Midroc Europe ANNUAL REVIEW

Transcription

1 2013 Midroc Europe ANNUAL REVIEW Midroc Europe Annual Review

2 ANNUAL REVIEW 2013 Contents 4 18 MIDROC EUROPE 1 Midroc in brief in brief 2 Midroc Europe AB new legal unit 3 Executive Committee Comments 4 Together to get there 6 BUSINESS AREAS 8 Business Area Services 8 Business Area Investments 18 LEGAL UNITS 24 Midroc Europe AB 24 Separate Accounting 26 Granitor Invest AB Previously reported entities 27 Midroc AB & Midroc Real Estate AB 8 OWNERSHIP 28 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 29 Photography: Hans Berggren, Ulf Berglund, Crossborder Technologies, Emilia Göransson Ahlgren, Adam Ihse, istockphoto, JS-Sverige, Midroc, Gunnar Nydrén, Niklas Olsson, SolarWave, H-O Utsi 2 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

3 MIDROC EUROPE Midroc in brief Our shared vision Contributing to a better future is part of our everyday business with our employees, clients and partners and also very evident in our investments in sustainable technologies. Midroc Europe is the shared marketing brand that brings together the Europeanbased Midroc companies. Financial strength and sustainability combined with highly competent human resources, shared values and culture form the basis for the operations. The different companies forming the Midroc Europe brand operate predominantly in the fields of properties, construction, industry and environmental technology. Whilst the greater part of the operational activities are undertaken in Sweden, the group is also permanently represented in the UK, Germany, Poland, France, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE, providing services to local clients. The group s business operations are grouped into two major business areas: Services and Investments. Legal structure Business activities are conducted through a number of companies, each offering their specific markets specialist services. The Midroc Europe brand consists primarily of two groups of companies headed by Midroc Europe AB and Granitor Invest AB respectively, which account for the bulk of sales. Vision We want to contribute to a better future by developing the best sustainable solutions for industry and society to improve competitiveness and quality of life for our commercial and private customers. Our challenge We strive to be best in class, which means being the preferred choice among customers, partners and employees and achieving better profitability than our competitors. Midroc Europe Annual Review

4 MIDROC EUROPE MIDROC in brief Key figures* SEK Net sales 4.3 billion Income before tax 157 million Total equity 2.5 billion Total assets 7.5 billion Owner s financing 3.3 billion 3,000 employees Income before taxes MSEK Employees BY REGION Sweden Outside Sweden * Key figures constitute the sum of Midroc Europe AB and 100% of the Granitor Invest AB operations as well as surplus value of property. 2 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

5 FROM MARKETING CONCEPT TO ONE LEGAL UNIT: Midroc Europe AB Since long gathered in the marketing concept Midroc Europe, the individual Midroc companies have been under the same private ownership. The operation and business development of each individual Midroc company has been supervised and coordinated by an Executive Committee. In response to an owner request and beginning late 2013 and progressing early 2014, the legal structure for the European-based Midroc companies has undergone principal changes. All Midroc companies and other Swedish owner investments will be migrated from direct ownership into a dedicated legal unit, Midroc Europe AB, having its registered office in Sweden. The migration also includes the minority share in the Granitor Invest AB group, which in turn holds operational Midroc companies. The arrangement with an Executive Committee and its duties remains as before, ensuring the progress of Midroc. By this rearrangement, the Midroc group now offers a better legal overview and stability and also a simpler overall structure after the removal of unnecessary intermediary group companies and subgroups. It makes it easier to describe Midroc as a group and for the ultimate owner it means that the ownership now is controlled via one legal unit only. Other driving factors for rearranging the group are simplified group consolidation, overall liquidity management and performance analysis as well as easier management of groupwide contracts, etc. Group operations will now be conducted within two major business areas, Services and Investments. The typical services rendered within each business area are displayed in the figure. Midroc Europe Business Area Services Business Area Investments Industrial/Civil Contracting Workshops/ Paint Shops Site Services/ Plant Maintenance Industrial/ Civil Consultancy Corporate Finance Consultancy Conferencing/Charter Services Property Development/ Property Management Innovation Development Anticipated sales 2014 MSEK 4,500 Assets 2014 MSEK 7,500 Services Services Investments Investments Midroc Europe Annual Review

6 MIDROC EUROPE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMMENTS Sustainable investments for long-term growth The recent recession has hit Midroc Europe as a whole harder in 2013 than in previous years, despite the signs of economic recovery that we have witnessed. But even though we were hit harder financially last year, we are very proud of our overall achievements. We invested heavily over the year in staff, premises, equipment and a new IT platform to meet market competition. Many of our companies have excelled throughout the year and delivered exceptional results, despite the adverse economic situation. The housing market in southern Sweden has been difficult, and the steel industry has generally seen lower volumes. These are sectors that have affected many of our companies. The substantial investments made over the year to strengthen our group are also reflected in the overall results. But for us it is important in a recession to have the courage to not just think not a penny too much, but to also add the important not a penny too little. We are a corporate group with a long-term view in our development strategy. Sustainable investments to be proud of Even though 2013 has been a tough year we are very proud of our continued investments in sustainable solutions. We have continued to invest funds and resources into our development company portfolio and witnessed some of these companies reaching important milestones during We have also continued our long-term investments in our real estate and property development portfolio as well as building joint structural assets to our contracting companies. One of these investments involves moving our digital workplace to the cloud. Moving to the cloud We have invested in a new digital platform as part of this strategy. During the year we moved into our tailored digital workplace by using the cloud service Office 365. It contains common project rooms, where documents, plans and other relevant project data can be accessed from anywhere and any device at any time. By increasing the availability of documents and other information, we are facilitating work processes not only for our employees, but also for customers, partners and suppliers to the projects. When it comes to investments in our employees, we have continued to invest in Midroc Business School our own business school, aiming at developing winning teams with professional individuals and great leadership. Promising property investments Additionally, we have invested several hundred millions in real estate for rent and sale. We have also continued to develop our portfolio of development land into commercial building rights as well as construction-ready projects. The Swedish market for letting office space has been tough during However, we are proud of our success in bringing down the vacancies among our Stockholm properties to a reasonably low level. During the year, we have also sold Metalock s property in Gothenburg and invested SEK 70 million in new, wholly owned premises. Exceptional projects and results Our long-term investment in positioning our companies both individually and together as our customers first choice was particularly visible in a joint project during The project involved the shutdown of Sweden s largest refinery, where five of our companies joined forces in a challenging project execution after two years of planning and detailed preparation. The position ahead looks promising. Some of our companies also produced exceptionally good results. Among these is Midroc Electro, which is very strong locally and has maintained good profitability. The Automation division of Midroc Electro is also strengthening its position in automated mining operations outside Sweden. 4 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

7 Christer Wikström, Roger Wikström and Thomas Mårtensson. BAC Corrosion Control continues to be a strong player in its niche and has successfully integrated the acquisition of Rose Corrosion Services into its business. Metalock Engineering has had a struggling 2013 but has delivered acceptable results and been very successful in its overseas subsidiaries. During the year the contracting company Olofson & Hansson AB was acquired and merged with GP Ställningar to form the new company Midroc Ställningar AB. Midroc thereby more than doubled its business in the scaffolding sector, creating a robust market position. A positive outlook Those of our companies that have been hit hardest by the recession have acted robustly instead of surrendering, by focusing on organizational development and new markets. It is gratifying to see that Midroc Rodoverken has established itself as a leading player in the niche field of developing and erecting LNG tanks in 2013, and is investing in the future on the piping side in Norway and the rest of Europe. The anti-corrosion protection specialist Midroc Alucrom has, despite the tough market, continued to expand its operations in Poland as well as developing concepts for large-scale paint shops in Sweden. For Midroc Project Management, the investment in the strategic structuring on the contract side has proved costly and has not yet generated results. The position ahead of 2014 and 2015 therefore looks positive and we believe strongly in the mix of contracting and consultancy services. For the soil remediation company Ekotec, there has been a substantial change in the market for remediation of organically polluted soil. The company has focused on adjusting to new market conditions and managed to establish a leading position in the remediation of underground petroleum storages. Within our investments in innovative companies with potentially world-enhancing technologies, we have seen that it is difficult moving from innovation to growth. It is tricky attracting co-investors for high-risk investments in Sweden today. We see great potential in our portfolio and hope for more actors with the interest in developing these vital innovations to products that Sweden can be proud of. Our long-term investments as well as living our vision will continue as we are expecting leverage and added values to all our operations in 2014 and onwards. It is with great confidence that we approach an exciting and challenging Christer Wikström Roger Wikström Thomas Mårtensson Midroc Europe Annual Review

8 MIDROC EUROPE TOGETHER TO GET THERE A culture of teamwork to become best in class For many years, Midroc Europe has been developing a common platform to simplify and streamline everyday working practices. The companies in the group work in line with a systematic plan to assume the challenge to become the best in class. This applies to each profit center, at every location and for every project. I am extremely pleased that our companies are increasingly working in accordance with our shared philosophy and in the same professional way, says Christer Wikström. Wikström argues that the Midroc companies are increasingly perceived by customers as a coordinated multidiscipline solution provider and not only as individual specialists in each respective field. We are significantly strengthened by the fact that together we are so much stronger than each one individually, he adds. This has been achieved thanks to a culture-building philosophy, implemented by ambassadors, good leadership and Midroc Business School training programs. In this way Midroc has built a shared platform of values that also creates added value for the customer. By stimulating dialogue our training programs result in increased commitment and participation. We manage to create teams that understand the importance of individual responsibility for the whole as well as the necessity to work as a team to achieve the best result for the customer, says Brenton Bate, a Midroc Business School instructor. A group of team players Taking inspiration from team sports and by inverting the traditional way of describing organizations, Midroc has arrived at a management structure that can be symbolized as an arrow from right to left. Many companies are based on a hierarchical model, with the manager at the top and the employees who work most closely with the customer at the bottom. However, we have instead chosen to draw our organizational chart horizontally. Our starting point is our customers and we now think from right to left, with management as a supportive function at the back of the arrow and the key employees who work everyday with the customer at the front, to the right. If you ask a sports team player who he or she works for, you will not hear the coach as a response. The sports team player works for the team and for those who are following the game, just as our employees work for the team, the project and the customer, says Roger Wikström. This culture is now expressed in Midrocs various activities and several of the group companies have been working in this way for many years. Today Midroc companies draw their organizational charts horizontally and this way of working is so established in the businesses that the arrow approach is also externally communicated. We strive to have a shared language and shared values across all our operations and companies. This means that we always strive to achieve shared and joint solutions in everyday work. At the same time we always acknowledge the importance of unique solutions to all our businesses that need to be unique. In our training programs we often visualize the arrow physically in the room, where participants are placed out in different sections of the arrow to assume different roles. This makes it clear that what happens at the far right of the organization closest to the customer strongly impacts the entire organization. It is an effective way to reveal and disrupt unnecessary patterns, and usually gives a direct result in terms of more efficient working practices, says Brenton Bate. 6 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

9 Midroc Business School offers a wide array of training programs. Brenton Bate, right, is one of its instructors. Levels of company management and support Production Customer A culture built on commitment and participation The Midroc culture is decentralized and based on commitment and participation, along with close cooperation with the customer. When we meet the customer, the project manager acts with the responsibilities of a Managing Director. The customer should always feel that he is talking to the person making the calls. Entrusting our staff with this great responsibility is possible because we all work from a joint platform, and we know that everyone is acting according to the same philosophy, says Christer Wikström. A clear outcome of this approach is that the Midroc companies are often perceived as small, flexible and quick-reacting companies, but with the resources of a large company. As important as the functioning of a common culture is, access to quality systems is equally vital. In 2013, a substantial investment was made in a new IT platform. A digital workplace, based on a cloud service, aiming at giving easy access to our structure capital, ensuring quality and efficiency. This is an efficiency measure not only in place to facilitate our internal work processes, but equally important it allows us to get closer to our customers. Customers can now access project documentation in the virtual project rooms in the cloud, and thus easily follow the progress of the project. This allows for a more transparent and efficient production. The common philosophy goes some way in explaining why many of the Midroc units are doing so well. We are convinced that it is all of these factors that allow us to be a cut above our competitors, and increasingly be the preferred choice, says Christer Wikström. Our focus now is on ensuring quality in our deliveries, which will provide our skilled team with the necessary conditions to be best in class. Our objective is to build a business that is sustainable over generations. Midroc Europe Annual Review

10 BUSINESS AREAS BUSINESS AREA Services The majority of the portfolio companies of the business area Services operate in the fields of construction, maintenance and consulting to private industry and civil clients. Many of the Midroc companies are well-established brands and market leaders in their field while other companies are newly formed supplements to the portfolio and are in the process of establishing themselves on the market. The business operations are focused on framework agreements, private finance initiative projects and long-term maintenance contracts. In addition, the business area includes companies operating in the field of conferencing and charter services, although this area is still small in volume and has a low-key market presence. In 2014, the business area will be further complemented with operations in corporate financing consultancy as offered by the well-established Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance. These services will be fully integrated in the Midroc Europe AB operations. Regardless of type the rendered services by Midroc continuously consider and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects along with available new technical solutions. Performance in 2013 The industry and contracting services dominate the Services business area, which in total generated sales of SEK 4 billion. The business has suffered from the economic downturn, affecting the European market as well as the Swedish. Although the volume of received orders has been reasonably good and the gross revenue has increased compared to last year, market competition has intensified. This has put pressure on price levels and reduced profit margins. The performance of the conferencing and charter services is of low volume as this area does not belong to Midroc s core business. The corporate financing consultancy will have its first reporting year in Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

11 MIDROC ELECTRO AB Midroc Electro is one of Sweden s leading electrical power and automation companies and the largest company in Midroc Europe. Services include electrical installation, industrial automation, building automation, crane systems, communications, security, energy conservation and mechanical maintenance. The company is characterized by a large project capability and the capacity to combine several disciplines in the same project. Employees: 1,350 Turnover: SEK 1.9 billion Offices: 45 KARL-IVAR JÖNSSON 2013 was a good year for Midroc Electro, with continued success, particularly in the mining, petrochemical, nuclear and automotive industries. Our earnings exceeded our forecasts and we have had a really good year. The volume of orders has been satisfying throughout the company. Despite fierce competition, we managed to increase sales especially in our automation business area and in our South division, but the volume of orders had been good across the entire company, says Karl-Ivar Jönsson, MD. The South division took part in Preemraff Lysekil s major maintenance shutdown project in the fall. The Midroc Automation division has several large-scale projects that will run for many years. Among other things, the company supplies fully automatic control systems for mining operations, including driverless trains, to the world s largest gold mine in Papua, Indonesia for the US mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. The project in Indonesia resulted in the creation of a new company there. A company, BMA, has alo been set up in Germany in partnership with the crane supplier Bang Kransysteme, and in Norway the newly formed Midroc Electro AS was established. We believe Norway is a market that suits us well, with regard to the petrochemical, steel and construction industries strong position. In 2013 Midroc Automation also arranged a successful trainee program to address future recruitment issues. There is a huge deficit of engineers in Sweden. The challenge in 2014 is to make sure we are always on our toes to maintain our position as preferred supplier. We would also like to be more successful in our major cities. We have operations at 45 different sites and have a very strong local presence in many of them, says Karl-Ivar Jönsson. Midroc Europe Annual Review

12 BUSINESS AREAS MIDROC PROJECT MANAGEMENT AB Midroc Project Management is a consulting and contracting company that develops and undertakes projects for the construction and industrial sectors, specializing in environmental issues and new technological solutions both in Sweden and abroad. Employees: 145 Turnover: SEK 482 million Offices: 5 STEFAN KRONMAN In 2013, Midroc Project Management invested heavily in developing its contracting operations. We have built up systems, human resources and the organization in order to meet increasing volumes. But several of our secured large orders have delayed construction starts due to circumstances beyond our control. This includes factors such as discovery of soil contamination that must be dealt with as well as appeals, says Stefan Kronman, MD. The increased costs incurred by investments in the organization along with a punishing financial climate has resulted in a disappointing 2013 for the company. On the positive side, we are now primed for and ready to launch several large-scale projects. We have an order backlog of SEK 1 billion, of which SEK 700 million in In 2014 and especially in 2015, we will be able to reap many of the benefits of our hard work in On the construction side, Midroc Project Management will undertake projects of a total of 450 apartments that will be completed in Some minor projects will also be finished in Another important event in 2013 was our first industrial contract for the company Nordisk Vindkraft, which is building one of the largest onshore wind farms in Sweden in the northwest part of the country. We were awarded the turnkey contract to deliver the two wind power stations that make up the farm s hub. In 2013, the major maintenance shutdown at Preemraff Lysekil was also completed, in which Midroc Project Management played a key role in planning and having responsibility for two major projects. In a consortium with Midroc Automation, some 30 consultants were involved in the shutdown project. The consulting business is doing very well and we have won several new contracts during the year. In 2014, Midroc Project Management s consulting operations will continue to expand in the industrial and energy sectors. We will also continue to focus in particular on Asset Management where we build maintenance systems for our customers. This has been something of a success factor for us, specifically within the steel and mining industries. This is an expanding market for us, Stefan Kronman concludes. 10 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

13 Midroc Electro is a leading company in electrical power and automation, with a particularly strong position in the mining sector. In the Kiruna mine, in the north of Sweden, Midroc has delivered a huge project for the company LKAB including a process control system for transportations at the main level, 1,365 meters below ground. Midroc Europe Annual Review

14 BUSINESS AREAS ALUCROM AB Employees: 240 Turnover: SEK 230 million Paint shops: 17 Alucrom is Sweden s largest contractor offering blasting, anti-corrosion treatment and industrial coatings. The company blasts and paints steel objects in its own paint shops, while larger structures are treated on-site. RALPH HALLDIN Swedish operations in 2013 have been primarily characterized by the company starting to recover following the protracted recession. The latter part of 2013 in particular looks considerably better than But even though we have made significant progress, we didn t manage to reach our goal. However, 2014 seems to be taking us back to the desired level of results, says Ralph Halldin, MD. Alucrom deployed a lot of resources on its expansion in Poland, where the latest additions are still to generate any profits. The initial facility in Poland was commissioned about ten years ago. Many of our Swedish customers have outsourced their production to Poland and we have followed suit. The first quarter of 2014 saw Alucrom opening an entirely new fully automated facility for painting components for the automotive industry in Wroclaw, Poland. This is a completely new business area for us, which we will continue to focus on. Alucrom also purchased a property in Janow Lubelski, where a new paint shop is being built in order to serve the local industry there. More start-ups of new facilities are planned in Poland in 2014/2015. In 2014, Swedish operations will be characterized by a strategy focusing on fewer but larger units. Small facilities will be merged with geographically close Alucrom shops in order to improve efficiency. We re moving toward larger and larger units and concentrating the business to facilities where we can integrate new technology. The result is greater flexibility, lower costs and higher capacity. There are also advanced plans for a super shop a facility in western Sweden that will replace 3-4 other units. The goal is to be production-ready in We see positive growth in most of our existing facilities in Sweden. This includes a 50% volume increase at the facility in Jordbro, Stockholm, where we run a project that involves fire protection coating of structural elements for a new underground station in Stockholm. Over the past year, we have also placed great emphasis on the development of management with respect to our project managers and executives at the Midroc Business School, as part of our efforts to be the first choice for employees and customers. When looking ahead I feel confident and positive. We have an excellent foundation to build on for the coming years. MIDROC STÄLLNINGAR AB In 2013 Midroc acquired the contracting company Olofson & Hansson AB, which was merged with the Midroc company GP Ställningar. At the turn of the year, the new company Midroc Ställningar was formed as a robust platform in the scaffolding sector for construction and industrial applications with a capacity of over 200,000 square meters of scaffolding. Employees: 80 Turnover: SEK 91 million Offices: 3 LEMBIT LAKS 2013 has of course been characterized by the merger, but also by the closure of the painting business formerly operated at Olofson & Hansson. It s exciting to be part of Midroc and I m confident that we are on the right track, says Lembit Laks, former MD of Olofson & Hansson and now holding the same position in Midroc Ställningar. Interesting projects during the year included scaffolding for a paper mill company constructing a new lime kiln. This was a major project requiring between men on site. The GoBiGas project was another intresting project, which is a major biogas production investment by Göteborg Energi. In terms of results, it has been a difficult year. We have incurred substantial additional costs associated with the merger. We have also suffered productivity losses due to lost momentum in sales as the merger required a lot of resources. However, looking ahead Lembit Laks sees great opportunity to achieve satisfying results. We will now bring the new organization into effect and ensuring that we achieve synergies from the merger. Additionally, we have secured some very exciting projects. The first half of 2014 will continue to be challenging, but come fall we will have turned that corner. 12 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

15 THE METALOCK GROUP The Metalock Group is a mechanical equipment repair company with expertise in maintenance, bespoke modifications and equipment upgrades, with headquarters in Coventry, England. The company provides on-site maintenance and engineering service solutions to a diverse range of industries. Employees: 495 Turnover: SEK 500 million Establishments: 8 MARTYN GREEN With companies present in several countries around the world, Metalock has the ability to respond to both planned and emergency repairs 24/7 all over the world. The company s specialist services include mechanical services such as repairs, on-site machining, metal spraying, maintenance and Metalocking the unique cast iron repair method that has given its name to the group. Metalock has made cutting costs for production losses for its customers into a business concept, by performing machining on site rather than shipping equipment to a machine shop was a tough year for us economically with few large pre-planned projects taking place, says Martyn Green, MD. This factor affected the branches in Germany, India and the UK. However, these units still maintained a reasonable profit level working off breakdown projects. Our South African company showed a very positive result, and Saudi Arabia and Sweden both showed im- provement on the previous year. It is satisfying to see new units developing from the startup phase to achieving good results. We are also continuing to set up businesses abroad and have recently acquired a company in Dubai, for example, says Martyn Green. Despite the ongoing recession, the Metalock Group has managed a decent result for Our company is well structured, with low over-head costs, which helps us manage well even in hard times has in many ways been a hectic year, with opening of new offices in Johannesburg, a restart of the French operation and a buyout of a joint venture partner in Saudi Arabia, with Midroc Project Management taking these shares. We are preparing for an increased number of projects, and 2014 is looking quite good. One really good sign is that we are starting to get inquiries from the steel industry again, an industry which has suffered hard during the worldwide recession. Midroc Europe Annual Review

16 BUSINESS AREAS MIDROC RODOVERKEN AB Employees: 250 Turnover: SEK 430 million Offices: 4 Midroc Rodoverken specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of industrial plants, and is the market leader in site-built structures of atmospheric tanks and pressure vessels. The proprietary spiral method is used to build tanks. MAGNUS DAHLBERG This year we have faced fierce competition on the piping and the mechanical side with low margins. We have also noticed increased competition from Europe. But despite the current economic situation our results are acceptable, although we are not totally satisfied. In contrast, our order book for 2014 looks very promising and 2015 is shaping up to be excellent, says Magnus Dahlberg, MD. Organizational development, skills development and long-term investments in new markets have characterized the year. Improving the organization and working to keep up with the changing industry conditions is vital in the face of increasingly fierce competition. One particularly successful investment was the establishment of Midroc Rodoverken as an important supplier of LNG tanks (Liquefied Natural Gas), thanks to the construction of the Skangass LNG facility in Lysekil in the southwest of Sweden. We have gained a strong position in the LNG sector, which is a growing market that we strongly believe in. Our spiral method is very well suited for building this kind of tank. On the piping side, we have invested heavily in Norway, including the startup of Midroc Rodoverken A/S. We are targeting land-based industries. This is an exciting market for us, as the resources available in Norway for mechanical and piping work are largely absorbed by the offshore industry. To meet the increased competition, the company is now establishing its own production site in Europe. It s an investment in becoming more efficient, which will also give us access to staff with necessary skills. An important project for the year was the maintenance shutdown project at the Preemraff facility in Lysekil in the fall. During 6-8 weeks Midroc Rodoverken performed about 100,000 hours of work with up to 500 men on site. We did a really good job under a tight schedule and are very proud of what we accomplished. In 2014, a similar shutdown project on a smaller scale will be undertaken at the Preemraff facility in Gothenburg. The company will have a sizable project group on site and already now has staff participating in the client s planning organization. That is surely a good sign that the customer thinks we managed the previous project well. 14 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

17 BAC CORROSION CONTROL LTD AND RCSL CORROSION MONITORING BAC Corrosion Control Ltd (BAC) is a UK market leader in cathodic protection, corrosion control and pin brazing, specializing in projects within the oil, gas, utilities and marine sectors. RCSL Corrosion Monitoring Ltd (RCSL) specializes in chemical injection and corrosion monitoring and inhibition in the oil, gas and refining industries. Employees: 38 Turnover: SEK 55 million Offices: 2 STEVE GORING Steve Goring was appointed MD in early 2014 after former MD Tony Gerrard, who will now work for the company on a consultancy basis. Steve Goring joined the company 25 years ago as a project engineer and worked as operations manager before taking over as MD. In 2012, BAC acquired Rose Corrosion Services (RCSL Corrosion Monitoring Ltd). Much of 2013 revolved around integrating RCSL and BAC into the same management system, and moving the RCSL sales and administration units from Newbury to Swindon, whilst all QA, assembly and stock was transferred to Telford. We have spent a large part of the year building a solid administration foundation so that the business can be in a position to grow effectively. We have worked hard to move from RCSL s totally manually operated accounts and inventory system to a fully integrated and modern accounts and inventory control system. Both BAC and RCSL are now running from the same robust administration system, and we now have the foundation to start marketing RCSL products and services positively in 2014, says Steve Goring. BAC completed a number of large projects during 2013, including the design and supply of cathodic protection systems for the sheet piling of two refurbished container berths at Southampton Port in the UK. The berths are to accommodate the latest breed of Triple-E container ships, being 400 meters long, wider than a highway and taller than a 20-storey office block. They will be able to carry 18, feet containers, known as TEUs three times as many as the biggest container ships 15 years ago. BAC s strategy is primarily to be an export driven company. However, our home market sales in 2013 now mean that the UK represents our biggest single market, at 26% of sales turnover. With sales having a fairly even split between the Middle East, Europe, USA and Far East/Africa we see this as encouraging as we become less reliant on a single market. The net results for RCSL and BAC were GBP and respectively. Both results exceeded internal budgets. During 2014, RCSL and BAC will be focusing on marketing including finding new agents and distributors, identifying new territories with high sales potential, developing new products and increasing manufacturing efficiency. MIDROC ENVIRONMENT GROUP Employees: 12 Turnover: SEK 60 million Offices: 4 ERIK BÄCKLUND Midroc Environment Group is a leading provider of environmental remedial services. The subsidiary Ekotec carries out andvanced soil remediation and biological treatment of contaminated soil, while the company Airgrinder develops technologies for defragmenting and energy saving drying of materials by means of artificial tornadoes. The market for remediation of soil decontaminated with oil has dropped sharply in Sweden due to the fact that most recovery projects on private land have already been undertaken was characterized instead by several major governmentfunded projects for which the competition is fierce. We operate in an industry where conditions change very quickly, often influenced by political decisions. We have adjusted our sales in line with the prevailing circumstances, and we are pleased with the result. We anticipated sales of SEK 50 million, but achieved a turnover of SEK 60 million. Our earnings were also better than expected, says Erik Bäcklund, MD. Due to the restructuring of the industry, the company has seen an increase in its share of cavern decontamination projects. By way of example, Ekotec was recently commissioned by one of Sweden s biggest energy companies to remediate two caverns used to store naphtha for the production of domestic gas in the Värta harbor, Stockholm. The area is currently remediated to prepare for future building developments. Ekotec s project will be conducted in three stages throughout Our challenges in 2014 are to increase volumes to previous levels and to strengthen our competitive edge in major contracts for public procurements. Midroc Europe Annual Review

18 BUSINESS AREAS HACKHOLMSSUND AB Employees: 20 Turnover: SEK 49 million Hackholmssund is an exclusive conference venue for both Swedish and international business guests. Conference activities are complemented with recreational facilities and a small catering operation. LISE-LOTTE SVENSSON Our concept is to host only one group at a time. Our guests can maintain full focus here and the conference can continue throughout the whole stay as they have the entire facility to their own disposal, says Lise-Lotte Svensson, MD and 2013 have generally been challenging years for the conference industry. The industry was expected to decline by about 5% in 2013, but many companies saw as much as a 25% decrease. Hackholmssund fared well in 2013, with a slight increase in the number of guests compared to A lot is due to several of our customers investing in the training and development of their employees. We have also expanded operations, allowing us to cater for groups that are larger than we previously had. One addition to our customer portfolio is Midroc Business School that, among other things, holds its training program in operational leadership here. With our customers facing a tougher situation and with the increasing demand for greater efficiency, we can see that the conferences are now shorter, more focused and more efficient. For us it is thus important to contribute to conference efficiency, from booking to departure. Today, the conference industry has an average occupancy of 53 % in Sweden. To survive, most facilities complement their product portfolios with weekend visitors or vacationers. Hackholmssund is no exception. In 2014 our biggest challenge will be the development of our recreational offer. We have opted to focus on vacationers over the summer and hope to attract international customers with high expectations on venue standard. In 2014, our former partner Sheba Charter will also be associated more closely with Hackholmssund by becoming an affiliate. We believe this will strengthen our ability to attract a demanding target group of international visitors. VÄSTRA HAMNEN CORPORATE FINANCE AB Västra Hamnen Fondkomission AB, previously a privately-owned company by Mohammed Al-Amoudi, has recently been incorporated into Midroc Europe AB. At the same time the company changed its name to Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance to better reflect the business. Employees: 6 Turnover: SEK 10 million Offices: 1 OSCAR AHLGREN In 2014 the company s business will focus on offering qualified advisory services to corporate clients, as well as services in corporate finance, acquisitions, transactions and securities trading. For us, 2013 has been an exciting year with many interesting investment inquiries. Clients have become less averse to risk during the year and more inclined to invest, and many are interested in buying and selling, says Oscar Ahlgren, MD. It s also encouraging to have more listed companies as clients that we primarily assist with financing activities. Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance was recently nominated by the NGM exchange as a mentor company. This means acting as an advisor to companies whose shares are listed on Nordic MTF and Nordic Pre Market. We feel honored to be able to help these companies to identify what they need to do financially, how they should manage their information and the rules that must be complied with. To us, this is a truly exciting time and it is an excellent opportunity for us to get to know entrepreneurs and top notch companies who have chosen to prepare for listing on the exchange. After several years of concern and caution, Oscar Ahlgren and his colleagues have noticed that the wind has turned. We see a greater willingness to invest in the financial market in Sweden, and we are very optimistic about Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013

19 Business Areas The Group s head office, with about 100 workplaces, is positioned next to the highway between Stockholm and Arlanda Airport. It acts as a unifying meeting place for Midroc s widespread companies with conference rooms for both internal and external meetings. Midroc Europe Annual Review

20 BUSINESS AREAS BUSINESS AREA Investments Business area Investments comprises portfolio companies active in two distinctly different areas of operations: property investments and investments in companies that need to develop their innovations. Property investments are managed by Midroc Property Development, active in progressing property projects in various development stages, from idea to completed property. Midroc Real Estate manages completed Midrocowned buildings, such as commercial properties for hotel, commerce and offices. Concerning investment activities in development companies, the portfolio company Midroc Invest was formed in 2013 with the purpose to control two portfolios through two subsidiaries. One portfolio is intended for investments in development companies and the subsidiary Midroc New Technology is the venture capital company financing new, innovative technologies. Its mission is to provide equity capital for carefully selected high-risk business opportunities. In 2013, the legal entity Midroc Finans was formed with the task to attend to and develop other Midroc-owned financial assets and investments in Sweden. Operations will commence in 2014 and be conducted by staff from Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance AB. Performance in 2013 The property development operations have experienced a year with a weak market with low transaction volumes, particularly on the residential side, owing to the banks new equity requirements for financing properties and housing, especially for private buyers. It is likely that the state of the market will remain and prevent expansion in 2014, although major regional differences in Sweden may occur. The commercial property market will be dominated by financially strong actors with clear focus on low-risk objects, such as housing in growth areas, offices in prime locations in metropolitan cities and properties for municipal services. The willingness for other actors to invest in development companies with great potential but high risk, has generally been low in 2013, reflecting the increase in options for less risky investments such as secure properties. However, low interest rates in Sweden and a stable financial market suggests increased transaction volumes in Several investment companies also achieved great success during the year. Pergamum successfully finalized three phase II studies on pharmaceuticals based on endogenous peptides and Minesto s marine power plant was named as one of the top power innovations of the year by esteemed magazine Power Technology in the UK. Assets MSEK 5,100 Properties Property overvalues Development companies Financial holdings 18 Midroc Europe Annual Review 2013