Bore Ltd plans to focus on RoRo tonnage providing

As of beginning of 2015 and as a step in its “renewal through divestment” strategy, Bore Ltd plans to concentrate on RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off) tonnage providing to improve its profitability and to strengthen its position as a leading shipping company in the RoRo tonnage providing segment. Bore is today operating some of the world's most modern and energy efficient vessels in its category.

Due to several years of overcapacity in the market and unsustainably poor profitability of Bore's CoA business, Bore plans to exit the general cargo CoA (contract of affreightment) business by the end of 2014. The small size of Bore’s CoA fleet has proven uncompetitive against larger players in the tough general cargo CoA market.

Bore has today announced that it is selling its fleet of six CoA vessels. M/V Fingard and M/V Swegard are in a sales process with expected delivery by end October 2014. Bore’s compass vessels M/V Nordgard, M/V Sydgard, M/V Westgard, M/V Ostgard are in a process to be sold to Royal Wagenborg with expected delivery by end December 2014. Nordkalk has agreed on a frame contract with Wagenborg covering the majority of Nordkalk's sea-freights from 2015 to 2017.

As a consequence of the planned exit of the CoA segment, Bore needs to adapt its shore organisation to the new shipping business model and will start co-operation negotiations with its whole shore organisation. Bore today employs 31 shore personnel and plans to reduce the organisation with a maximum of 19 positions.

Håkan Modig, Bore CEO, said: ”We have made progress in turning the negative result trend of Bore, but to achieve further improvement we will focus on becoming a strong shipping partner to our current and future customers in the RoRo segment. Our efforts will be on building a strong balance sheet to provide us with a platform to meet current and future shipping regulations. Innovative shipping and reduction of our environmental footprint will be important to strengthen our position as the leading shipping partner within the RoRo segment. It is unfortunate that this restructuring program also will have an impact on our employees.”

Bertel Karlstedt, Nordkalk CEO, says "Supply chain management, logistics solutions and shipping are important for Nordkalk. We are pleased to have signed a 3-year contract with Wagenborg. Thanks to its large fleet of over 180 general cargo vessels Wagenborg can offer flexible and efficient sea-freights for Nordkalk and its customers. We look forward to the co-operation, and we trust that the good customer service, as well as, increased availability of suitable tonnage for our needs will enhance our business opportunities and our success.”

Egbert Vuursteen, Wagenborg CEO, says “Royal Wagenborg has been in the shipping business since 1898. The Baltic region has been our core market ever since and will be in the decades to come. In response to the upcoming regulations for sulphur emissions in the Baltic region, Wagenborg has invested substantially in a new-building programme of ice-classed, fuel-efficient, multi-purpose vessels. We are very pleased with our partnership with Nordkalk. This cargo-base will enable us to grow and extend our flexibility and competitiveness in the Baltic. We are sure that both family-owned companies will come to an excellent long-term cooperation.“

End

For further information contact

Bore CEO Håkan Modig, tel + 358 9 61883 272

Nordkalk CEO Bertel Karlstedt, tel + 358 40 5533859

Footnote

Bore Ltd is a shipping company since 1897, fully owned subsidiary of Rettig Group Ltd, with a fleet of 9 RoRo and 6 General Cargo vessels under Finnish and Dutch flag. The Bore fleet provides services with vessels that are highly maintained, designed for year-round service with Ice Class 1A or 1A Super, and is suitable for both the RoRo and General Cargo Market. The Bore RoFlex® vessels are pioneers for sustainable and economical shipping. In 2013, the turnover was some EUR 65 million, capital employed EUR 212 million and the number of employees 380.

Royal Wagenborg offers total solutions within shipping on a worldwide scale. With more than 100 years of experience in the north-western part of Europe, the Mediterranean, the trans-Atlantic routes and beyond, Wagenborg has every conceivable solution for the changing needs of modern transport. The fleet consists of approximately 180 vessels owned by Wagenborg and captain owners and is modern and environmentally friendly, whilst the capacity ranges from 2,000-23,000 tonnes. With this diversity in size and tonnage Wagenborg can guarantee just-in-time deliveries for nearly every cargo or freight contract. With an average age of 6.7 years, the fleet is one of the youngest in the entire world.

Nordkalk is the leading producer of high quality limestone-based products in Northern Europe. The products are used mainly in the paper, steel and building materials industries as well as in environmental care and agriculture. The company's turnover for 2013 totalled EUR 358 million. Nordkalk employs some 1,050 people and has operations at more than 30 locations e.g. in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Estonia and Russia. Nordkalk is a member of the Rettig Group.