Month: September 2024

Eco Baltia Group’s turnover increased by 10.8% in the first half of this year

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Environmental resource management and waste recycling group Eco Baltia JSC (AS) has closed the first half of 2024 with a net turnover of EUR 124.13 million, which is 10.8% more than in the first half of 2023. Consolidated EBITDA for the first six months of 2024 reached EUR 22.1 million, 47.7% more than in the first six months of last year. Growth in this period was also mainly driven by solid results in environmental management and focused efforts on efficiency and process automation, as well as the acquisition of Metal Plast last November.

The Group’s profit before tax for the first half of this year was EUR 4.66 million, compared to EUR 2.29 million in the same period last year.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of JSC (AS) Eco Baltia, said: “This year we are experiencing moderate growth, but we are still setting new financial records. These results confirm that we are on the right track with our chosen strategic business directions. Our international shareholders and management have played an important role in the development of the Group and have contributed their expertise to the Group’s stable growth. We will continue on this path, including evaluating new opportunities to expand the Group’s full waste cycle chain and business portfolio.”

This year, the two largest environmental companies in the Eco Baltia Group -­ Eco Baltia vide in Latvia and Ecoservice in Lithuania ­ – continued to expand and develop specialized construction waste sorting facilities and promote the sorting of household waste, textiles and other materials. In May this year, Eco Baltia vide opened construction waste sorting and recycling sites in Latvia (Rumbula and Liepāja). The total investment in these sites amounted to EUR 2.3 million. Work is also continuing on the waste sorting plant that Eco Baltia vide started last year. The project involves an investment of EUR 11.7 million and is scheduled to open in October this year.

During the first half of the year, the Group’s environmental businesses also participated in a number of tenders launched by municipalities, both in the field of environmental management and road maintenance. Eco Baltia vide submitted the most financially advantageous bids and won the right to provide waste management services in selected areas in Liepāja and Kuldīga. After the reporting period, Eco Baltia vide also received approval for winning the Riga City Council tender for “Routine maintenance of transport structures from 2024 to 2029”, where it was awarded the right, as part of an association of persons, to provide maintenance of transport structures on the right bank of the Daugava in Riga (Centra district and Latgale suburbs) for the next five years. The total contract price for the entire period of the contract in the specified area was set at EUR 77.4 million excluding VAT.

In the recycling sector of the Eco Baltia Group, work has also been carried out on a number of development projects, including a long-term increase in recycling volumes. This year, Nordic Plast, a polymer packaging recycler, approved an investment of EUR 1.7 million to increase its production capacity of recycled pellets and provide the necessary conditions for future growth. The Group’s PET bottle recycler ITERUM (PET Baltija until 6 June) continued work on the development of its new production facility in Olaine. ITERUM has invested more than EUR 10 million in its development, but the total investment is more than EUR 35 million. The new plant will be opened in October this year and will be one of the largest PET recycling plants in Northern Europe.

“For many years we have cherished the idea of building new factories in the Baltic region, and the last few years have been a quantum leap in bringing this idea to life. It is therefore a significant milestone that in one month’s time we will open plants in each of our business areas that will be able to reach European production volumes. In addition to our major investment projects, we have made strengthening the visual identity of our brands one of our key pillars this year. That is why the former PET recycling company PET Baltija became ITERUM in June this year, while the Group’s companies Eco Baltia vide and Nordic Plast underwent visual brand changes,” says Mr. Simanovičs. 

As in previous years, one of Eco Baltia’s key strategic objectives during this reporting period was to improve working conditions, support employees, including ensuring the highest level of occupational safety, as well as implementing the ESG strategy and promoting sustainability.

Eco Baltia group company Eco Baltia vide, as part of an association of persons, will provide routine maintenance of transport structures in Riga for the next five years

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Eco Baltia vide Ltd (SIA), the environmental management company of Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and waste recycling group in the Baltics, has been awarded the contract to maintain transport structures in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava River (in the Centre district and Latgale suburb), for the next five years. This was achieved as part of an association of persons in the open tender for the “Daily Maintenance of Transport Structures from 2024 to 2029,” announced by the Riga City Council. The contract price for one year is EUR 15,487,085.25, excluding VAT.

Jānis Aizbalts, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia vide, notes that the company’s experience in performing the tendered works was rigorously evaluated during the procurement process: “As our decades of experience in the road management sector in Lithuania and Latvia, including recent years in Riga, show, the requirements in newly announced tenders are relatively high. Therefore, under the most economically advantageous terms, the municipality must ensure the provision of high-quality services that comply with national and EU standards. We are prepared to continue the maintenance of transport structures in Riga in accordance with the procurement procedure, while also striving to contribute to the overall development of the sector in Latvia.”

Given the procedure and specifics of the work, Eco Baltia vide will provide services in Riga as a joint venture with the road construction company CBF Ļ-KO Ltd. Subcontractors will also be engaged to carry out specific tasks. According to the Riga City Council tender conditions and the contract, the joint venture will be responsible for the daily maintenance of transport structures in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava River (in the Centre district and Latgale suburbs) for the next five years. This includes road surface repair, chipping, gravel or soil profiling and de-dusting, cleaning and seasonal treatment of roads, transport stops, cycle lanes, and other facilities, as well as other related works.

The services under the “Routine Maintenance of Transport Structures from 2024 to 2029” procurement will commence on 1st October, 2024. The total contract price for the entire period in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava (in the Centre district and Latgale suburbs), is set at EUR 77,435,426.25, excluding VAT.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia AS, states: “By promoting the development of the Eco Baltia Group in the international market, we have managed to expand our road maintenance activities in Latvia and Lithuania over the past few years. We have gained valuable experience and a wide range of expertise, which has enabled us to continue the Group’s growth through major procurements. It is encouraging to see that municipalities are also focusing on the introduction of environmentally friendly transport in their tenders, as Riga has done in its tender for the maintenance of transport structures. In the long term, we see this as a benefit for both society and business development, as the requirements for greener transport become more stringent. This emphasis is also highlighted as an important pillar in European Union directives.”

Eco Baltia vide currently uses 21 specialized, environmentally friendly waste collection vehicles to provide its services in Latvia. Around 90% of the total annual investment is allocated to the renewal of the fleet to promote “greening” of transport. In line with the contractual project for the maintenance of transport structures in Riga, Eco Baltia vide plans to gradually transition to greener transport for the provision of these services within the first year of the procurement.