FIRST QUARTER – JANUARY-MARCH 2024
- Turnover amounted to SEK 8,485 thousand (10,685).
- Operating profit was SEK -18,969 thousand (-18,511).
- Net financial items amounted to SEK -31,334 thousand (13,718).
- Unrealised changes in the value of properties amounted to SEK -163 thousand (-7,990).
- Profit before tax was SEK -50,467 (-12,753) thousand, and profit after tax amounted to SEK -40,244 (-14,024) thousand, corresponding to SEK -0.08 (-0.03) per share.
EVENTS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD JANUARY-MARCH 2024
On 6 February, 2024 Crown Energy AB announced that it had entered a strategic partnership with KAYA Climate Solutions GmbH (“KAYA”), a project developer in nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa. By partnering with KAYA, Crown Energy gains access to cutting-edge expertise and a team with a proven track record of developing and managing projects with a carbon credit focus. This strategic alliance unlocks a new avenue for Crown Energy.
EVENTS AFTER THE PERIODS END
- During the second quarter of 2024 Crown Energy received a further 8 million USD in accordance with agreement relating to the sale of the oil & gas assets of the company, signed in October 2021. Crown Energy has now received a total of 115 million USD.
- On 30 April 2024 Crown Energy announced a strategic agreement with Proger S.p.A (“Proger”) and the founders (earlier shareholders) of AccYouRate. In short, the agreement includes acquisitions of shares from Crown Energy in SmarTee by Proger and the original founders at the same valuation as when Crown Energy acquired the shares in February of 2023. But there is also conversion of loans, put and call options. For more information see the section Sustainable Investments as well as Note 11.
CEO STATEMENT
An intense and promising quarter for Crown Energy
The first quarter 2024 has been intense in the new Crown. A number of projects are developing in several areas.
The major investment within The Crown Energy Group is AccYouRate, which was made in 2023. Several interesting customer pilot projects are now ongoing within AccYouRate. One is with the largest independent engineering consulting company of Italy: Proger. Also, Proger will be a minority shareholder in AccYouRate following the rearrangement of financing for AccYouRate that we announced on April 30. Furhermore, the CEO of Proger, Marco Lombardi has assumed the role of CEO of AccYouRate. The involvement of Proger and Marco Lombardi will really contribute to strong growth, made possible thanks to their knowledge and professionalism as well as their contacts in several different industries.
Another customer contract was also signed with GCF (Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie), a major company in railway construction. This project is aimed to use the smart T-shirt for workers.
A totally different story, but also very interesting, is a newly signed contract with the Albanian Olympic committee. In this project the Smart T-shirt is being tested and used on 200 children in the age range 8-18. They are monitored while playing basketball and volleyball, during schooltime and at home, with the aim of finding out the best training methods for them. This project will be completed and evaluated in June 2024. All of these pilot projects are performed at the expense of the customer and are quite large at 150-200 test persons for each project.
Through discussions we have several larger cooperations ongoing both in the lone worker area, as well as in the Health and Medical sector.
Having a professional management with incentive structures contributes to us all having the same goal: to grow with profitability.
The second investment area was entered into during the first quarter 2024: the strategic partnership with KAYA Climate Solutions GmbH. KAYA is one of the few experienced project developers in nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our collaboration aims to be a starting point for large impact in climate change mitigation and adaptation through landscape restoration and nature conservation which will be financed by the voluntary carbon market and similar mechanisms.
We are now about to start our first mutual project in Angola, a forestry management and planting pilot project in the Angolan State of Melange which is very exciting. As Crown’s knowledge, experience and assets in Angola are well developed since many years, Angola and Luanda will become even more important to us going forward. The business area Asset Development and Management based there is also doing very well, with full occupancy and a lot of interest from serious foreign clients and potential investors.
In the oil and gas business, the one remaining asset is a passive holding of a Licence which following the signing of a sale and purchase agreement will lead to a divestment. After the reporting period during the second quarter, we have received another 8 million USD payment according to the agreed schedule.
Yoav Ben-Eli
CEO, Crown Energy