Month: January 2023

The largest environmental management and recycling company group in the Baltics – AS Eco Baltia in 9 months of 2022 reached its highest consolidated net turnover up to date – €154,9mn. Consolidated net turnover almost doubled, compared to first 9 months of 2021, when consolidated net turnover was €78,5 mn. Group’s net profit in comparison with first 9 months of 2021 grew by 33%, reaching €9.8 mn. Increase in turnover was partly promoted by the acquisition of Ecoservice in 2021, strong growth in PET and plastics recycling sectors and successful performance in the environmental management segment.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board at Eco Baltia: “Year 2022 for most of the businesses and industries in Europe was full of insecurities, energy costs bounce and rapid changes in the business confidence levels in export markets. Despite that, Eco Baltia showed persuasive and dynamic growth, supported by investments in modernization, productivity, recycling capacities and further expansion in international scale. In September 2022 we completed acquisition of Czech largest polyesters fibres producer TESIL Fibres, which firms our operations as global player in recycling industry. Considering acquisition deals, we predict that our pro-forma revenues in 2022 will reach €240mn.”

In the first three quarters of 2022, Eco Baltia’s companies continued dynamic and vertically integrated growth in accordance with the long-term strategy. During the period Eco Baltia subsidiaries concluded several acquisitions to strengthen its positions in the international market and to expand services offered by the group’s companies.

In the middle of September 2022 Eco Baltia’s subsidiary PET Baltija, one of the largest PET recyclers in Northern Europe, completed the acquisition of 100% of shares of a leading Czech polyester fibre producer TESIL Fibres. As well in September 2022 Eco Baltia’s environmental management company in Lithuania Ecoservice acquired 100% of shares of the liquid waste management company Mano Aplinka plius UAB, but in January 2023 Latvian Eco Baltia vide through its subsidary completed the acquisition of road and street maintenance company Pilsētas Eko Serviss.

In the last year’s first 9 months PET Baltija continued its investments in production expansion set to more than triple the existing food-grade rPET capacities. New factory of PET Baltija is now under construction. Following the acquisition of TESIL Fibres, PET Baltija will represent the group as an international player and further strengthening its contribution towards sustainable development.

Plastic packaging recycling company Nordic Plast in the reporting period also continued organic growth supported by the investment in the production capacity. After reporting period, Nordic Plast completed the modernization project (installed new automated sorting line) to increase production capacity up to 30%.

In the first 9 months of 2022 Eco Baltia’s environmental management segment also showed stable growth, expanding business portfolio and services provided by the Groups companies. In the reporting period Eco Baltia vide launched and introduced to the market new service – portable toilets with the branding Tōcha. Launch was successful and new service convincingly conquered market, showing strong competition to other portable toilets service providers. Both in Latvia and Lithuania environmental management companies continued investment for construction debris sorting and management fields. Ecoservice made investments to broaden and improve existing construction debris sorting field, but Eco Baltia vide started construction of the new site.

Expanding the operations and continuing its development, the environmental services company SIA Eco Baltia vide, which is a part of AS Eco Baltia, the largest environmental and waste management group in the Baltics has completed the acquisition of the street and road maintenance company SIA Pilsētas Eko Serviss through its subsidiary. This provides purchase of 100% shares in the companies SIA Pilsētas Eko Serviss, SIA PES serviss and SIA B 124. For the completion of the transaction, permission of the Latvian Competition Council was received in December.

“While economic situation, rise in production costs and energy prices currently cause additional challenges to every company,it is a valuable time for businesses to seek and implement new efficiency solutions, continue development and strengthen the market positions. By expanding our business portfolio and range of services, we are becoming more competitive with a higher future growth potential. Therefore, Pilsētas Eko Serviss is a very valuable and significant addition to the family of our subsidiaries which will strengthen our leading positions in the field of environmental management”, says Jānis Aizbalts, Chairman of the Board at Eco Baltia vide and Head of the Environmental Services at Eco Baltia.

Founded in 2003, Pilsētas Eko Serviss offers such services as street and road maintenance, water drainage system maintenance and repair works, as well as equipment rental. The company is one of the leading street and road maintenance service providers in Riga and the Greater Riga region. In 2021, revenue of “Pilsētas Eko Serviss” reached 5.7 million euro. The group employs around 80 employees.

“The year 2022 has made history for the Eco Baltia group with several significant company acquisitions which keep moving us closer to the company’s vision – international leader in the field of environmental management and recycling. During the recent two years, we have grown from a local company to a player in the international market, whose pro-forma turnover in 2022 is expected to reach around 240 million euro. This year, we are planning both integration of Pilsētas Eko Serviss into our environmental management segment, as well as consider options related to new acquisitions and further investments into our current companies to improve their efficiency, production capacities and competitiveness”, stresses Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board at Eco Baltia.

No changes in the current cooperation contracts of customers, partners and employees of both parties are planned at this point.

Vytautas Plunksnis, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Eco Baltia”: “As shareholders we have set a goal to develop Eco Baltia as a strong regional leader which is characterised by sustainability promoting entrepreneurship and development of circular economy. With this acquisition, the expansion of services in Eco Baltia group’s ever-growing portfolio will help to bring additional value both for customers, employees and investors, and further consolidate the group’s growth potential.”

The transaction was conducted by AS Latvijas Zaļais punkts, a subsidiary of Eco Baltia vide. Luminor bank provided financing for the acquisition. “We are pleased with our successful long-term cooperation and opportunity to support further growth of Eco Baltia. By setting sustainable goals and implementing principles of circular economy, company provides great potential for further development in the field of environmental management and recycling. In terms of turnover Eco Baltia is already the largest industry’s company in the Baltics, providing a full cycle of waste management. We hope that by expanding operations and providing new services, the company will open up for even wider development opportunities,” says Ilze Zoltnere, Head of Corporate Banking at Luminor bank in Latvia.

Nordic Plast, one of the leading polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) recyclers in the Baltics, belonging to Eco Baltia, the largest Baltic environmental and waste management group, has invested €2.8 million into a new sorting line. The new line is automated and provides high-precision pre-sorting and purification of raw materials which will all lead to an upwards of 30% increase in Nordic Plast’s recycling capacities and provide a significant boost to production quality and efficiency.

“Our main goal is to ensure the highest possible plastic packaging recycling rate and quality, thus replacing virgin materials used in packaging. So far, our packaging sorting operations depended quite largely on manual work, which, although ensures high quality, limits faster increase in production capacities. Thanks to the new automated line, our production capacities will increase up to 300 tons or 30% monthly. Furthermore, this investment will help us to build up both efficiency and our international competitiveness, and help ensure a consistent flow of production of the highest quality production for our customers”, explains Andris Trumars, Director of Nordic Plast.

The new equipment is intended for processing materials of various purity, thus also promoting recycling of more difficult to work with packaging streams which have been lagging behind in the industry thus far. With this investment, Nordic Plast will further strengthen its contribution towards the fulfilment of the plastic packaging recycling goals imposed in the European Union which are set to raise the recycling level from the current 22% to 50% of the total volume of the marketed plastic packaging by 2025.

“Eco Baltia’s mission is to find value in things that others already consider unnecessary. That’s why we treat waste as a resource to create new materials and promote circular economy. Therefore, we are constantly developing options to recycle a wider range of packaging and other materials. Investments in the modernisation of Nordic Plast is a significant step to achieve this goal and creates foundation for the development of new recycled products. In parallel, we are continuing our work on other major development projects, providing significant investments in the improvement of efficiency and competitiveness of Eco Baltia group companies which prove themselves more and more convincingly beyond the regional level, contributing to the sustainability of the whole Europe”, stresses Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Management Board at Eco Baltia.

According to Vytautas Plunksnis, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Eco Baltia, the Fund’s strategy is to grow all of its portfolio companies both through add-on acquisitions as well as organically.

“The investment in Nordic Plast’s capacity increase is a great example of this,” says Plunksnis.

Investments in creation of the new Nordic Plast line are partially covered by using the funds received from the European Union fund project “Polymer Recycling Park of the SIA “Nordic Plast”” (No.5.2.1.2/17/A/005).

Pictures of Nordic Plast’s new sorting line: https://failiem.lv/u/cmrxzvmqm