Category: Uncategorized

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The largest environmental resource management group in the Baltics, Eco Baltia JSC (AS), closed the first half of 2023 with a consolidated turnover of EUR 112 million, an increase of 13% compared to the first six months of last year (EUR 98.7 million in the first half of 2022). The Group’s consolidated EBITDA before goodwill impairment recognition amounted to EUR 16.7 million, compared to EUR 14.6 million in the same period last year, while the profit was EUR 2.9 million.  The increase was mainly due to the acquisition of new businesses, the solid performance of the environmental management sector and the targeted work on process rationalisation and automation.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia: “By increasing the company’s indicators, we have managed to prove that even a volatile economic situation in the country and international markets can be fairly good period for business development. In recent years we have expanded in Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, and this year we will continue to increase Eco Baltia’s overall portfolio of companies and services. At the same time, the strategic development of the Group has benefited greatly from the contribution and professional vision of our largest shareholder, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, which has helped to strengthen Eco Baltia’s position both in the Baltics and in international markets.”

Earlier this year, Eco Baltia’s existing portfolio of companies was expanded to include the newly acquired Latvian road maintenance company Pilsētas Eko Serviss, strengthening the environmental management sector within the group. As a result of the acquisition, a reorganisation was initiated in early 2023, during which Pilsētas Eko Serviss will be integrated into Eco Baltia’s subsidiary Eco Baltia vide in several stages.

The Group’s largest environmental companies, Eco Baltia vide and Ecoservice, continued to develop several projects in the first half of the year, including the development of a construction waste sorting yard and the sorting of household waste, textiles and other materials. At the same time, the companies submitted bids for several public tenders, some of which were successful, including the organization of waste management for the next five years in Klaipeda and Vilnius in Lithuania and for three years in Salaspils in Latvia. The companies also submitted the lowest bids in other tenders in different regions of Lithuania and Latvia.

“While Eco Baltia’s environmental sector is growing steadily, the recycling sector is affected by the current situation on the international market, where it is difficult for European recycled materials to compete with cheap virgin materials from Asia. On the positive side, the recycling sector is expected to grow strongly in the coming years. Nevertheless, we are already continuing the investment projects in our Group’s recycling companies PET Baltija and Nordic Plast to increase capacity and automate production, which will contribute greatly to long-term development and allow us to work more efficiently today,” explains Mr Simanovičs.

Nordic Plast, the polymer recycling company of the Eco Baltia Group, completed testing of its new plastics sorting and recycling line in the first half of this year. More than EUR 2.8 million was invested in its development last year, with the aim of increasing production capacity by up to 30% over time.  Eco Baltia’s PET bottle recycler, PET Baltija, continues to work on the development of its new production plant in Olaine, where PET Baltija’s investment currently stands at more than EUR 10 million. The new plant is scheduled to start production gradually this year, but will be fully operational next year, tripling PET production capacity.

This year, the Group plans to promote collaboration between its businesses by introducing new services and improving processes throughout the full waste management cycle. Further investments in recycling, waste and environmental management are planned to support the growth, efficiency and competitiveness of the Group’s businesses. At the same time, work will continue to improve working conditions, safety, social responsibility, governance and sustainability. Work is also underway on the valuation of new business acquisitions.

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The largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, Eco Baltia AS, informs bondholders who are non-residents of Latvia about the procedure for applying reduced personal income tax (PIT) or exemption from PIT for coupon payments on bonds issued by the company.

Pursuant to the Law on Personal Income Tax (“PIT”), income related to interest income received by a non-resident of Latvia is taxed in Latvia. The tax rate is 20%. This means that a Latvian company paying interest to a non-resident individual is obliged to withhold PIT.

Latvian non-resident taxpayers may be subject to a reduced rate of personal income tax or even tax exemption based on the double tax treaty in force between Latvia and the signatory’s tax domicile.

If a non-resident of Latvia wishes to have the interest income paid on the Securities subject to the lowest possible rate of personal income tax at the time of coupon payment, the holder of the Securities must submit the original of the Resident Certificate for Tax Relief to Eco Baltia AS. It must be submitted for each calendar year separately.

If the standard rate of withholding tax has already been deducted at the place of income, it is possible to apply for a tax refund by submitting the original of the Resident’s Tax Refund Certificate to the Latvian Tax Administration. The PIT refund may be claimed starting from 1 March of the year following the calendar year of interest income receipt.

Full information on the possibility of obtaining a reduced rate or exemption from income tax can be found HERE>>

On 11 September, Jūlija Zandersone joined the management team of PET Baltija, the largest and fastest growing environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, and will now be the Chairman of the Management Board and Head of the Recycling Sector of the Eco Baltia Group.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Management Board of Eco Baltia: “Over the past year and a half, PET Baltija has experienced both challenges and significant development. Even though the recycling sector faces not particularly benevolent conditions in global markets, the company continues to grow, expanding and strengthening its position in the Baltics and Northern Europe. Last year, PET Baltija achieved its best turnover ever, and has started Work on the construction of a new production facility in Olaine, Latvia. As the Eco Baltia Group continues to develop, investments will continue to be made in improving PET Baltija’s operations. However, it also requires a broader vision of the overall development of the industry, and we believe that the addition of professional management to the Board is an opportunity to plan PET Baltija’s growth with even greater capacity.”

Julia Zanderson’s role in the company will be to implement the objectives set by the shareholders, which include accelerating PET Baltija’s development into a regional market leader together with its subsidiary Tesil Fibers. Julia Zanderson has extensive experience in strategic business development management, business planning and customer relationship management. She spent more than ten years in senior positions at design and construction company Citrus Solutions, including five years as Chairman of the Board. Zandersone holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Riga Technical University  and last year graduated from the London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme.

The changes in the Management Board of PET Baltija are aimed at accelerating the company’s development and investment projects. Therefore, already on 17 July, Kaspars Ezernieks joined the existing Management Board as a member of the Management Board and Executive Director, while Salvis Lapiņš, the previous Chairman of the Management Board of PET Baltija, performed his duties until 21 July this year.