USTC experiences a year of significant losses
The financial year 2023/24 has proven to be an "Annus Horribilis" for USTC, owned by the Østergaard family. The landslide at Nordic Waste and other isolated losses have resulted in a significant decline in earnings.
- Profit before tax for the year amounts to DKK 252 million, a substantial drop from last year's record result of DKK 2,926 million.
- The continuing activities of the group delivered the second-best result in the Group's history with DKK 1,834 million, but large losses from the closure of individual activities amounting to DKK 1,582 million must be deducted.
- Four USTC companies each contributed with a profit before tax of more than DKK 200 million from their continuing activities, namely Bunker Holding, CM Biomass, SDK FREJA, and Uni-Tankers. This is a concrete result of the Group's strategy to have multiple revenue streams.
- Revenue fell to DKK 117 billion from DKK 150 billion in the previous financial year.
- USTC's equity stands at DKK 4.5 billion, and the Group employs more than 4,500 employees across 164 offices in 38 countries.
USTC's strategy of being present in many different sectors and industries has been crucial in ensuring a positive result before tax for the financial year 2023/24. The significant losses in individual activities lie with SDK FREJA, which has suffered substantial losses in connection with attempts to halt the landslide at Nordic Waste and the subsequent closure of the company. Additionally, Bunker Holding had to accept large losses from the termination of the cargo activities in Africa; a decision made due to political instability, self-sanctioning in relation to the sale of Russian oil, and generally unfavorable market conditions.
"As CEO, it is not pleasant to read this year's financial statements. It is far below what the Group has achieved in recent years. I am, of course, not satisfied with the result itself, but I note that the Group as a whole has had a good start to the new financial year. It speaks volumes about the company's culture that we can take some hard hits but keep fighting, and I am very impressed with what our employees have accomplished," says co-owner and CEO of USTC Nina Østergaard Borris.
The continuing activities in Bunker Holding, CM Biomass, Uni-Tankers, and SDK FREJA, have delivered very positive results of more than DKK 200 million each despite challenging market conditions. Unit IT has grown significantly and has made substantial acquisitions, which negatively impacts this year's result but positions the company strong for growth in the coming years.
High expectations for the new financial year
As a conglomerate with a mix of operating companies, USTC has many revenue streams. Despite the year's losses, the core business is in excellent shape, and the necessary write-offs have been made, so the companies are well positioned for continued growth.
"One disaster rarely comes alone, and the past year has in every way been an “annus horribilis” with the closure of activities we otherwise had high expectations for. It has particularly hurt us all that we had to let a company in the Group go bankrupt for the first time in our nearly 150-year history," says co-owner and chairman of the board Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, adding:
"That said, I am proud that we are closing the year with a positive result. Had we avoided these isolated events, USTC would have delivered its second-best result ever. This gives me confidence for the future."
The Group's annual results will be submitted to the Danish Business Authority in July, once they have been finally approved by the boards and shareholders.
Factsheet for Annual Results of USTC Companies
USTC is part of the Østergaard family's overall holding company, Selfinvest. Here, capital management is exercised both in financial investments such as stocks and bonds and in direct investments in private equity and real estate. In the past financial year, significant construction projects in both commercial and residential rental properties have been completed and initiated. Overall, the year ended with an investment return of over 7%.
Selected Car Group is part of Selfinvest. Despite a challenging financial environment with rising interest rates and inflation, Selected Car Group has once again managed to deliver positive figures in the annual result with a revenue of DKK 2.7 billion and over 6,000 cars on leasing contracts. Selected Car Group is jointly owned by Selfinvest and Lars Larsen Group.
Bunker Holding
Bunker Holding decided in early 2024 to shut down its cargo activities in Africa due to political instability, self-sanctioning in relation to the sale of Russian oil, and unfavorable market conditions in the region. This resulted in significant losses in 2023/24.
The continuing activities in Bunker Holding delivered a profit before tax of DKK 875 million, broadly distributed across Bunker Holding's portfolio of trading units and other activities.
The continuing activities in Bunker Holding also delivered a positive start to the new financial year 2024/25, and the Group remains fully focused on transitioning to new, green fuels, where Bunker Holding's Centre of Excellence with specialists and experts in LNG, ammonia, biofuels, etc., has been joined by 40 dedicated and trained traders in these areas during the year.
Bunker Holding can now supply biofuel through more than 100 supply locations globally. The plans for a physical LNG supply operation in Northwest Europe are underway, and the supply operation is expected to be operational later in 2024.
Unit IT
Unit IT is on a transformational journey these years – not only to grow in size but also to ensure the right portfolio of services that match the market and customer needs, including cybersecurity, cloud, and business intelligence.
In 2023/24, Unit IT presented a revenue of DKK 273 million, up from DKK 230 million last year, and a result before tax of DKK 1 million. The bottom line has fallen due to extraordinary costs, including transaction costs associated with the acquisition of GlobalConnect Outsourcing Services at the beginning of 2024; An acquisition expected to contribute to significant growth in 2024/25 on both the top and bottom lines.
Global Risk Management
Global Risk Management has had its second financial year under the direct ownership of USTC and has again delivered a solid result.
In the past year, the company has been able to navigate a very volatile situation in the financial markets and utilised new opportunities to both expand its geographical presence and product portfolio. Global Risk Management now also services within bio-based energy products, CO2 certificates (EUA), gas, and electricity. The company achieved a gross profit of DKK 345 million and a result before tax of DKK 152 million in 2023/24.
SDK FREJA
Despite global economic turbulence and a continued pressured freight market, the shipping and logistics group SDK FREJA has delivered both growth and strong financial results in 2023/24. For the logistics business FREJA, the result before tax was DKK 206 million, in line with last year's result while SDK Shipping delivers its second-best result to date. However, the overall annual result for SDK FREJA is impacted by special events, as the preliminary costs associated with the landslide on Nordic Waste's premises and the subsequent closure of the company have resulted in significant losses for the Group.
SDK FREJA ended the year with a break-even result after tax, and the Group's earnings have thus been able to compensate for the DKK 334 million that the closure of Nordic Waste has cost so far.
CM Biomass
With 15 years of consistently positive annual results, CM Biomass, the world's largest trader of biomass and wood pellets, can announce a record result before tax of DKK 308 million this year.
Over the past two years, CM Biomass has implemented its own production in USA and Denmark, increased logistics and storage capacity, and shifted sourcing away from Russia, now focusing on USA and Asia. With a physical presence in 13 key markets and a total delivery of 3.6 million tonnes of biomass, this year has set records on all parameters.
Uni-Tankers
During the financial year 2023/24, Uni-Tankers' core market demonstrated continued robustness despite geopolitical challenges. Uni-Tankers' ability to navigate this market has resulted in a profit after tax of DKK 357 million.
This has enabled Uni-Tankers to both repay all of the company's debt and increase equity by nearly 40 percent to DKK 1.162 billion. These strong financial milestones combined with the right fleet of owned and chartered chemical tankers place Uni-Tankers in a strong position as we enter the financial year 2024/25.
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