Actona Group A/S delivers strong results in turbulent times

The furniture company, Actona Group, presents a +10 percent increase in revenues despite the global repercussions of covid and disruptions in global supply chains caused by the war in Ukraine. It is the company’s second best result ever, only exceeded by the financial year 2020/21.

In the financial statement for the fiscal year 2021/22 Actona Group delivers a turnover of DKK 2.7bn and DKK 225m in earnings before interests and tax, upon a series of non-recurrent expenditures such as acquisitions.

”I am proud of our results for the fiscal year 2021/22. We have grown our business by +10 percent in a global market under pressure. Most of all, the effort must be attributed to the many skilled and dedicated colleagues, who have navigated through challenges posed by covid as well as the war. It has required us to constantly and quickly adapt in very uncertain times. Concurrently, our colleagues have shown the greatest care and support for our afflicted colleagues in Ukraine, which really goes to show the strong values Actona Group is built on,” says CEO of Actona Group, Jimmi Mortensen.

In addition to the war, which has caused high price increases and scarcity of several raw materials, Actona Group’s trading business has been challenged by the pressure on supply chains and increasing freight charges.

"This also means that the derivative effects of the disruptions in the supply chain are likely to last a few years," Jimmi Mortensen assesses.

Maintaining a long-term growth strategy
Despite the global challenges, Actona Group is maintaining its long-term strategy, ”Sustainable Business”, to more than double the business and triple the bottom line, among other things through targeted acquisitions, which will provide the company with strong competences and strengthen future growth plans. Just one year into the strategy period, the first two acquisitions have been completed: The upholstery producer Theca, with production in Lithuania, in October 2021 and the furniture producer SITS in Poland, which Actona Group acquired in July 2022.

”With our goals and strategy we have set the bar high, but that is what powers us. We want to be in the top-three of the European producer and distribution market by 2025 and number one in the long-term. With the acquisitions of Theca and SITS, we are creating synergies on our business and our existing production facilities and thus creating possibilities for consolidation and optimising our platform for further profitable growth,” says Jimmi Mortensen.

Sustainability and social responsibility
Though faced by global challenges, Actona Group continues to work on making the production and business more sustainable through the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Actona Group has chosen to focus specifically on the goals 7, 12, and 15, which will contribute to transforming the business and reduce emissions by 70 percent before 2030 and make the company carbon neutral before 2050.

Hence, Actona Group has not just accelerated financially but is focused on taking the lead in sustainability as well, which means that all of Actona Group’s own factories in Europe and Asia are certified in 2022. This contributes to the ambition of using solely certified wood in 2025.

Furthermore, Actona Group is experiencing great success with talent development of apprentices and trainees. During the last year, 90 percent of all apprentices and trainees have subsequently been permanently employed in the company.

The fiscal year 2022/23
The global volatility, increasing prices on raw materials, and decreasing consumer purchasing power are expected to affect Actona Group in the coming fiscal year. However, CEO Jimmi Mortensen maintains the long-term strategic goal of more than a doubling of the business to create a turnover of more than DKK 4bn and a margin of 12,5 percent in 2025.

”We have experienced a couple of years with a lot of change, which, all in all, has had a positive effect on our business. Now, we are looking into a couple of years, where we expect a more negative impact. We have a sturdy foundation from which we can navigate the short-term challenges and a great potential to reach our long-term goal of continued growth and further market shares in the global market,” Jimmi Mortensen concludes.