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Summer is just around the corner, and we can now welcome you to FREJA’s second newsletter of 2023. Here, we would like to share with you what is happening in our part of the transportation and logistics world.

The annual financial report for 2022/23 has just been published, and SDK FREJA, which includes a number of companies including FREJA, delivers a record-strong financial performance. The company can report a revenue of DKK 6.6 billion, an EBIT of DKK 331 million – an increase of 25% compared to the previous year and an EBT of DKK 287 million. The impressive result is, among other things, due to our skilled and loyal employees who continuously work with the customer in focus.

FREJA continues its green efforts with the development of more eco-friendly transports and collaborates with our customer, B. Braun, using biofuel HVO100 on a fixed daily route between Copenhagen and Oslo.

FREJA’s digital solutions are starting to play a more significant role, and we are pleased to expand our digital portfolio and provide more value-creating solutions for our customers. In this newsletter, you can read more about how FREJA has assisted the company FLEXA in digitizing their logistics activities.

SDK FREJA participated in the Breakbulk exhibition in Rotterdam at the beginning of June, where we engaged in exciting discussions with industry professionals and could showcase our solutions and capabilities in project transportation. It was a rewarding event that we look forward to participating in again next year.

Road taxes are being introduced in the EU countries, so we ask you to be prepared for regulations in Q4 2023/Q1 2024 to a greater extent than usual. Among other things, Germany will double the road tax from December 1, 2023.

I thank you for your interest in FREJA’s newsletter and wish you a wonderful summer.

Best regards,

Jan Sunde

SDK FREJA delivers record financial performance despite challenging market conditions

SDK FREJA reports a remarkable financial result following a year characterised by challenging market conditions. The company can report a revenue of DKK 6.6 billion, an EBIT of DKK 331 million – an increase of 25% compared to the previous year and an EBT of DKK 287 million.

The financial year 2022/23 was marked by SDK FREJA’s ability to adapt and stay customer focused in a market dominated by volatile energy prices, rising inflation and interest rates, and challenges in relation to freight and storage capacity.

In recent years, SDK FREJA has been through a major expansion of its business portfolio. Today, the company consists of three business areas: Shipping, Logistics, and Environment & Recycling.

“Each of our three business areas have impressively demonstrated adaptability and strong competitiveness in an unpredictable market. Our employees have once again proven their strong capabilities and flexibility and have further ensured that we can continue to offer customers the best solutions and services,” says Søren Gran Hansen, CEO at SDK FREJA.

Throughout the year, the Group has continued to strengthen the organisation and business platform by investing in IT and digitalisation among other initiatives, which has contributed to strengthening SDK FREJA’s position in the market.

“We are proud to deliver our best result in shipping to date. It has been a year of high activity throughout all of our segments in Agency and Stevedoring, which has required an extraordinary effort from our valuable employees,” says Lars Jespersen, CEO at SDK Shipping.

Ulrik Rasmussen, CEO at FREJA Transport & Logistics Holding adds:

“We have effectively carried out our strategy, which will make it easy and seamless to be a customer to FREJA and where we will always go above and beyond for our customers. It has paid off, and we are very pleased to be able to deliver a record performance this year. However, the primary reason for our record result can be attributed to our valuable employees, who have been exceptional in navigating an unpredictable market.”

Acquisitions remain a high priority
SDK FREJA is preparing for new times. Rising interest rates and inflation have led to less construction work and a lowering in private consumption, which has already resulted in some reduction in freight volumes. Therefore, SDK FREJA expects a normalisation of the shipping and logistics market as the world economy will grow more subdued. However, SDK FREJA still has high ambitions within M&A.

“Organic growth as well as growth through mergers and acquisitions remain strategically important to us. M&A can generate value through agile geographical expansion, achieving economies of scale, new products, and core competencies. It is therefore a cornerstone in the development of SDK FREJA to continue to be aggressive on the acquisition front and be on the lookout for new opportunities ahead,” says CEO Søren Gran Hansen.

The ongoing dedication and desire to conduct acquisitions leads to the company to proceed in evaluating potential acquisition candidates. The proactive acquisition strategy for SDK FREJA is part of an overall strategy that can be traced back to the company’s ownership, the family-owned A/S United Shipping and Trading Company (USTC).

Focus on CO2 emissions in Scope 2
In connection with the publication of the annual results, SDK FREJA will also publish its consolidated sustainability report.

“In SDK FREJA, we have determinedly worked to reduce our Scope 2 emissions figures during this year. Among other initiatives, we have invested in improving terminals and office buildings over the past year with the aim of reducing the consumption of electricity and heating,” says CEO Søren Gran Hansen.

SDK FREJA has seen a significant reduction in the consumption of energy and heating and at several of SDK FREJA’s sites, there is a reduction in energy consumption by more than 50%. This is a result of upgrading both the infrastructure and technology at its largest sites e.g., by installing BMS (Building Management Systems). For SDK FREJA’s largest terminals, the result is a reduction of carbon emissions by 25% compared to the last reporting period 2021/2022.

SDK FREJA’s financial highlights
DKKm	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Revenue	6,600	6,000	2,630
EBIT before special items	331	265	97
Operating margin %	8.9%	8.3%	8.5%
Total Equity	917	785	542
Conversion ratio %	22.5%	20.4%	15.4%
Employees	1,515	1,350	1,247

For further information, please contact:
Mikkel Wenzel Andreasen,
Communications Officer, USTC Group Communications.

M +45 26 79 91 63
e-mail: miwa@ustc.dk

About SDK FREJA
SDK FREJA Group is a full-service shipping and logistics company. The main activities of SDK FREJA include freight forwarding within Road, Air & Sea, and Project Cargo, Logistics, as well as Stevedoring, Agency, Customs Clearing, Commercial Chartering, Liner and Cruise services and as Environment & Recycling business. The company offers specialist logistics solutions within Healthcare, Warehousing and Refrigeration and is locally based in Northern Europe including strategic positions in China and Spain.

SDK FREJA is one of the few independent and privately owned local mid-sized shipping and logistics companies. With +1,500 employees in eight countries the focus is on providing one entry point for a consistent and effective solution within the business areas.

SDK Freja Group is part of the Danish, family-owned United Shipping & Trading Company (USTC). USTC holds a portfolio of activities that include oil & energy, shipping & logistics, ship owning, risk management, car activities, IT, sustainable energy and environment & recycling, and is present in 40 countries with more than 4,300 employees.

FREJA and B. Braun drive with biofuel HVO100 trucks on the route between Copenhagen and Oslo

Many companies wish to be more environmentally friendly in all parts of their supply chain. One of those companies is B. Braun, one of the world’s leading providers and manufacturers of healthcare solutions. In collaboration with FREJA, they have come a step closer to doing more environmentally friendly transport.

B. Braun has been a customer of FREJA since 2017, and over the years, the collaboration has only grown stronger. We have continuously optimized our collaboration and processes in logistics, and we listen to B. Braun’s needs and try to comply with them. B. Braun has a big focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly solutions. For this reason, FREJA uses recycled packaging for B. Braun, and most recently, we have supported them in their ambition to become greener in their transport.

“When B. Braun explained to us their wish for greener transports, we listened and investigated the possibilities. Due to the lack of infrastructure for charging electric trucks and the general low charging capacity of electric trucks at present, we found that the best solution is trucks that run on biofuel HVO100”, says Morten Bruun-Kristensen, Logistics & Healthcare Director, FREJA Transport & Logistics A/S.

HVO – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – is produced from waste products, e.g., used cooking oil, and can provide up to 90% reduction in CO2e compared to conventional B7 diesel. Biofuel HVO100 is therefore considered to be climate neutral in the combustion phase. However, the emissions from processing biodegradable products into fuel cannot be completely reduced, but they are limited.

FREJA and B. Braun started the collaboration with biofuel HVO100 trucks approx. three months ago on a fixed daily route from Copenhagen to Oslo with three trucks running in circulation.

“We value FREJA as a transport and logistics partner, and we value the good relationship and the close cooperation we have established over the years. It is important to us that our partner listens to us and meets our wishes, which is why we were particularly happy when FREJA was able to fulfill our wish for more climate-friendly transport”, says Freddy Wilhelm Hansen, Head of Supply Chain and Business Support Scandinavia.

FREJA is always interested in developing with our customers, and we are always looking for partners willing to invest in environmentally friendly solutions. If you share this interest, please feel free to contact us.

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Facts about biofuel

Biofuel HVO100 is categorized as second-generation biofuel, as it is made from waste products from vegetable cooking oils. Through a chemical process with hydrogen, it is turned into a product that has the same qualities as ordinary diesel oil. Biofuel HVO100 can be used directly in new diesel engines without compromising engine performance or affecting service intervals, and at the same time can be combined with regular diesel in any mixture ratio, making it the only real sustainable alternative for today’s trucks in international traffic.

Digitize your logistics activities with FREJA’s IT solutions

Over the years, FREJA has delivered comprehensive logistics solutions to customers. We have continuously kept up to date on modern IT tools and incorporated them into our logistics solutions. We listen to our customers’ needs and develop together with them, so we are sure that we always deliver the most value-creating solutions.

One of the areas under logistics that we have expanded is our white-label solutions. A white-label product is a product or service produced by a company that other companies buy and re-brand or re-label so that it looks like they made it themselves.

“At FREJA, we have a strong focus on choosing systems and tools that directly support our customers’ business. When we choose to offer white label solutions, it is because we want to let our customers succeed via our digital and professional platform”, explains Thomas Mikkelsen, FREJA’s Head of Logistics IT. He continues: “We collect a lot of data throughout the entire logistics process, which digitally and presentably gives our customers a competitive advantage in the battle for their customers”.

Logistics Tracking Hub
Our Logistics Tracking Hub service is a solution that allows our logistics customers to track the various orders/shipments, regardless of whether they are sent with FREJA or a subcontractor for FREJA.

This is offered as a white-label solution because you, as a FREJA logistics customer, also have the opportunity to put your logo and brand on the tracking solution, so it looks like it was made by your company. When your customers receive a tracking link, the tracking function appears with your logo and colors.

The tracking page increases the customer experience digitally, as your customers are not sent to the carrier’s website but can instead track their goods via your page. It also provides the opportunity for resale and thus increased sales, as it is possible to have a banner that links back to your webshop or company page.

A customer who uses FREJA’s tracking hub is the Danish company FLEXA. FLEXA is a high-end manufacturer of children’s furniture, and they are a fully integrated logistics customer at FREJA.

“At FLEXA, we use FREJA’s digital tracking platform as a 3PL logistics customer. FREJA has tailored this into a FLEXA-branded version. We share the platform with our customers, who can benefit greatly from seeing the entire tracking process from the time picking starts, and the label is printed at FREJA’s logistics center, until the goods are delivered. For us, it is essential that all transports are on the same platform and that our customers only have one link to see the entire process regardless of the delivery service. It is also a big plus that FREJA offers photo documentation of the shipment available directly to our end customers”, says Anette Sørensen, Logistics Manager at FLEXA.

If you want to know more about our digital logistics solutions, please feel free to reach out to FREJA’s Thomas Mikkelsen.

SDK FREJA participated in Breakbulk Europe 2023

SDK FREJA made an impression at Breakbulk Europe 2023, which took place at the Rotterdam Exhibition Center.

The event turned out to be a great success, allowing us to showcase our advanced solutions and engage in interesting discussions with recognized industry professionals.

Our booth attracted a constant flow of visitors, and we would like to express our gratitude to all those who took the time to interact with our representatives. It was a pleasure to meet each and every one of you.

The event provided participants with a greater understanding of the solutions offered by SDK FREJA. At the same time, participants gained insights into how SDK FREJA is helping to propel the project transportation industry into a new era of efficiency and reliability.

Breakbulk Europe 2023 not only served as a platform to showcase our capabilities but also strengthened our reputation as a trusted partner in the project transportation sector. Our commitment to project transportation was highlighted during this event as we demonstrated our solutions for handling the unique challenges of transporting oversized and heavy cargo.

We value your continued support and trust in SDK FREJA. We are dedicated to serving you and ensuring that your project transportation needs are met.

If you have any questions or require further information about our solutions, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

We are always ready to assist you.