Royal HaskoningDHV looks to the future with confidence

Last year was challenging for the company as the European market continued to shrink with fierce competition on price. This resulted in the need for further restructuring with redundancies being made in mainly the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom. In addition, 2013 was also about rationalising the merged overhead structure resulting in substantial savings.

International business grows

Despite the market conditions Royal HaskoningDHV won repeat business with long standing clients and secured a number of large international projects in Qatar, Mozambique, Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia. In addition, Royal HaskoningDHV's patented waste water treatment process, Nereda, continues to make good progress with license agreements now in place for amongst others the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Overall, the company now has a strong base and looks to the future with confidence.

New offices and acquisitions

The company opened offices in Brazil (São Paulo) and Myanmar (Yangon) to meet the demand for its services in these countries. Earlier in the year the company acquired UK aviation specialist IPM to expand its presence in the aviation sector. In Indonesia, the company acquired PT DBI (Dwira Bangun Indonesia), a building services consultancy in Jakarta.

Corporate responsibility

During the year, the company demonstrated that innovation, collaboration and commitment to sustainability can make a real difference to society. Royal HaskoningDHV was involved in circular economy initiatives in the textile, IT and chemical industries.

The company also launched a green fund to promote CO2 reduction in local communities. In South Africa it achieved Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Level 2 Certification.

Outlook

The merger and integration work is now completed and the sustainable financial performance remains the company's main objective. Its long-term strategy is to focus on fully integrated services that can be delivered worldwide: aviation, maritime and waterways, buildings, industry, energy and mining, planning and strategy, infrastructure, rivers, deltas and coasts and water technology.

There are opportunities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe. With markets in general showing signs of recovery, the company is confident that its profitability will start to show a steady upward curve that will lead to future growth.

To support the international focus of the company a global career framework will be introduced in 2014 to facilitate further transition towards a transnational company.

Together with its strong team of committed people across the world, Royal HaskoningDHV looks forward to continuing the delivery of its world class solutions to all its clients in 2014 and beyond.