development significantly improved.

Punctuality in rail transport has dropped. The main causes of this were the high network utilization, capacity restrictions due to the high construction volume and infrastructure disruptions. From June to August 2022, the introduction of the 9-Euro-Ticket also led to a significant increase in excessive stopping times on tourist lines and at weekends in the overall network. The most significant drops in punctuality were recorded in these three months. Capacity bottlenecks combined with a high primary disruption level also led to a significant increase in delays of following trains. The tense personnel situation due to high sick leave in key operational areas also had a negative impact. Punctuality in bus transport has improved, however.

About 26,000 customers (rail) and about 2,300 customers (bus) were surveyed in two waves for the annual customer satisfaction survey:

• DB Regional (rail): Overall passenger satisfaction fell slightly in 2022. While the satisfaction figures for the S-Bahn (metro) (SI of 70) remained stable, a significant decline in regional transport (SI of 70) was observed. Satisfaction with the last journey fell slightly to an SI of 77 (regional services SI of 77 and S-Bahn (metro), SI of 78). The main driver of the deterioration is the development of punctuality and the reliability of the system.
• DB Regional (bus): Customer satisfaction is slightly below the previous year’s level, both in terms of satisfaction with the bus company (SI of 74) and with the current journey (SI of 77), but remains at a good level.

The performance development was very pleasing – in the period from June to August 2022, the pre-Covid-19 level was significantly exceeded as a result of additional stimulus from the introduction of the 9-Euro-Ticket:

• DB Regional (rail): Development in the number of passengers and volume sold was significantly positive primarily as a result of the recovery in demand after the lifting of most measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the first half of 2022. The effects of new transport contracts also exceeded the effects of discontinued transport services.
• DB Regional (bus): Here, too, the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to wane. Performance gains had a supporting effect, meaning that the performance development was also very positive.

The economic development of DB Regional remained under pressure, particularly in the bus line of business, due to special effects such as diesel price increases, even though the operating profit figures improved again overall.

In view of the fact that passenger numbers are still lower than pre-Covid levels overall, passenger revenues remain below 2019 levels. Due to the high proportion of gross contracts, the revenue risk lies primarily with the public transport authorities.

Revenue development was positive:

• Revenues: The increase resulted primarily from higher rail concession fees, a demand-driven increase in revenues from fares and performance gains. The loss of revenues from fares in connection with the temporary introduction of the 9-Euro-Ticket partially countered this impact. The compensation for the lost revenues due to the 9-Euro- Ticket is included in other operating income.
• Other operating income: The increase (+4.0%/€ +37 million) due in part to the effects of a change in cost allo­cation as a result of the introduction of the German Collective Bargaining Agreement (countereffect in the cost of materials), as well as higher income from compensation in connection with delayed vehicle deliveries, among other things. In contrast, Government subsidies, among other things, fell. Here, a decline in Covid-19 support payments, among other things, as a result of the recovery in demand exceeded positive effects, mainly from compensation payments for the 9-Euro-Ticket.

On the expense side, there were additional pressures primarily from demand- and price-related increases in the cost of materials and higher personnel expenses, partly as a result of collective bargaining agreements:

• Cost of materials: The increase in the cost of materials (+8.8%/€ +500 million) mainly due to cost increases for energy, among other things, and higher costs for the use of train-paths and stations in rail transport, partly as a result of higher volume-related costs. In addition, higher expenses for purchased transport services due to price and performance factors led to additional charges.
• Personnel expenses: Noticeable increase (+4.7%/€ +106 million) due in part to the higher number of employees on average.
• Other operating expenses: Slight increase (+3.5%/€ +31 million), due to the rail line of business.
• Depreciation: Also slight increase (+2.4%/€ +15 million).

Capital expenditure activities developed in line with the requirements from transport contracts awarded and rose considerably.

The number of employees increased as of December 31, 2022, driven by the takeover of the Abellio services.

Employee satisfaction has fallen slightly compared with 2020. This was due to the operational challenges, among other things.

The proportion of women was almost at the same level as at the end of the previous year.

In 2022, the specific final energy consumption on rail based on volume sold was lower than in the reference year 2006. One of the drivers of this improvement was the sharp rise in passenger numbers. On the other hand, further measures were taken to improve the energy efficiency of train journeys. The regional energy savings system (RESY) is used in 21 diesel networks. In bus transport, the reduction in specific final energy consumption in relation to volume produced (compared with 2006) was less pronounced than in the previous year, as supply has increased significantly.