Specializing in building services, design, property management, energy and environmental consultancy as well as software services, Granlund has a positive outlook for the future. The innovation and development-oriented group continued its growth during 2013 and improved its results. The group’s net sales increased by 19.4% from the previous year, totaling approx. EUR 42.8 million with an operating profit of 13.1%
In 2013 Granlund grew through a couple of acquisitions, as Granlund Saimaa Oy was established in Lappeenranta and Imatra and the Kuopio office expanded its operations. Granlund is now present in 11 locations around Finland. The number of employees increased by 70 through the acquisitions and recruitment, totaling 514 employees on average.
Net sales and finances
The Granlund group’s net profit for 2013 was EUR 3.7 million (2012: EUR 2.8 million). The group’s return on equity was 38.5% (32.0%), while its equity ratio was 44.4% (44.65%). All Granlund employees are included in the performance-based incentive system and the amount of incentives paid totaled EUR 2.4 million. The amount of corporate taxes paid by the group’s companies totaled EUR 1.5 million in 2013. The net sales and operating results of all the Finnish companies included in the Granlund group were good, even excellent for some subsidiaries. The group’s solvency and liquidity have remained good.
Business environment and activities in 2013
2013 was a year of insecurity for the building sector, which also affected design firms. The order book did, however, remain at a reasonable level in the building services sector. A positive change was observed in terms of order procedures as the use of quality scores has become more active in the public sector. Alliance-type projects and partnership-based operating models also became stronger. In the long run, this will most likely also have a positive effect on the general level of quality.
Granlund’s order book remained quite good during 2013. The biggest design projects were the new Jyväskylä hospital, the new children’s hospital in Helsinki, Itäkeskus i3 and the IsoKristiina and Ikano shopping centers in Lappeenranta. Granlund also continued to work actively with the OP Group’s Vallilakeskus and the Itis shopping center in Helsinki as well as with the design of the seven west metro stations.
Granlund’s energy and environmental activities focused on life cycle and energy consultancy and environmental assessments. New energy solutions are interesting and some property owners have already included energy efficiency in their strategic themes. Granlund was involved with two teams that took part in the Nordic Built Challenge which aims to encourage sustainable building concepts. One of the teams won the Finnish competition and the other one was in the top four. Granlund was also selected as the main consultant for the FinZEB project, which aims to define the view of the Finnish construction industry regarding “nearly zero-energy buildings” required by the EU.
In the software sector, the role of the users and real-time maintenance are becoming more important. In the autumn of 2013, the Ryhti property management software was renamed Granlund Manager and Granlund acquired new customers, including the Defense Administration and the City of Seinäjoki. During this time we also completed the City of Espoo maintenance management project. Finally, Granlund made an extensive energy management agreement with Citycon Oyj. The aim is to start similar projects in 2014.
Metrix and Building Info, both part of the Granlund Manager family of software products, got off to a promising start. Metrix offers the customers an entirely new kind of real-time ”intelligent reporting” model to manage energy efficiency and indoor air quality. The Building Info solution also encourages the property users to save energy and improve the indoor environment. The commercial version of the Granlund Designer system will be launched in 2014. As an information management and integration tool it connects CAD systems with equipment data and simulations. It can also be used on construction sites.
Innovations and development work
Granlund continued its innovation and development work. Granlund was actively involved in the international BuildingSMART and Innovation Platform forums and took part in several development projects funded by the EU, Tekes and the American HVAC society ASHRAE. The aim of the projects was to find new solutions for the management of building maintenance, energy efficiency and indoor environments, for example by utilizing information models and software. They have been used for developing, for example, energy simulation and monitoring models as well as new software solutions.
Outlook for 2014
At the beginning of 2014, the situation seems relatively good for Granlund. The hospital projects are very active and the major projects in the Helsinki region keep Granlund busy, even though the business premises sector and commercial projects are still slow. The improvement of energy efficiency will probably enhance the situation over the next couple of years and the renovation sector will improve evenly. The biggest risks in terms of positive development may be related to international financial crises and the development of Finland’s national economy as well as project-related financial risks.
Further information:
Managing Director Pekka Metsi, Granlund Oy
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Communications Manager Riikka Linna, Granlund Oy
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