HMK Bilcon got through a very difficult corona year
The fuel tanker manufacturer had an “annus horribilis” with corona in 2021. The order backlog is good and sets a record and prospects are good too.
The 2021 result is described as very unsatisfactory for the tanker manufacturer, which has had an extremely difficult year due to the corona situation. This has resulted in record high sickness absence and unstable material supply has caused many extra costs in production. Revenue has grown by 19% compared to 2020.
3 development projects and a fantastic introduction to the Swedish market was a big mouthful for the 2021 result, but it lays the foundation for some good years in the future.
Underlying operation stable again
The result is negative due to one-off costs for a large and in all areas corona-affected project. CEO Peter Jensby explains that the 2021 result is bad, but there are three good news in the learning: First, we know what has gone wrong. Secondly, we have adjusted this going forward. And thirdly, we will make money again in 2022.
The new success in Sweden is extremely important and means that in addition to being the market leader in both Denmark and Norway for many years, HMK Bilcon will also be market leader in Sweden. In addition, the recent strategic partnership with TouchStar Technologies also contributes positively to growth in 2022.
The number of full-time employees has increased from 88 to now 90, of which 7 are apprentices, 2 in flex jobs and 3 in senior jobs. The company continues to work with extensive digitization and automation. Most recently, the company has been approved by the Danish Business Authority for a comprehensive ICC project with a very large group within the European defence industry, where the focus is on automation, robot welding and welding in reinforced steel.
Sales, standardization, and growth
According to the CEO, 2022 will be a year of profit due to greater sales of the newly developed products if the material supply of aluminum and other critical components can be kept stable.
“Sales are going well, and standardization has picked up gear, so it will now be easier to automate and / or outsource parts of our production. This allows us to better scale our business and drive our costs a little further down, which is still necessary. ”
Peter Jensby says, “that the order backlog and pipeline are record-breaking, and are now divided between more products and geographical markets than before. This forms the basis for greater international growth in the coming years. There is also a large increase in interest from a number of European countries in our specialty products for the defence industry. ”