Financial figures and ESG reporting: BORG Automotive grows and invests in sustainability
The BORG Automotive Group has presented its financial figures and its ESG report for 2023. In the reporting period, the Group succeeded in increasing turnover, reducing greenhouse gas emissions per remanufactured product and improving occupational safety.
In 2023, the BORG Automotive Group achieved revenue growth of three percent. Earnings before tax amounted to DKK 153 million, which was less than in the previous year.
BORG Automotive Reman remains the most important pillar of the business: The largest European remanufacturer with the international Lucas brand and its own brands Elstock, DRI and TMI introduced around 470 new references and recorded strong growth in demand for remanufactured products in the second half of the year. In the 4th quarter alone, the company sold 29 percent more remanufactured parts than in the same period of the previous year.
SBS Automotive with its brands NK Autoparts and Eurobrake, on the other hand, continued to struggle with the withdrawal from the Russian business. Under the umbrella of the Group, the company supplements the BORG Automotive range with many products, including in particular non-remanufacturable spare parts for brakes and chassis. However, thanks to increased sales efforts in other European markets, the company is on the way to fully compensating for the loss of the Russian market. As a result, the BORG Automotive Group anticipates an increase in turnover to between DKK 1.9 and 2.1 billion and a pre-tax profit of between DKK 170 and 200 million for 2024.
Environment, social, governance: ambitious agenda
In line with the annual report of the parent company Schouw & Co., the BORG Automotive Group has also published its fifth ESG report. It lists all the measures taken in the past year in the areas of environment, social and governance.
The company has set itself clear targets in the area of environmental actions: It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its own production by 30 percent by 2030. For the past year, the following picture emerges: Relative emissions per remanufactured product fell by ten percent compared to the reference year 2020. However, total emissions increased by 19 percent due to significantly higher production volumes.
Another focus of activities in 2023 was the implementation of comparative life cycle assessments, which document the impact of the company’s remanufactured products on the climate and resources for the first time and compare them to newly manufactured products.
In addition, BORG Automotive installed a high-performance solar power system at its production site in Lublin last year. This means that both branches in Poland are now equipped with photovoltaics, which should further improve the carbon footprint. BORG Automotive also built a significantly more energy-efficient new headquarters in Denmark.
Social issues: noticeable reduction in accidents at work
BORG Automotive Group also succeeded in reducing the so-called “Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate” (LTIFR) by seven percent compared to the previous year with the help of prevention measures, training, process improvements, and automation. The LTIFR is defined as accidents per million working hours. In 2023, it amounted to 11.2 compared to 12.1 in 2022. The overwhelming majority were minor accidents which did not result in lengthy absences from work. Furthermore, the BORG Automotive Group prepared the Polish sites for ISO 45001 certification. The aim here is to externally validate the systems and processes that ensure good working conditions and eliminate risks to health and safety in the workplace as far as possible.
Corporate governance: Code of conduct developed further
In the area of corporate governance, BORG Automotive has also worked consistently to improve its position even further. The company focused in particular on drawing up a common code of conduct for employees at all companies following the Group’s strong growth in recent years. It also set up a sustainability committee to anchor the topic of sustainability even more firmly throughout the Group. Last but not least, it worked on setting up the reporting system in accordance with the EU taxonomy for environmentally sustainable business activities and continued to systematically develop its e-learning for employee training on topics such as IT security, GDPR, and anti-corruption.
“We are on a good path both economically and in terms of our ESG goals and have achieved a lot in 2023," explains Kim Kruse Andersen, CEO at the BORG Automotive Group. "We will not deviate from our strategic path in 2024 and will continue to work on becoming an even more responsible and better producer and employer. We know that these changes cannot be fixed overnight and that it will be a long road, but it is essential that we get there.”