CEO SIRPA OJALA’S COMMENTS ON THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS JANUARY-JUNE 2023
“I am very pleased with our second-quarter and the first half year performance. The spring high season demand was well met and delivered with high quality and controlled field productivity. We maintained a higher growth rate than the market growth and our operating profit improved considerably, as expected.
The Cleaning Services business developed well, and we gained several new customers in a fairly active market. Our flexible service offering is resilient to the macroeconomic cycles, but in the medium term we may face some hindrances if our customers in certain segments will see slowing activity.
The geopolitical development in Europe has had only limited impact on our business, at least so far, and we have no exposure to sanctioned parties or conflict regions. The fuel prices and general cost inflation have, to a high degree, been successfully mitigated through pricing and improved productivity.
As a result of the strategic evaluation, we announced on 12 May that the owners of Delete Group and Remondis Maintenance & Services International GmbH have signed an agreement on the sale of all the shares in Delete Group, closing being conditional on competition authorities’ approval. After the reporting period, the Finnish competition authorities have approved the sale of Delete Group to Remondis Maintenance and Services International GmbH, while the Swedish authorities have announced, that a decision will be made on or before 2 November 2023, subject to extensions if required.
We will continue the development of our efficient and high quality operations in collaboration with our customers. We are confident that the positive customer feedback we have received on our high standard service level will position us well in our efforts to continue profitable growth.”