'Annus Horribilis' for Bunker Holding Parent Company USTC in 2023/2024

USTC is based in Middelfart. Image Credit: USTC

Bunker Holding parent company USTC has said it experienced an 'annus horribilis' in the 2023/24 financial year as a result of the Nordic Waste landslide and other factors.

The firm saw pre-tax profit of DKK 252 million in the year to April 30, down from DKK 2.926 billion a year earlier, it said in an earnings release on Tuesday.

"The significant losses in individual activities lie with SDK FREJA, which has suffered substantial losses in connection with attempts to halt the landslide at Nordic Waste and the subsequent closure of the company," the company said in the statement.

"Additionally, Bunker Holding had to accept large losses from the termination of the cargo activities in Africa; a decision made due to political instability, self-sanctioning in relation to the sale of Russian oil, and generally unfavorable market conditions."

Nordic Waste filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after a large landslide at a processing facility for contaminated soil.

"One disaster rarely comes alone, and the past year has in every way been an "annus horribilis" with the closure of activities we otherwise had high expectations for," Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, chairman of the USTC board, added.

"It has particularly hurt us all that we had to let a company in the Group go bankrupt for the first time in our nearly 150-year history.

"That said, I am proud that we are closing the year with a positive result. Had we avoided these isolated events, USTC would have delivered its second-best result ever. This gives me confidence for the future."