Today, LEMAN presents our annual report for 2021, and it is with a historically good result. From 2020 to 2021, LEMAN's turnover has increased by 60 percent from 2.2 to 3.6 billion DKK, and the operating profit ended in 2021 at 64 million DKK compared to a small minus the year before.
The improved result is partly due to a general increase in freight rates, and partly to a significantly increased level of activity. In addition, LEMAN's establishment in China with the opening of six new offices in 2021 and a seventh in 2022 has contributed positively to the overall business. And then it's part of the story that 2020 was a bad year for LEMAN because the company was hit by a hacker attack. The positive result naturally brings joy to Bo Lindberg Andersen, CEO of LEMAN Group:
“The market for international freight transport has generally been growing in 2021, so we are helped by the economic situation in the industry. 2020 and 2021 have been some years where we have been disturbed by everything from the blockade of the Suez Canal to the consequences of Brexit and of course Covid-19, but in this volatile environment, the LEMAN organization demonstrated also in 2021 the agility and creativity necessary to keep the supply chains open for our customers and the societies we serve,” Bo Lindberg Andersen states.
China, pharma, and better IT
In April 2021, LEMAN expanded its business by establishing itself in China by opening six offices in the country. China has for many years been an important trading partner for many LEMAN customers, and by having its own organization in China, LEMAN is now in a better position to serve customers with both information and solutions and thereby ensure an even higher quality, the company believes.
“At LEMAN, we have naturally looked towards China, because a large part of the market is centered on China, which is strategically very important, and we can therefore serve our customers better when we are strongly represented out there. Therefore, we plan to go ahead and open more offices in China, and we also have several new surrounding countries on the drawing board. But I would like to emphasize that we do not open new offices in new countries just to be present – we do it because in this way we can ensure both new and existing customers a better quality in products and in customer service," concludes Bo Lindberg Andersen.
In 2021, LEMAN has also had a special focus on integrating new IT solutions to make the work simpler and more flexible, and in addition, increased efforts on medicine freight will continue as a strong niche, where LEMAN are already among the market leaders.
