Royal FloraHolland suffered a EUR 17 million loss in 2023. “The financial result is really disappointing,” said CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde. “Despite significant cost savings, the loss was unfortunately higher due to unforeseen, one-off setbacks.” One such setback was Floriway's revenue, which was EUR 13 million lower.
Though Royal FloraHolland (RFH) had already factored in a loss for 2023, management had not expected it to be this high. While 2022 also ended in a loss of EUR 4 million, last year saw a steep increase to EUR 17 million. Auction deliveries in 2023 were 4% lower than the year before, which was not fully offset by the slightly higher product prices.
Like 2022, last year was marked by high inflation alongside rising energy and raw material prices. The auction was also affected by the higher labour and transport costs. According to CFO David van Mechelen, “a combination of growth and increased productivity is needed to offset the inflation effects, but growth failed to materialise.” In 2023, RFH's total operating income increased by just EUR 7 million, mainly attributable to fee increases.