In 2021, the FAMUR Group achieved a revenue of PLN 1,050 million and the EBITDA result amounting to PLN 314 million. Operating cash flow reached PLN 209 million, despite the increase in FAMUR’s involvement in the purchase of components necessary for the construction of photovoltaic farms. At the end of December 2021, the FAMUR Group reported PLN 423 million excess cash over gross financial debt. The share of revenue from the domestic market accounted for 66 percent, export business brought the remaining 34 percent. 

In May 2021, the company announced its decision to change its strategic direction and enter renewable energy (RES) projects. The green transition of the FAMUR Group assumes that the company will aim to achieve about 70 percent of its revenues from sources unrelated to steam coal by the end of 2024. In the second half of 2021, FAMUR issued Green Bonds worth PLN 400 million, to finance the implementation of the green transition strategy. 

“The year 2021 is a turning point in the development of the FAMUR Group, opening new paths of development towards green technologies. The competences built by the FAMUR Group in the industry and energy sector, the scale of the implemented projects, a unique resource base and a strong financial position will allow the Group to adapt its business profile to the changes in the economic environment, which is currently changing following the New Green Deal policy. Based on the update of strategic directions presented in May last year, we intend to methodically build a strong position of the FAMUR Group in the RES sector and other promising industries supporting the green transition,” says Mirosław Bendzera, President of the Management Board of FAMUR S.A.

Building the PV segment in the FAMUR Group

The first step towards transforming the FAMUR Group into a holding company investing in the green transition was to commence business in the photovoltaic (PV) sector. An entity investing, among other projects, in the area of renewable energy sources (RES) was created on the basis of the combined resources and competences of Projekt Solartechnik (PST), TDJ and FAMUR Group. The strategic goal is to become a leader in comprehensively implementing large-scale photovoltaic farm projects (solar power plants) and medium-sized photovoltaic installations (for business customers and enterprises). In the second half of 2021, FAMUR issued Green Bonds worth PLN 400 million, to finance the implementation of the green transition strategy.

“In 2021, we focused on organizing the structure of the sector, integrating PST Group companies, and establishing an investment fund to manage our PV portfolio. Operational activities, on the other hand, mainly included purchases of photovoltaic projects, development of own ventures, and construction of photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of over 130 MW. It is worth noting that in the case of the PV farms currently under construction, we have already found a customer for the generated electricity until 2024. We have also been working on optimizing the financing of farms under construction in the form of “project finance”, which ended in March 2022 with signing the largest – so far – agreement with a credit limit of PLN 428 million. We are currently seeking a buyer for the portfolio of these farms under construction. In June and December 2021, we were successful in the RES auctions organized by the Energy Regulatory Office, won by our projects with a total capacity of 161 MW. At the end of 2021, the estimated total capacity of projects in our portfolio, at various stages of development, was about 1.6 GW – including more than 300 MW with winning 2019, 2020 and 2021 auctions,” concludes Mirosław Bendzera.

In addition to the developed PV area, FAMUR plans to focus on sectors with the greatest growth potential that can benefit from the energy transition. The company has defined priority areas in terms of potential M&A, these are wind energy (offshore & onshore), energy storage, HVAC, cogeneration (CHP), energy transmission and distribution, smart metering, smart grids and broadly defined electromobility.

Results in the mining machinery segment

Regardless of the intense diversification efforts, the FAMUR Group maintains a strong position in the global market for mining machinery and equipment. The results in this segment achieved by the FAMUR Group in 2021 were affected by the decarbonisation policy processes and by facing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the global economy and business operations. Since the beginning of last year, the market situation in segments related to the mining industry witnessed a significant rebound in coal prices on global markets. This situation was reflected in an increase in inquiries from foreign markets. As a result, in 2021 the FAMUR Group won new orders for equipment supplies from traditional foreign markets. At the same time, the Group is expanding into new markets: it has signed another contract for delivery of a set of the Mikrus system to the Chinese market, a contract for delivery of machines to a customer from Indonesia, as well as concluded a contract for delivery of a powered roof support with the approximate worth of USD 28 million (approx. PLN 111 million) to a coking coal mine in the USA. In total, the share of FAMUR Group’s revenue from foreign markets amounted to 34 percent in 2021.

Commercial activity in this segment allowed the company to acquire new orders in 2021, both from Poland and abroad, amounting to approximately PLN 950 million. In Q4 of 2021, the total value of acquired orders amounted to PLN 367 million.

In the mining machinery segment, the Group conducts development projects with particular focus on the supply of modern technologies dedicated to the extraction of strategic resources, such as coking coal or potash salts. Following Industry 4.0 trends, FAMUR is systematically developing training tools using virtual reality, remote diagnostics, and field service smart glasses technology to operate equipment for various industry sectors. As part of this activity, we developed and implemented a concept to create an innovative SIGMA (Service in Grid Monitoring Area) room. It is an idea based on the use of modern technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), webex, smart glasses and smart mining. The SIGMA room allows users to collaborate online with customers, provides real-time analysis of machine parameters, and enables users to connect with an operator equipped with field service smart glasses from anywhere in the world. The SIGMA room has been in operation in the Katowice headquarters of the FAMUR Group since September 2021. Its equipment enables field service optimisation through efficient diagnostics and technical support for customers in various industries.