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”Up until today we have repaired turbines with a total capacity of 5.3 GW. This is a significant achievement, and it shows that ZITON plays a pivotal role in the energy transformation.”
Thorsten Jalk, CEO at ZITON, presents the annual report of 2023, and shares his perspectives of ZITON’s role in the transition towards a more sustainable future as well as the prospects for the company.
ZITON is the market-leading service provider of major component replacements in offshore wind. We have carried out more than 1,650 major component replacements at 76 wind farms across 26 WTG models and 7 countries.
JANUARY
JANUARY - DECEMBER
FEBRUARY - APRIL
MARCH - MAY
APRIL
MAY - JULY
JUNE
JUNE - DECEMBER
JULY
AUGUST
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER
AUGUST - NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER
DECEMBER
With the currently known and relevant projects, the number of installed offshore turbines in Europe is expected to reach a total of 9,250 within the next five years, and all of these will require servicing during their lifespan of at least 30 years.
The strategic direction for ZITON
contains five key elements.
ZITON has developed a multi-year ESG strategy with milestones to be achieved in the coming years. A first milestone in the strategy was to perform our initial double materiality assessment (“DMA”) to determine which sustainability matters that are material for the company. The DMA will lay the foundation for our reporting according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”).
The focus for 2024 is to prepare our progress reporting according to the ESG targets that are defined in the ESG-linked loan that ZITON entered into in June 2023. Further, we continue to reduce emissions through SSEMP and explore existing solutions such as hybrid systems and operational improvements for more effective use of fuel. The long-term strategy is expected to include emission targets for new build programmes, new propulsion systems and alternative fuels.
During 2023, we continued to see a high level of demand for full-service solutions including technicians. We further developed our full-service solution to encompass storage and care of turbine components. We have generally achieved very high customer satisfaction on projects, which we have delivered as full-service solutions.
The focus for 2024 is continued improvement and development of our offering of full-service solutions for major component replacements to create value for customers and differentiate ZITON in the market.
In 2023, ZITON expanded the fleet to include two vessels capable of servicing 6-10 MW turbines with the purchase of J/U WIND ENERGY. The vessel initiated a six-year time charter agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy ("SGRE") at the end of February 2023. Further, the time charter with SGRE for J/U WIND ENTERPRISE was extended from mid-2025 to the end of 2029, and thereby the vessel will continue to service some of the largest turbines installed.
The focus for 2024 is to avoid unexpected off-hire days by maintaining J/U WIND ENTERPRISE and J/U WIND ENERGY in good condition. Further, we will continue to explore our opportunities to expand our fleet of vessels to continue to serve the larger turbines being installed.
During 2023, we implemented a cloud-based ERP-system and we updated our machine learning platform to utilise Microsoft’s investments in artificial intelligence, and we incorporated the latest development in major component replacements showing an increased number of failures when the turbines reach an age beyond six years. Further, to prepare for ESRS reporting, we have consolidated most of our ESG data in a unified database.
During 2024, we will continue to invest in digitalisation as well as our data platform, and our cyber security focus will be further strengthened.
During the last year, we have maintained a strong focus on the northern European market that continues to show strong growth driven by the energy transformation and energy security agenda.
The northern European market continues to grow and is very attractive. However, we will continue to monitor profitable business development opportunities in other geographical areas including being prepared to assist our customers in their global expansion plans.
ZITON’s core business is to own and operate specialised jack-up vessels. ZITON provides full-service solutions for major component replacements, including maritime project planning & execution, lift planning & execution, specialised tools & lifting equipment, and technicians in addition to jack-ups with experienced crews.
We care for our environment, and our vessels are less harmful to the environment compared to many of the other vessels in the market.
At ZITON, we recognise our responsibilities within the areas of environmental, social and governance ("ESG"), and therefore we are transparent and accountable on our policies and reporting. To emphasise this further, we conducted an initial double materiality assessment ("DMA") in 2023, to determine which ESG topics are material for the company.
The Board of Directors has approved the ESG strategy of ZITON. The ESG strategy includes a roadmap for our ESG initiatives and an ESG working committee overseeing the implementation of these initiatives. Progress on the implementation is regularly reported to the Board of Directors. The ESG working committee prioritise ESG initiatives as well as coordinate and manage resources and develop competences across the organisation.
In 2023, ZITON conducted a DMA to determine which ESG topics are material for the company. The process was created and conducted based on the final European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”) published in July 2023, and the assessment considers both impact materiality and financial materiality. An ESG topic meets the criterion of materiality if it is material from either the impact perspective or the financial perspective or both (double).
The result of ZITON’s DMA was the identification of 15 ESG topics or sustainability matters (“SMs”) deemed material. The material SMs for ZITON spans over both environmental, social and governance themes, and they are listed in the table below.
Overall, at ZITON, we aim at being respected for our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and minimise pollution as well as our contributions to society and our workers together with our way of conducting our business.
Krists Versels
Site Supervisor, ZITON Contractors A/S
Annual report for ZITON
Want to get the full overview of our 2023 financial results?
You can download the annual report below.
© 2024 ZITON A/S – Designed by Aveo web&marketing
Dear stakeholders,
As CEO, I am pleased to present ZITON’s annual report 2023.
Underpinned by energy transformation and energy security, offshore wind continues to grow in Europe. The installed capacity reached a total of 38 GW in 2023, with WindEurope expecting it to increase to as much as 132 GW by 2030.
In a growing installation market, we have retained our focus on major component replacements and keeping turbines up and running. This strategy was set almost twenty years ago, and up until today we have repaired turbines with a total capacity of 5.3 GW. This is a huge achievement, and it shows that ZITON plays a pivotal role in the energy transformation by providing second-to-none services and full-service solutions to the renewable energy industry.
We do this by maintaining a versatile fleet of dedicated O&M vessels and an organisation that has unprecedented experience and know-how to perform major component replacements. Our strategy is to grow our fleet in line with the market, and we took a leap forward in 2023 by purchasing J/U WIND ENERGY – the sister vessel of J/U WIND ENTERPRISE. With this purchase, we now have two vessels capable of servicing the largest installed turbines of up to 10 MW.
In 2023, we extended the current time charter with SGRE for J/U WIND ENTERPRISE until the end of 2029 at a significant higher day rate. Further, we entered into a six years time charter with SGRE for J/U WIND ENERGY, which was initiated at the end of February 2024.
During the process of buying the vessel in China, transporting it to Denmark, and upgrading it to high European standards, we encountered several challenges, but I am proud to say that we made it happen and successfully delivered the vessel to our customer. This was only possible through the resilience and determination of our people all across the organisation.
Our strong operational development was also visible in our financial performance. Our revenue increased by more than 20% and now exceeds EUR 70m, and our earnings in terms of EBITDA increased by 35% to EUR 36m. This development has transformed us into a company with a strong foundation to take further advantage of the industry’s growth in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Thorsten Jalk,
CEO, ZITON A/S
Set out below are the key financial figures we use in decision-making and to evaluate our performance including prior-year comparative figures.
ZITON presents its consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices (IFRS). Accordingly, key figures and ratios have been prepared in accordance with CFA Society Denmark’s online version of ”Recommendations & Ratios”. In addition, ZITON presents APMs according to the Directives of European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”).
Want to get the full overview of our 2023 financial results?
You can download the annual report below.