Leo Express Global has appointed as the new chair of its Board of Directors Inmaculada Gutiérrez Carrizo, managing director of Renfe Proyectos Internacionales in the Renfe Group, the main shareholder and strategic partner of the Leo Express Group.
Inmaculada Gutiérrez has more than 30 years of experience as an economist, both in the public sector and in private consulting. She has held various public administration management positions in areas related to economic regulation, competition and market liberalisation. An significant part of her career has been dedicated to the defence of competition.
At Renfe she is responsible for the strategy and development of the international business and has led from the beginning the operation by which the Spanish group entered the capital of this Czech private operator in December 2021, as a strategic step for its positioning in Central Europe and its short-term growth on the continent. taking advantage of the competitive advantage offered by the field experience and operating licences that Leo Express already has.
Under the umbrella "Leo Express, Powered by Renfe" the Spanish group is participating in the operation of commercial and public obligation services in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine, with some 5 million train-kilometres per year and more than 3 million customers.
Leo Express, strategic and profitable
Since 2021, Renfe has been the main shareholder of Leo Express, after an operation that, in addition to being strategic for the Spanish group's internationalisation plans, has achieved profitability in just two years.
Leo Express achieved revenues of €24.4 million in 2023, with more than 1.7 million customers and expects to reach €40 million in 2024 with around 3.5 million customers. Consolidated EBITDAR for 2023 reached more than €5.7 million (+175% year-on-year increase) and a profit of €165,000 compared to losses of €124,000 in the previous year.
The year 2023 was marked by the preparation and commissioning of a new OSP service in the Danube region: The connection between Bratislava-Komárno in Slovakia. For its inauguration, in December 2023, Renfe and Leo Express collaborated closely on the deployment of 21 new self-propelled diesel units, within the framework of an OSP contract signed with the Slovak Ministry of Transport.
As a shareholder, Renfe has firmly promoted the development of this business opportunity, which will allow Leo Express to almost double its activity in the current financial year.