Royal HaskoningDHV reports significant growth in 2022

Erik Oostwegel, CEO: “I’m pleased to report we grew our company. In general, market conditions were good in 2022, the order intake was good and we were able to attract many new colleagues. We continued our focus on innovation and saw an increasing demand for our engineering, design and consultancy services combined with our technology and software. This included the launch of Twinn, the platform that unifies our portfolio of software and data solutions.”

Jasper de Wit, CFO: “In 2022 our revenue grew by 13% of which 10% was organic. EBITA recurring ended at €29.8 million which is lower than last year because of the investments in our software business, increased operational costs due to inflation, and a one-off compensation payment to employees facing higher prices. EBITA recurring is after profit sharing with employees of €14.5 million (2021: €11.4 million).”

Marije Hulshof, Executive Board member and from 4 April 2023 the new CEO: “In 2022 we made good progress with the execution of our Stronger25 strategy. Our Global Leading Markets delivered revenue growth close to 20%. We were well-placed to respond to client demands connected to climate change, rising energy prices and logistical issues.

“To strengthen and extend our ability to help clients realign and futureproof their logistics activities, we acquired supply chain specialists Districon. We also grew our stake in Singapore-based Hydroinformatics Institute to offer clients digital consultancy services to help them become more climate resilient.”

Spending on acquisitions, the start of the refurbishment of the future office on the TU Delft Campus, the organic growth and the increase in working capital impacted free cash flow.

Sustainability

During 2022 Royal HaskoningDHV further embedded its purpose Enhancing Society Together to drive positive environmental and social impact through projects and its own operations. A Purpose Matrix was created to provide all colleagues guidance and reference for project and client vetting and daily practice. It has been integrated into the project management processes and systems, and is also being used to reflect progress during project implementation.

This commitment to lead on sustainability is also reflected in the company’s ambitious net-zero targets – approved by the Science Based Targets initiative: 

• Reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from mainly offices by 95% by 2030 and 100% by 2050 from a 2019 base year. 
• Reduce scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions mainly related to business travel by 67% by 2030 from a 2019 base year.

In 2022, the company made good progress here: scope 1 emissions were 64% lower than in 2019, scope 2 emissions 29% lower and scope 3 emissions 58% lower. The revision of the travel policy in early 2022 contributed significantly to this.

Outlook

Erik Oostwegel: “For us, 2023 has started strongly and the outlook is good. Climate change, investments in emissions reduction and phasing out the fossil economy are creating a substantial long-term opportunity and demand for our services. Continuing investments in our digital and software capabilities, our domain expertise and recent acquisitions enable us to remain a trusted partner for our clients.

“We also continue to take a critical look at how automation and digitisation can make our work faster and better. In this way, we can reduce costs and help our people focus on what they do best: use their knowledge, creativity and expertise to help clients while driving positive environmental and social impact.”