In this Research Note, we examine one of the top three companies in the global access solutions market, dormakaba Group, based on their FY2021/2022 financial results, year ending 30 June 2022 and their latest Annual Report. This analysis also covers the firm’s strategic partnerships and acquisitions, focused on digital solutions. 

dormakaba increased net sales by 10.3% to approx. CHF 2,756.9 million year ending 30 June 2022 (previous year: CHF 2,499.7 million). Organic sales growth was strong at around 7.7% and above the guidance range of 3% to 5%. An adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.5% was posted, lower than the previous year of 14.5%.  External headwinds such as supply chain constraints and inflationary trends impacted the company’s profitability and prevented even better growth.

Organic sales for Region Europe & Africa, the largest region by turnover, grew by 5.9% to CHF 1,144.5 million year-on-year. The adjusted EBITDA was 20.6% (previous year: 21.1%) as higher sales volumes, price increases, operational efficiency and effective cost management could not fully offset the inflationary pressure and the margin dilution from lower sales of high-margin Electronic Access & Data products due to components shortages.

In February 2022, dormakaba completed the acquisition of AtiQx Holding B.V, a provider of electronic access control and workforce management in the Netherlands. Their offering includes cloud-based solutions with an 24/7 services model, with an attractive recurring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) income. The company is based in Utrecht/Dordrecht and has around 70 employees. AtiQx generated mid-single-digit million sales in Swiss Francs in financial year 2021.

In July 2021, dormakaba completed the acquisition of Solus Security Systems Pvt Ltd, a provider of integrated Electronic Access & Data solutions in India. Based in Bangalore (India) with multiple further locations, Solus offers pan-Indian coverage for systems integrators and mid-sized end-customers in nearly all verticals, supported by around 200 employees, including around 130 service technicians. The company generated single-digit million sales in Swiss francs in financial year 2020/21 ending 31 March 2021.

dormakaba also sees the growing importance of data-driven ecosystems and solutions that satisfy the future needs of customers and markets. Therefore, the company engages in partnerships to grow the potential of verticals such as airports, healthcare, lodging, and multi-occupancy residential segments.

To expand their market position in the airports sector, dormakaba entered a partnership with Vanderlande in January 2022. Vanderlande’s concept for a self-screening passenger security checkpoint solution has been selected by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for further design, development and operational testing. The concept will combine Vanderlande’s global airport checkpoint experience and expertise with that of its partners, Rohde & Schwarz and dormakaba Group, which will supply secure access control systems.  

In July 2022, the group announced a strategic partnership with Schüco, one of Europe’s market leaders for building envelopes. Under the partnership agreement, dormakaba and Schüco will work together to accelerate strategic development projects in digitalization and access control. In the first step, the two companies will develop a door-integrated access management system and link up the EntriWorX digital platform for door solutions with the SchüCal configuration and calculation tool.

A partnership with Latch, Inc., the US supplier of LatchOS, a full-building enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for apartment buildings, was announced in November 2021. dormakaba and Latch plan to launch a new integration between dormakaba’s resivo connected access devices and LatchOS for new and existing dormakaba customers in managed residential buildings across Europe.  

Memoori notes that with the current turbulence in Latch since the merger with a SPAC subsidiary of Tishman Speyer Properties including company layoffs, non-compliance with Nasdaq rules and restatement of financials, it is unclear as to the current status of this partnership at the present time.

In recent years, the product portfolio of dormakaba has increasingly embraced electronics, connectivity, and digital solutions. Their continued investment in product innovation and digitization has positioned the company well to offer attractive solutions for the emerging demands of customers and the market. 

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.