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Eco Baltia shareholders re-elect the Supervisory Board and appoint a new Supervisory Board member

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The shareholders’ meeting of Eco Baltia AS (JSC), the largest environmental resource management and waste recycling group in the Baltics, was held on 3 April. During the meeting, the current Eco Baltia Supervisory Board was re-elected and it was also decided to increase the number of members of the existing Supervisory Board from five to six. Algimantas Markauskas, the former CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics, one of the most valuable companies in the Baltics, was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board.  The changes are aimed at strengthening the Eco Baltia Group’s governance and further development in the international market.

“I am honoured to continue my professional career in a group of companies focused on the circular economy, which has been able to successfully captured a significant share of the international market in a relatively short period of time. The global market is now open to growth-oriented companies. I see Eco Baltia as one of them. I am grateful to all my partners and colleagues who have been involved in influential business development projects in global companies. And now I am ready to contribute my expertise to the growth of the Eco Baltia Group,” says Algimantas Markauskas, newly elected member of the Supervisory Board of Eco Baltia.

Algimantas Markauskas has worked for more than 14 years in leading positions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global leader in scientific services. During his tenure, Mr Markauskas successfully developed the company’s subsidiary (UAB Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics) in Vilnius, which was recognised as the most valuable company in the Baltics in 2022. In the future, Mr Markauskas will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Eco Baltia Group’s future development strategy, thus contributing to the company’s operational excellence in the international market.

Following the re-election of the Supervisory Board at the Shareholders Meeting, Vytautas Plunksnis has been re-elected as Chairman and Deimante Korsakaite as Deputy Chairperson, representing INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund. The Supervisory Board will also include Alberto Atienza Güell from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Jurgita Petrauskienė, an independent industry expert, and Gints Pucēns, who represents the interests of minority shareholders.

“Eco Baltia has rapidly expanded its international operations in recent years. Through acquisitions in Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Latvia, the Group’s range of services, market shares and contribution to the circular economy have been significantly expanded. In order to contribute to this growth, we have strengthened the composition of the Supervisory Board by adding top-level experts from various sectors. I am grateful to shareholders for the confidence they have shown in the Supervisory Board elections. We are also honoured that Algimantas Markauskas, a long-standing CEO of one of the most valuable companies in the Baltics, has joined the Supervisory Board and will bring his experience and vision to strengthen the Eco Baltia Group in its future development,” says V. Plunksnis, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Eco Baltia AS.

In addition to  the re-election of Eco Baltia’s Supervisory Board and the appointment of a new Supervisory Board member at the Shareholders’ Meeting, changes have also been made to the company’s Articles of Association in line with the amendments to the Commercial Law.

Eco Baltia Group attains historic high turnover of EUR 218.5 million

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The largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, Eco Baltia AS (JSC), has achieved its highest ever consolidated turnover of EUR 218.5 million in 2023, according to the group’s current unaudited financial figures. Compared to 2022, turnover has increased by 4%. The increase was mainly driven by the solid and convincing results in the environmental management sector, the acquisition of new businesses and expansion in the international market, as well as the process automation and streamlining measures implemented.

The Group’s unaudited consolidated profit before tax at the end of the reporting period was EUR 2 million and consolidated EBITDA was EUR 27.6 million, an increase of 8.6% over the previous year.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Management Board of Eco Baltia, explains that this is yet another year in which the Eco Baltia Group has managed to exceed its previous financial performance: “Despite last year representing a recovery period for the global market following economic challenges, we have used it to the benefit of Eco Baltia’s growth. We have evaluated new directions for the development of the Group’s companies in the international market, which was achieved through several new acquisitions in both the environmental management and recycling sectors. At the same time, despite the difficult situation in the international recycling market, we have taken important steps in process automation, which will help increase the Group’s recycling capacity in the long term.”

At the beginning of last year, Eco Baltia, through its subsidiaries, concluded a deal to acquire the road maintenance company Pilsētas Eko Serviss. The transaction resulted in the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Pilsētas Eko Serviss, PES serviss and B 124. The reorganization process was completed on 1 December 2023, when all rights and obligations of the companies were transferred to Eco Baltia vide. In November 2023, Eco Baltia together with one of its shareholders, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, finalized the acquisition of a 70% stake in the Polish company Metal-Plast. SIDN Family Foundationowns 30% of the company.

Eco Baltia’s PET bottle and plastic packaging recycling plants have been working to improve and streamline production processes in 2023. Work continued on the development of the new PET Baltija plant in Olaine, which is under construction. The plant is scheduled to open at the end of this year and will cover a total area of approximately 26 250 m2 and will be one of the largest industrial buildings in Latvia and one of the largest PET recycling plants in Northern Europe. Last year, Nordic Plast completed the testing of its new automated sorting line, which will help it to gradually increase its plastic packaging recycling capacity in the future.

Also in the environmental management sector, “Eco Baltia” experienced stable growth in 2023, which was achieved by submitting the most appropriate and financially advantageous offers in several public tenders for waste management, road maintenance and other service provision. The environmental management companies “Eco Baltia vide” and “Ecoservice” continued to invest in the sorting and management of construction waste in both Latvia and Lithuania, while “Eco Baltia vide” in Latvia, Pierīga, started the construction of a new waste sorting plant. Its total waste sorting capacity will be 45,000 tonnes per year. The plant is expected to be operational in the autumn of this year.

Eco Baltia Group companies have invested around EUR 4 million in the development of the PET and plastic packaging recycling segment and more than EUR 10 million in environmental management, including the introduction of a greener fleet. Investment is shown net of acquisitions of businesses.

“In addition to targeted investments in business development, we operate Eco Baltia on the basis of sustainability principles. This is why last year we continued our work on developing and implementing a consolidated ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy in the Group’s companies. At the same time, one of the most important pillars of our development is improving the working environment, safety and well-being of our employees. How motivated, valued and wellbeing an employee feels also has an impact on the overall performance of the company and therefore on its financial results. In turn, the value of the company is already reflected in the overall market, which was demonstrated last year with the significant investor interest in Eco Baltia’s bonds,” comments M. Simanovičs.

In 2023, Eco Baltia issued unsecured bonds twice. The first time in February for EUR 8 million for three years and the second time in November for EUR 10 million for three years. Both bond issues attracted strong investor interest, with total demand in February 3.5 times and in November 1.7 times the maximum offer size.

In line with the company’s strategic objectives for 2024, one of Eco Baltia’s priorities will be to improve working conditions and safety, implement various support measures for employees and promote sustainability. In 2024, it is also planned to continue investing in waste recycling and environmental management, thus contributing to the continued growth, efficiency and competitiveness of the Group’s companies both domestically and internationally.

Eco Baltia plans to acquire Eko Osta, a company that collects and recycles hazardous waste

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Expanding the company’s activities and range of environmental services, the largest environmental resource management and recycling company in the Baltics, JSC (AS) Eco Baltiaplans to acquire Eko Osta Ltd. (SIA), Latvia’s leading collection and recycling company for environmentally harmful and hazardous waste. The purchase agreement concluded by the parties, which requires merger authorisation from the Latvian Competition Council (CC), provides for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Eko Osta.

With the conclusion of the transaction, Eko Osta will become one of the companies in the environmental management sector of the Eco Baltia group, specialising in the management of hazardous and environmentally harmful waste. At the same time, it should be stressed that no changes are planned to the existing cooperation agreements and arrangements for both parties’ clients, partners and employees.

Mr Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia: “In recent years, we have significantly expanded Eco Baltia’s areas of activity, strengthening our market position internationally as a full-cycle environmental resource manager. The inclusion of the environmentally harmful and hazardous waste collection and recycling company in the Eco Baltia Group is a significant step towards even faster development, covering an even more diverse waste stream to be recycled. The deal will ensure better collection and circulation of waste in segments where compliance with national standards has so far been difficult. This will benefit both the customers of the group company Latvijas Zaļais punkts in terms of meeting their environmentally harmful waste collection targets, and the country as a whole in meeting its recycling targets more successfully.“

Eko Osta will continue to cooperate with other participants in the producer responsibility system, promoting faster compliance with the national hazardous waste collection and recycling standards.

Andrejs Laškovs, the current shareholder of Eko Osta: “Eko Osta has been providing specific waste management and other services in Latvia for more than 20 years. This requires a special approach and precision in all company processes, ensuring that services are delivered to the highest environmental standards and to an excellent quality. As the environmental management sector develops not only nationally, but also internationally, we see great potential for growth in Eco Baltia’s portfolio of companies. This will benefit for both, the partners, customers and employees of Eko Osta, as well as the country as a whole, by contributing to a comprehensive reduction of negative environmental impacts.”

Eko Osta is engaged in the collection, transportation by floating and land vehicles, treatment and recycling of petroleum-contaminated water and soil, recycled lubricating oils, organic solvents, used oil filters and tyres, as well as geological, hydrogeological, geoecological and geotechnical research, environmental quality monitoring and environmental remediation. Eko Osta employs around 70 people and had a turnover of EUR 7.79 million in 2023.

Jānis Aizbalts, Head of Environmental Management, Eco Baltia Group: “Eco Baltia has experienced rapid development in the environmental sector in recent years. This included covering larger waste management regions and types of materials, as well as the development of recycled materials sorting in Latvia and Lithuania. Last year, we also expanded into urban environmental management, where the Group’s environmental company Eco Baltia vide has more than a decade of experience. The addition of Eko Osta to Eco Baltia’s existing portfolio allows us to take even greater steps to promote the circular economy in the country, while strengthening our market position as a full-cycle waste management and recycling group.“

The acquisition of the company is planned to be carried out through Eco Baltia’s subsidiary Latvijas Zaļais punkts. Financing of the transaction is planned by attracting bank funding, and the parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of the transaction publicly.

20.03.2024.