BLG LOGISTICS exceeds its targets in the 2023 financial year and delivers reliably

BREMEN, 29.04.2024 - The Board of Management of BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co KG presented the results for the 2023 financial year at the annual press conference on 29 April 2024.

Despite all the challenges, all three divisions - AUTOMOBILE, CONTRACT and CONTAINER - closed the year with positive results. While Group sales increased compared to the previous year, the result was slightly worse than in 2022, but was actually better than expected.

The demands on logistics are changing with increasing speed. Energy prices, inflation, a shortage of skilled labour, climate change, the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships - the list of wars, crises and challenges is long. This has once again made 2023 a challenging business environment. In light of this, the Board of Management of the BLG Group considers the strong operating performance and stable financial result of the BLG Group in the past financial year to be very pleasing.

In the 2023 financial year, Group sales increased by 8.1 per cent year-on-year to EUR 1.21 billion (excluding EUROGATE). "This is a more than respectable performance given the large number of crises and challenges. All divisions and every colleague contributed to this," emphasised Frank Dreeke, Chairman of the Board of Management of the BLG Group, at the presentation of the results.

Delivered in all divisions

All three divisions - AUTOMOBILE, CONTRACT and CONTAINER - closed the year with positive results. Sales in the AUTOMOBILE Division, which grew by 62.1 million euros to 641.9 million euros, deserve special mention. This growth in turnover is mainly due to higher revenue in the transport sector as well as warehousing income. Turnover in contract logistics also increased, by 20.9 million euros to 569.1 million euros. The CONTAINER Division recorded a decline in revenue of 43.2 million euros. BLG's pro rata revenue in 2023 amounted to just under EUR 302 million.

At EUR 36.1 million, earnings before taxes (EBT) were 35.2 per cent down on the previous year (EUR 55.7 million). The BLG Group's EBT therefore fell by 19.6 million euros compared to the previous year. The main reason for this was the lower investment result in the CONTAINER Division.

AUTOMOBILE: Black figures in Bremerhaven

In the AUTOMOBILE Division as a whole, BLG transported, handled and technically processed five million vehicles in the 2023 financial year. The volume is therefore slightly above the previous year's level. The inland terminals in particular contributed to this good result. Around 1.5 million vehicles were handled, transported or technically processed at the seaport terminal in Bremerhaven - the BLG AutoTerminal Bremerhaven - slightly less than in 2022 (1.7 million vehicles), due in particular to the economic situation. In the High & Heavy segment, the handling volume increased by 0.2 million tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes.

Matthias Magnor, Member of the Board of Management and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the BLG Group, said of the car terminal: "In 2023, the site was in the black and thus achieved a significant improvement in earnings compared to previous years. This is due in particular to the effective restructuring and transformation processes and the renegotiated contracts with many important customers."

Matthias Magnor also used the annual press conference to report on a new agreement: "I was in China a few weeks ago and signed a friendship agreement between our car terminal and the Haitong RoRo terminal in Shanghai. With this cooperation, we are creating a special link between Shanghai and Bremerhaven to support Chinese automotive companies in exporting their vehicles to Europe and to consolidate the positioning of our ports as leading RoRo ports in Asia and Europe." However, Bremerhaven is and will remain an open port for all shipping companies and car manufacturers.

CONTRACT: targets achieved

The CONTRACT division operates at over 40 locations throughout Germany and the world. In the ongoing multi-crisis environment, BLG Contract Logistics once again succeeded in achieving its targets in the 2023 financial year. Some sharp declines in volumes at individual locations were offset in the reporting year by higher volumes and productivity as well as additional business at other locations. The decline in inflation and energy prices in particular also had a positive effect over the course of the year. The reorganisation of the division initiated in 2022, the CONTRACT roadmap, also had an impact.

CONTAINER: below expectations
Significantly fewer containers than expected were handled at the EUROGATE Group's domestic container terminals in the reporting year. Storage fees, which had increased significantly in 2022 due to the shipowners' disrupted schedules, also fell earlier than expected. Handling volumes at the EUROGATE terminals fell by 5.1 percent from 11.2 million TEU, and by 10.5 percent overall at the German terminals.

The timing and sequence of the relocation of MSC services to HHLA's Hamburg terminals will be key to the handling trend in Hamburg in 2024. "We currently assume that the relocation will begin in the fourth quarter of 2024 at the earliest and will not yet have a significant impact on the company's throughput volume in 2024. We do not expect any negative effects for our other locations as a result of MSC joining HHLA. On the contrary: we are closely linked to MSC in the long term," says Michael Blach, Member of the Executive Board, responsible for the CONTAINER Division and Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board. An increase in handling volumes is expected for the Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven sites in 2024.

BLG as an employer

In 2023, BLG LOGISTICS employed an annual average of 9,883 people worldwide in the fully consolidated companies (11,487 with EUROGATE). At 90.7 per cent, the majority of the workforce has a permanent employment contract. The shortage of skilled labour remains a challenge for the company. The continuous optimisation of employee recruitment and the development of new channels and media for easy access to vacancies were key tasks in the HR department in 2023. The results are modern approaches and pilot projects such as the low-threshold option of applying via WhatsApp.

In the reporting year, BLG filled 96 new trainee positions, employing a total of 172 trainees. This corresponds to a trainee ratio of 1.9 per cent. "Taking into account the overall social challenge of the shortage of young talent, we have set an annual training quota of at least two per cent as part of our new sustainability targets from 2025," explained Ulrike Riedel, Member of the Board of Management and Labour Director at BLG.

Outlook for 2024

"The 2023 result is a testament to our reliability, our performance and our entrepreneurial courage in a dynamic and challenging business environment," said CEO Frank Dreeke, before taking a look into the future: "However, we also know that economic and political uncertainties will continue or increase further. We are constantly preparing for this. Change and transformation are just as much a part of BLG today as our almost 150-year company history, which is steeped in tradition."

The BLG Group continues to face a volatile market environment. In order to meet these challenges, the company is continuing to tackle topics such as flexibility, digitalisation/artificial intelligence, automation and sustainability at full speed. Business development at the beginning of 2024 was in line with expectations.

At the end of the press conference, the CEO addressed a few personal words to the journalists in attendance: "This is my last annual press conference at BLG. At the end of the year, I will be stepping down after twelve years at the helm of BLG because I have reached the standard retirement age for members of the Board of Management. These have been eventful years, which many of you have accompanied openly and collegially, but also critically. I would like to thank you today for this. I am leaving BLG with great gratitude and curiosity about what lies ahead. I know that BLG, which as a company is robust, adaptable and fit for the future, is in very good hands. In Matthias Magnor, a colleague I hold in high esteem, who knows the company very well and has successfully shaped the transformation of BLG's operational areas over the past three years, will take the helm in 2025. I am certain that Matthias Magnor will lead BLG into a successful future together with our colleagues on the Board of Management Ulrike Riedel and Christine Hein, Michael Blach and a new COO, who is currently being selected. I am leaving with great satisfaction."

The entire BLG Annual Report 2023 with the motto "Delivering" is available at this link: BLG Annual Report 2023 (blg-logistics.com)
https://reporting.blg-logistics.com/2023/de/

Press contact:

Head of Corporate Communications & Marketing: Julia Wagner
Email: julia.wagner@blg.de
Phone: +49 421 398 3391
Mobile: +49 160 90817610

Press Officer: Tina Allerheiligen
Email: tina.allerheiligen@blg.de
Phone: + 49 421 398 3971
Mobile: +49 171 64 65 267

Press Officer: Vivien Kretschmann
E-mail: vivien.kretschmann@blg.de
Phone: + 49 421 398 3475
Mobile: +49 160 722 9657
www.blg-logistics.com

BLG LOGISTICS is a seaport and logistics service provider with an international network. We are strengthened by the experience of almost 150 years of company history. Today we are present all over the world with almost 100 locations and branches. We offer our customers from industry and trade complex logistics system services. Every day, around 11,500 employees take responsibility for the smooth logistics of high-quality products. BLG LOGISTICS aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. We are the first German logistics service provider with a scientifically recognised climate protection target. You can find more information on our website: www.blg-logistics.com