Family-owned Selfinvest and its operating company USTC on Wednesday (21 June) said they emerged with their best financial year to date despite geopolitical unrest, inflation, and volatile energy prices.

Strong results across all USTC companies have contributed to a record EBT of just above DKK 2.9 billion, which is more than a doubling of last year’s EBT of DKK 1.2 billion. Revenue grew by 25% from DKK 120 billion to DKK 150 billion. 

The Østergaard family conglomerate, which consists of the Selfinvest family office and the operating companies under USTC, presented a record financial result with an EBT of just above DKK 2.9 billion while revenue grew to DKK 150 billion. 

Growth was driven by positive results across USTC’s seven companies operating within energy, shipping, logistics, environment, recycling, risk management, car activities, and IT.

“If I were to summarise in one word why Selfinvest and USTC have delivered such impressive results, I would say it’s due to our ability to be agile. Our companies and employees have an outstanding ability to navigate through unforeseen challenges such as geopolitical events, extreme price fluctuations, and a surging inflation. That is of course an accomplishment that we as owners are very proud of,” Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, working Chairman, founder, and co-owner, said. 

In addition to a strong focus on building and developing the companies in the Group’s portfolio, USTC’s growth strategy is based on acquiring companies that operate in the industries where the Group possesses knowledge and insights, and where synergies to the remaining companies can be found. It is therefore satisfactory for the Group to experience several companies delivering significant financial results.

“For many years, Bunker Holding has been the dominant company in USTC, and they continue to be the primary contributor to our record result. But over the past few years we have built a robust conglomerate that stands on several pillars. That Bunker Holding, SDK FREJA, Uni-Tankers, and CM Biomass can all deliver an EBT of over DKK 200 million each is solid proof that our strategy is a success,” Nina Østergaard Borris, CEO and co-owner of USTC, said. 

During recent years, USTC has acquired notable Danish companies such as FREJA Transport & Logistics, CM Biomass, and Nordic Waste and DSH Recycling. All companies are now integrated into the USTC Group and have contributed significantly to this year’s financial result.

Despite disruptions in shipping and logistics, SDK FREJA can report their highest financial result to date with an EBT of DKK 287 million. CM Biomass can also announce a record-breaking result with a revenue of more than DKK 6 billion and an EBT of DKK 224 million, despite a market characterised by a lack of raw materials and extreme price fluctuations.

Growth across companies

Bunker Holding has always been the main growth engine in USTC, and last year was no exception. Bunker Holding reported a highly satisfactory EBT of more than DKK 1.6 billion, which is almost half a billion more than Selfinvest’s and USTC’s hitherto best result from last year.

“Bunker Holding has shown an impressive feat of strength. In a time of very high and volatile energy prices, they have managed to stay focused on the business while also rolling out a number of important ESG initiatives such as parental- and grandparental leave policies, which go far beyond current rules in force in many of the countries in which Bunker Holding operates. I would also like to point out Uni-Tankers’ impressive result. They have delivered a massive turnaround with profit after tax amounting to DKK 437 million, while also shearing off 70% of their debt following several challenging years,” says Nina Østergaard Borris.

During the previous year, Global Risk Management moved from Bunker Holding to USTC. Global Risk Management provides risk management and hedging solutions in the energy markets and this year, they have contributed with an EBT of DKK 192 million. And finally, the Group’s IT company Unit IT continued growing its revenue by 14% and can report an EBT of DKK 22 million.

Expectations to 2023/24

The previous fiscal year has yielded an exceptionally positive result, which Selfinvest and USTC do not expect to repeat this fiscal year 2023/24. Despite the ongoing uncertainty in various markets, the expectation is still that the Group will deliver a solid financial result on par with or higher than the previous year.

Related: Selfinvest and USTC Group deliver highest consolidated financial result

Photo credit: Selfinvest
Published: 22 June, 2023