The SNCF assured this Thursday, February 27, being now in a “virtuous circle”, announcing that it had released in 2024 net profit for the fourth consecutive year, up 19 % to 1.6 billion euros, and a turnover growing of 3.8 %.
“The SNCF group started the virtuous circle of profitable growth,” said the results of the public company its CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou, which will pass hand in May after five years of mandate. The manager insisted on the good health of the SNCF, with a turnover of 43.4 billion euros last year ( +3.8 % over one year, and +4.8 % excluding variations in perimeter and exchange rates), a level of record investment (10.8 billion euros) and 18,500 hires in CDI, making the company the first recruiter of France.
The growth was driven by the results of the SNCF Travelers (+ 5.8 %on a constant scope and changes) and the public transport operator Keolis (+ 9.6 %), “very substantial increases when compared to the level of inflation (2.4 %)”, underlined the financial director of the SNCF, Laurent Trevisani. Conversely, the logistician Geodis, who had enabled the SNCF to limit damage during the COVID crisis, saw its turnover stagnate in 2024 due to the deterioration of the economic environment in France and in the world.
Commitment held
SNCF Travelers saw its profitability slightly lower in 2024, “mainly because of TGV activity”, according to Laurent Trevisani. “We fully assume not to pass on the entire increase in our charges on the price of tickets” to ensure that the trains are full, he insisted.
The end of 2024 was also marked by a price moderation on the TGV due to a slowdown in demand. “It has been a long time since it happened. Historically, the ‘yield management’ (which modulates the prices according to demand) played rather upwards, but there he played down,” noted Jean-Pierre Farandou. More than six years after the voting of the Rail Pact Act, “all commitments are held,” said the CEO of the railway group.
The debt is mastered and oscillates around 25 billion euros, SNCF network released positive cash in 2024 as the law required it and the group returned permanently in green. “Employment resumes, which had not happened for the 35 hours,” said Jean-Pierre Farandou, whose group now has 290,000 employees, including 217,000 in France.
Network and competition
To maintain the good health of the company, he stated several conditions, starting with the renovation of the rail network. “It is better, but we are not there yet,” said Jean-Pierre Farandou. Annual investments in the network now reach 3 billion euros (against one billion before the 2018 reform). “We need 4.5 billion per year”, under penalty of seeing the network deteriorate and the regularity of the trains diving, warned Jean-Pierre Farandou.
The other condition is not to miss the turn of the competition while by 2030, the majority of the TER network will no longer be in a monopoly situation and that a high -speed trains of other companies will run against the TGV of the SNCF. “We must not lose too much activity, if it had to lower too much, we have fixed costs, and our profitability would be reached,” warned the manager.
To continue to develop, the SNCF hopes to welcome the first trains of the new generation TGV in early 2026, and thus increase the number of places available on high speed. Development abroad also remains an option, even if Jean-Pierre Farandou slowed down the ardor of SNCF travelers who wants to launch in Italy in 2026: “There is nothing final. We try to see how to get into the market, it does not seem so easy. […] We will not go to Italy if it is to lose money. “