Growth strategy and strong balance sheet enables DNV to pursue acquisitions
Annual report
DNV’s focus on digitalization and decarbonization meant the company was able to maintain strong positions in key markets and make important strategic investments in 2021, despite headwinds related to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Høvik, Norway, 06 April 2022 – In January 2021, DNV embarked on a new strategy to enable the company and its customers to meet the challenges of the decade of transformation – a term given to the 2020s. The new strategy is centred on decarbonization and digitalization trends, along with an increased need – reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic – for trust and transparency in products, services, systems, and value chains.
In 2021, DNV posted revenue of NOK 21 464 million and an EBITDA of NOK 3 672 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.6% and 5.3% respectively. The profit share given to the employees doubled to almost NOK 1 billion.
DNV’s strong balance sheet enabled the company to make six acquisitions in 2021.
Of note, was DNV’s acquisition of Imatis, the first strategic acquisition within digital health. The acquisition of MEDCERT (completed in January 2022) will help DNV grow its assurance offering and delivery capabilities in the medical device sector. DNV´s strategic ambition is to establish trust in technologies, systems, and data, so that healthcare professionals can improve more lives more efficiently. The company plans to expand rapidly in this area.
DNV also strengthened its cybersecurity offering with the acquisition of Applied Risk. This was part of DNV’s strategic ambition to bolster support for the emerging need for customers to secure the computing systems managing their industrial operations.
The Maritime business area achieved its best-ever share of the newbuild market, strengthening DNV’s position as the world’s leading classification society. DNV’s market share surpassed that of all other classification societies, winning 30% of all new shipbuilding orders measured in gross tons. This was supported by an intensified focus on digitalization, remote ways of working, and decarbonization underpinning long-term work with key customers, as well as expanded service deliveries beyond the classification activities. A striking new development was the number of vessels ordered with alternative fuel systems. DNV’s “Alternative Fuel Insight” portal closely monitored this trend throughout the year, and alternative fuel vessels made up 17% of all vessels ordered in 2021, but more than 36% by gross tonnage, demonstrating the strong uptake of alternative fuels in larger vessels.
Decarbonization, electrification and the desire to build a clean energy system through controlled costs are the main focus areas for DNV’s customers in the energy markets, spanning power & renewables and oil & gas. The energy landscape is changing very fast and becoming increasingly complex, resulting in uncertainty, risks, and possible high costs for businesses, investors, and governments. Driven by this complexity, customers are turning to DNV for assurance in their operations, technologies and investment decisions, thus creating many new opportunities for DNV in all energy segments.
“Two years ago, we launched our new vision – to be ‘a trusted voice to tackle global transformations’. I can say with confidence and pride that we have made a very promising start to our journey to realize this vision,” added Eriksen.
