CleanR Grupa’s 9M 2024 results demonstrate steady growth

CleanR Grupa has closed the first nine months of 2024, demonstrating steady and positive trends in all the key financial indicators, confirming the effectiveness of the group’s long-term growth strategy, informs Juris Gulbis, the group’s Chairman of the Board.

The CleanR Grupa turnover in the first nine months of 2024 reached EUR 86.3 million, which is an increase of 22% or EUR 15.7 million, compared to the same period of the previous year.

The EBITDA in the first nine months of 2024 grew by EUR 4.6 million, reaching EUR 19.1 million, compared to the same period in 2023, when it stood at EUR 14.4 million. The EBITDA margin grew to 22%, 2 percentage points higher than in the same 9M of 2023, which confirms that the group companies have managed to maintain their profitability while continuing to expand their operations.

“In these nine months of 2024, CleanR Grupa strengthened its position in both the waste management and environmental services segment. The strategic focus on the development and use of sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, completion of reorganization, including mergers and acquisitions, have produced positive financial results. At the same time, we have also strengthened the group’s corporate governance model by appointing new professionals in management positions,” points out Juris Gulbis, Group Chairman of the Board.

As part of the reorganization started in 2022, CleanR Grupa concluded the next restructuring phase by forming two new subsidiaries in the reporting period, which until recently were part of the group’s largest company’s CleanR structure—CleanR Industry, specializing in plastic and industrial waste recycling and recovery, and CleanR NĪ, a real estate management business. “The reorganization allows us to develop each of our business lines, using resources more efficiently and boosting our competitiveness,” explains Juris Gulbis.

This reporting period has also brought changes to the CleanR Grupa management team. Gatis Buls, who previously served as the group’s Corporate Development Director, was appointed as Chief Financial Officer. His professional expertise will ensure the implementation of the group’s projects and continuous development of the financial processes.

In September, CleanR, the group’s largest company specializing in municipal waste management, received an approval from the Competition Council of Latvia to acquire Lautus, confirming the deal’s compliance with the regulatory requirements. Thus, within the reporting period, CleanR acquired Lautus—a company specializing in medical and hazardous waste management and waste collection services. “This segment is especially important for our group as it not only means business expansion but also care for public health and safety,” tells Juris Gulbis.

CleanR continued its strategic investments in sustainable solutions, including the creation of underground waste container infrastructure. The company put into operation 52 sites including a total of 203 containers in Riga and two site containing eight containers in Jūrmala.

To strengthen the management team of CleanR Verso, the group’s industrial and construction waste management business, during the reporting period, the company’s board was joined by Jānis Reinfelds, a seasoned professional who will now oversee the company’s finances, human resources, and logistics.

During the nine months period, CleanR Verso carried out a significant modernization project at Latvia’s largest construction waste sorting and recycling site Nomales by installing a new production line processing up to 25 tons of material an hour, facilitating the reuse of up to 80% of the material.  The site has been equipped with the most powerful electric waste shredder in the Baltics, which significantly improves the efficiency of the recycling process and reduces impact on the environment. In addition, a study on the improvement of the construction and demolition waste management system in Latvia was carried out, with the aim to improve the efficiency of processes and reuse of resources.

At the same time, the group continued to strengthen its position in the urban services segment.  Vizii Urban, the group’s urban services company, won a Riga City tender on the maintenance of the traffic structures in the city’s administrative areas of Ziemeļi district and Vidzeme suburbs until 2029.

The group’s commercial cleaning company Vizii increased its technological capacity by increasing the number of robotized cleaning units to 17. The company also signed new clients, including educational establishments, business centres, and medical institutions. “We are focusing on innovative solutions to improve our efficiency and meet the needs of a range of business segments,” says Juris Gulbis.

During the reporting period, CleanR Grupa presented a unique tool—The Circular Economy Index of Latvia—to the public, Latvian local governments, policymakers, and the group’s stakeholders. The initiative was launched at the beginning of the year, bringing together more than 20 Latvian scientist and researchers. The Circular Economy Index of Latvia is a unique, first-ever scientifically based tool helping Latvian local governments assess their circularity, identifying best practices and working out recommendations for local governments for improvement.