Deutsche Bahn said it planned to ramp up its sales to 70 billion euros ($93.02 billion) over the next eight years, and would buy up rivals with turnover of 10 billion euros to consolidate its own growth.
"Our vision is to become the world's leading mobility and logistics company," Chief Executive Officer Ruediger Grube said at the group's annual results press conference in Berlin.
Grube said the group would continue to expand into new and profitable markets, but would also invest in the quality of its services, as well as widening its portfolio of green products.
"Wherever there are market opportunities, that's where we'll be," he said.
Deutsche Bahn plans to boost sales this year to 40 billion euros and operating profit to 2.6 billion euros, with strong growth expected from its logistics sector.
The group said it hopes to raise up to two billion euros in 2012 through issuing bonds, and had already secured 900 million euros on the capital markets in the first months of this year.
Record Sales
Deutsche Bahn reported a 10 percent increase in revenue to 37.9 billion euros in 2011, while operating profit (EBIT) grew almost a quarter to 2.3 billion euros.
The company confirmed figures reported by Reuters last week.
Record numbers of passengers boosted sales. Nearly two billion people travelled by rail in 2011, the company said, an increase of 1.6 percent from 2010.
But the group fell short of its targets due to a contraction in the German economy in the fourth quarter, as well as a weaker-than-expected performance in the freight business and high maintenance costs.
The outcome compared with targets for 38.4 billion euros in revenue and 2.4 billion euros in operating profit. The company has said it is looking at the profitability of the freight business.
"We are on the right path but have not reached our target yet," Grube said.
The German government had wanted to privatise part of the firm in 2008 but abandoned the plans due to poor market conditions.
The government has said it will pursue a partial privatisation of the company but has not given a fixed time frame. (Reuters)
