Campine reports best results ever
With a net result of € 7 million, Campine recorded its best result ever.
2017 had a difficult start, related to the announcement of the EU commission fining Campine € 8.2 million for alleged purchase agreements in the used battery market. But the increasing metal prices and a good operational performance contributed to strong financial results throughout the year.
The excellent results allowed the company to pay the fine (which was recorded in the 2016 financials) from its own cash-flows. Campine also applied for appeal against the fine, for which a final decision is expected by mid 2019.
The company wants to build on these strong results: "For 2018 we have foreseen an investment budget of over € 7 million to allow capacity increases and productivity improvements" says Chairman Patrick De Groote. "It is the first step of a new business plan that will be rolled out later in the year". Campine appointed board member Willem De Vos as new CEO in August 2017, who is expected to grab new business opportunities in the circular economy.
"Our extensive knowledge in lead recycling from car batteries and metal scraps allowed us to gain expertise in extracting different other metals from post-consumer and industrial waste streams and this opens many doors for synergies in the future" says CEO De Vos, who also clarifies that "The Lead-acid battery still has a long life, because electric cars need such battery to power all systems other than the engine". De Vos's former experience is mainly in the chemicals and plastics sector and also there he sees opportunities: "We are speeding up innovation in our product portfolio for polymer fire protection solutions in a market where demand for flame retardant plastics grows yearly with double digits."
"Additionally, there are possibilities to combine our metal recycling expertise with plastics, leading to a diversified product offering, which will allow Campine to continue on a stable growth path" concludes De Vos.
In annex you'll find the full version of the press release.
