Fundamental Information about the Group

As the personally liable general partner of BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG (BLG KG), the listed company BREMER LAGERHAUS-GESELLSCHAFT -Aktiengesellschaft von 1877- (BLG AG) has assumed the management of the BLG Group. These two companies, which are closely linked in legal, commercial and organizational respects, have prepared the consolidated financial statements as joint parents.

BLG AG does not hold any share capital in BLG KG and is also not entitled to participate in the company’s profits. It receives remuneration for the liability it has assumed and for its business management activities. All limited partnership shares of BLG KG are held by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (municipality). The business of BLG KG is managed by the Board of Management of BLG AG as a governing body of the general partner. The Board of Management is fully accountable for managing the business in accordance with Section 76 (1) of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) and is not subject to instructions from the shareholders.

Business model and organizational structure

The BLG Group operates externally under the brand BLG LOGISTICS. BLG LOGISTICS is a seaport-oriented logistics service provider with an international network. We have a presence in all the world’s growth markets, with over 100 companies and offices in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. We offer our customers in industry and retailing complex logistics system services.

As a strategic management holding company, BLG KG focuses on strategic developments at Group level. As a result, the holding company’s influence on the operating business is greater than that of a pure financial holding company, but it is also significantly less than in the case of an operational management holding company. The Board of Management members responsible for the three divisions AUTOMOBILE, CONTRACT and CONTAINER play a special role as an interface to the operating units. The Board of Management determines the Group strategy by creating strategic guidelines at Group level; together with the operations managers, the relevant Board of Management member determines the strategy at division level within the framework of the Group strategy and is responsible for the strategic management of the division. Fulfillment of the respective strategies is supported by the central departments.

In accordance with its defined mission, BLG LOGISTICS aims to make logistics simpler for its customers, so that they can focus on being successful in the market.

BLG LOGISTICS operates in three divisions. The reporting also follows this structure.

The AUTOMOBILE and CONTRACT Divisions are subdivided into business areas and/or regions. Responsibility for the operational management of the business areas/regions, including earnings responsibility, lies with the relevant business area/regional managers. The Group management of the EUROGATE GmbH & Co. KGaA, KG subgroup is responsible for the CONTAINER Division.

AUTOMOBILE Division

The AUTOMOBILE Division is a leading technical and logistics service provider for the international automotive industry. In the 2022 financial year, our worldwide AUTOMOBILE network handled, transported or technically processed 4.7 million vehicles.

In this division, BLG LOGISTICS offers multimodal transport concepts with global logistics reach and dovetails customized and innovative technical service packages. Distribution takes place by road, rail and inland waterway. In addition to the seaport terminals in Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Hamburg (all Germany) and in Gdansk (Poland), the AUTOMOBILE Division also operates several inland terminals on the Rhine and the Danube. Our truck fleet bases extend right across Europe.

BLG AutoRail is a specialist provider of vehicle transport services by rail, with its own fleet of 1,500 open double-deck railroad cars including 200 flat wagons. This means that the logistics supply chain from the vehicle manufacturers to the end customer is fully covered.

Our wheels never stop turning: BLG’s AUTOMOBILE Division consistently supplements its logistics network with smart digital solutions and sustainable concepts for climate-friendly transport.

CONTRACT Division

The CONTRACT Division manages complex projects and offers our customers reliable logistics solutions. The focus of our know-how and experience lies in procurement, production and distribution logistics as well as in reverse and spare parts logistics. We offer storage, transport, packing and unpacking services, handle conventional orders, e commerce issues and also a variety of value-added services.

As logistics architects, we design, configure, implement and operate customized logistics solutions, ranging from highly automated logistics centers to manual in-house handling. Project management is our core competence, and sustainability plus agreed, reliable quality are our top priorities.

Our customers are strong brands from industry and retailing, medium-sized companies and the major German and international car manufacturers. We work at our logistics centers and our customers’ production facilities and plants at over 40 locations in Europe and overseas. Be it automotive parts, railroad components, sportswear, printers, fashion, furniture, foodstuffs, sanitary fixtures and fittings or frozen products – our teams of experts put together customized service packages for a wide variety of goods.

CONTAINER Division

The CONTAINER Division is represented by the EUROGATE joint venture. The EUROGATE Group, in which BLG LOGISTICS holds a 50 percent stake, is a shipping line–independent container terminal group with operations predominantly in Europe. Together with the Italian terminal operator CONTSHIP Italia, the company operates a network of 11 container terminals from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Secondary services are also available in the form of intermodal and container-related services.

Changes in the group of consolidated companies

AUTOMOBILE Division

Against the background of the de facto loss of control in connection with the Russian war of aggression, BLG Logistics Automobile St. Petersburg Co. Ltd., St. Petersburg, Russia, was deconsolidated with effect from December 31, 2022.

In June 2022, BLG AutoTerminal Bremerhaven GmbH & Co. KG, Bremerhaven, founded BLG GLOVIS GmbH, Bremerhaven, as a joint venture with the shipping company Hyundai GLOVIS. Hyundai GLOVIS will in the coming years use BLG AutoTerminal Bremerhaven as a European hub for its automobile transports between Asia and Europe. The aim of the joint venture is to bundle volumes and thus optimize the logistics chains of automobile manufacturers, taking into account transit times, costs and environmental influences.

Under contract of May 18, 2022, BLG Automobile Logistics Süd-/Osteuropa GmbH, Bremen, sold its shares in Autoterminal Slask Logistic Sp. z o. o., Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland.

CONTRACT Division

Owing to the discontinuation of business operations, BLG AUTO LOGISTICS OF SOUTH AFRICA (Pty) Ltd., Port Elizabeth, South Africa, was deconsolidated with effect from December 31, 2022.

In order to expand its business activities, BLG Logistics of South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Port Elizabeth, South Africa founded Autovision South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Port Elizabeth, South Africa, together with partners. The object of the joint venture is the provision of value-creating activities, such as painting car parts.

Research and development

In order to make our customers’ logistics processes fit for the future, we are committed to developing new solutions on an ongoing basis. At the same time, we focus on continuous process optimization across the entire service portfolio.

The focus in the reporting year was on the further development of the innovation process, which resulted in closer cooperation between the innovation team and the operating divisions. In the future, the Technology department will assume responsibility in the CONTRACT Division for the development of MVPs (minimum viable products) based on new technologies and their subsequent implementation. This covers topics such as autonomous driving, robots, cobots, AMR (autonomous mobile robots) and new work. For digitalization activities in the context of data strategies (data warehouse), AI/BI or digital workflows, “digital services” have been pooled in a newly established team within the central IT department since 2022, thus giving them a clearer focus.

We are also continuing to collaborate in research and development projects with partners from science and industry on brand new, particularly complex concepts. Seven such projects were undertaken in 2022.

The “INSERT” project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, was successfully completed on November 30, 2022 after a project duration of 2.5 years. The goal was to develop an AI-based assistance system for drafting initial concepts for production and logistics planning. Through collaboration with the planner and the prototype developed in the project, it was possible to significantly shorten planning processes and enhance the planning quality of the developed concepts. The four project partners are conducting a close dialog on possible follow-up activities and the further development of the new tool.

Building on the results of the earlier successful “Isabella” project, the “Isabella 2.0” project launched on July 1, 2020 was continued in the reporting year. The goal is to integrate the loading and unloading of trucks, railroad cars and ships into the previously developed intelligent management approach. To this end, further digitalization needs were identified and solutions designed. For example, a dedicated app is being developed to display the loading plan, including loading sequence management. A dashboard for visualizing Isabella processes is also in the pipeline. Training programs with existing and newly developed content will be supported in the future by a virtual training environment.

The development of the demonstrator was the focus of the “KITE” research project in 2022. In the demonstrator, vehicles, existing transport orders, freight exchange orders and AI-generated forecast orders are combined to optimize transport routes. The goal is to reduce emissions, for example, by avoiding empty runs. In addition, the AI identifies upselling opportunities that will allow currently unserved regions to be developed in a targeted manner. A broad database of historical transport data was created for the artificial intelligence.

The “PortSkill 4.0” project launched in 2021 was also continued in the reporting year. One focus here was to survey and analyze the existing job profiles in the port environment. Studies and analyses were also conducted on the basis of expert interviews, surveys, workshops and literature research to determine whether and to what extent technical developments and innovations are suitable for possible application in the port environment. The next step is to collate the results of the two analyses to define future job profiles in the port and, on this basis, develop initial training concepts.

“MEXOT,” a new IHATEC (Innovative Port Technologies) research project was launched on January 1, 2022. The aim is to ensure the holistic ergonomic design of technical workstations and upstream picking activities. For this purpose, passive exoskeletons are being fitted with measuring sensors and coupled with customizable driverless transport vehicles (DTV), for example to enable (semi-)automated materials allocation. The ergonomics data will be used to develop an incentive platform that gives employees direct personal feedback and integrates gamification approaches to increase motivation.

The “Mobility2Grid (M2G) research campus” and “HyBit” projects were also launched in the reporting year. Mobility2Grid is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and was launched on March 1, 2022. In collaboration with many other research and industry partners, the goal through to February 28, 2027 is to develop efficient and networked systems for a climate-neutral city. The ultimate goal of BLG LOGISTICS is to demonstrate the feasibility of an electric tractor unit with a megawatt charging system in continuous operation. Its use is being trialed with the plant supplies for a customer based at the supplier logistics center in Falkensee.

The “HyBit” research project started on September 1, 2022 and is the initial step toward development of a hydrogen hub in Bremen. The central research question is how hydrogen hubs can contribute to a sustainable and climate-neutral Europe. BLG LOGISTICS’ project activities focus on cluster mobility and logistics. The aim of the project is to develop a methodology for analyzing and assessing various hydrogen deployment options, which BLG LOGISTICS will test under real-world conditions. BLG LOGISTICS will also participate in identifying potential pilot applications for the use of hydrogen and roughly map these out. HyBit involves a consortium of 18 partners and will run for 4.5 years.

In 2022, BLG LOGISTICS thus participated in a total of seven cooperation projects with a total project volume of EUR 57.6 million.

Relevant legal and economic factors

BLG LOGISTICS has to observe a wide range of national and international legislation. In addition to regulations under public law, capital market law, employment law including occupational health and safety legislation, transport and customs laws and competition law are particularly relevant to us.

Collective pay agreements in Germany are one of the most important economic factors for BLG LOGISTICS, as a large proportion of the workforce is employed in Germany and personnel expenses for our own as well as external staff represent a major cost item. Because our business model is capital-intensive in all divisions, the cost of capital also plays a significant role.

Group control

Management indicators

The key management indicators of BLG LOGISTICS that we apply throughout the Group form the basis for our operational and strategic management decisions. We use them to set targets, measure the company’ performance and determine the variable compensation of managerial staff and non-tariff employees – among other factors.

The core management indicators are:

• Revenue
  Group revenue is derived from the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income and does not include the revenue of the CONTAINER Division.



• EBIT
  On account of the significant contribution of the CONTAINER Division to earnings, income from equity investments is also included in EBIT.

  Earnings before income and taxes (EBIT) is calculated at BLG LOGISTICS as follows:

  • Revenue
  • Other income
  • Cost of materials
  • Personnel expenses
  • Depreciation, amortization and impairments
  • Other expenses
  • Net investment income

• EBT
  Earnings before taxes (EBT) is the basis for determining profitability, independently of tax effects that cannot be influenced.

  This is also suitable for measuring profitability in an international comparison.

• EBT margin
  Dividing EBT by revenue produces the EBT margin. This is an indicator of a company’s efficiency and profitability.

• RoCE
  Return on capital employed (RoCE) is a key indicator that measures how efficiently and profitably a company uses its capital. It is calculated by dividing EBIT by the capital employed. Capital employed at BLG LOGISTICS includes the following components:

  • Non-current assets (incl. financial assets)
  • Inventories
  • Trade receivables
  • Trade payables

The key performance indicators revenue, EBIT, EBT and EBT margin are also determined within the scope of internal monthly reporting as well as within the scope of corporate planning and forecasts. RoCE is only reported on a Group-wide basis and will only in the future be included in monthly reporting.

In addition to the above-mentioned indicators, the variable remuneration of the Board of Management and, from the 2023 financial year, also of non-tariff employees, is also measured against the targets for CO₂ emissions, the 1,000-employee rate based on work-related accidents, and the proportion of trainees in the total workforce. The other financial and non-financial key performance indicators are individual management variables depending on the operating business unit. This includes measurement variables such as vehicle handling, processed quantities, energy consumption or container handling. In order to assess future developments, we rely on a continuous dialog with customers and closely monitor overall economic developments in order to be able to react to changes in a timely manner.

For explanations regarding the forecast key performance indicators and the degree to which they were reached in the 2022 financial year, please refer to the Report on Economic Position. The forecast for the current year is explained in the Outlook.

Non-financial performance indicators

The number of persons employed in the divisions, excluding the Board of Management as well as apprentices and trainees, is shown in the table, broken down by division, pursuant to Section 267 (5) HGB (annual average):

As an international seaport-oriented logistics service provider, BLG LOGISTICS requires committed, motivated and skilled employees in order to be successful in the market over the long term and to meet the continuous challenges of globalization and demographic change. Since the 2019 financial year, this has been underscored by a wide range of measures and campaigns under the motto “#SuccessDependsOnEverybody” spanning all levels from temporary employees to the Board of Management and all areas and locations of BLG LOGISTICS.

In order to attract, develop and retain its employees, BLG LOGISTICS aims to consistently maintain its image as an attractive company on the labor market. That is why our personnel policies include options for maintaining a work–life balance and specific health management mechanisms, as well as performance-related pay and targeted training opportunities.

The successful implementation of a clear and forward-looking strategy largely depends on BLG LOGISTICS’ management. Our leadership principles and our corporate values support us in achieving a shared understanding of leadership at all levels.

In the reporting year, the average number of employees (excluding the CONTAINER Division) decreased by 483 persons year on year, which is equivalent to 4.7 percent.

This reflected in particular the loss of the Leipzig location in the CONTRACT Division, which was no longer included in the statistics for the 2022 financial year due to a switch of service provider, as is customary in contract logistics. On the other hand, new employees were hired in the 2022 financial year at new locations in BLG LOGISTICS’ retail logistics business area. In the AUTOMOBILE Division, the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic (falling demand, difficulties in obtaining parts, reluctance to buy, etc.) resulted in lower staffing requirements, so that, for example, vacant positions were not immediately filled and fixed-term contracts were not extended.

Non-financial report

In accordance with the provisions of the Act to Strengthen Non-Financial Reporting by Companies in their Management Reports and Group Reports (CSR Directive Implementation Act), BLG LOGISTICS has prepared a non-financial Group statement in accordance with Section 315b HGB since the 2017 financial year. This statement is integrated into the sustainability report as a separate non-financial report, which can be downloaded from reporting.blg-logistics.com. Our 2022 sustainability report also details other non-financial topics.