The Klett Group is Germany’s leading private provider of educational and continued education services, with 59 subsidiaries at 34 locations in 14 countries. Klett offers traditional textbooks, digital interactive learning solutions, book for professional development, and fiction. Klett’s German and international schools and colleges have 185,000 students enrolled annually.

Publishing companies under the Klett Group include: Klett, ÖBV, Bange, AAP Lehrerfachverlage, Pons, Rokus Klett, Difusión, Klett und Balmer, Raabe, Klett-Cotta, Friedrich, Esslinger, Klett Kinderbuch, ILS, SGD, Euro-FH, and Klett Langenscheidt.

Analysis & Key Developments

Financial

The Klett Group increased sales by 35 million EUR to 495 million EUR compared to the previous year, when revenues accounted for 460 million EUR. Profit before taxes rose by 1 million EUR to 17 million EUR in fiscal 2015, demonstrating that the educational company is solidly positioned in its businesses.

Klett’s educational publishing generated the largest share of corporate revenue with 54.9%. The educational imprints held their position and increased profit by 1.5%. Adult and continued education accounted for 30.4%, with professional publications at 10.4% and general publications accounting for 3.2%.

The Group closed the financial year above last year’s level despite the pending repayments to VG-Wort and high pension allocations.

Internal Organization

Two management changes will take effect on October 1, 2016. Thomas Baumann will move from the executive board of Ernst Klett AG to Klett’s board of directors, and Lothar Kleiner, managing director of the Deutsche Weiterbildungsgesellschaft mbH since 2008, will move up to the executive board. The executive board also includes Philipp Haußmann (spokesman of the board) and Tilo Knoche.

Acquisition

With the acquisition of the Best Sabel GmbH at the beginning of 2015, Klett has expanded its on-site learning institutions in Berlin, adding further kindergartens and primary schools, as well as a secondary school and a vocational academy to its portfolio.

In January 2015 the Klett Group expanded its adult and continuing education segment with the purchase of the Cologne Business School (Köln, Mainz) and the European University of Applied Sciences (Brühl, Neuss, Aachen, Rostock).

International

In 2015 Klett’s international business continued to develop positively. The Klett Group was especially successful in Eastern Europe with the acquisitions of Novi Logos (Serbia) and Profil Klett (Croatia) at the beginning of the year.

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