Annual Report 2020

Ferd’s value-adjusted equity at the end of 2020 was NOK 41.2 billion, following a return for the year of NOK 6.3 billion. Ferd holds a diversified portfolio of privately owned and listed equity investments, real estate and external funds.

Ferd’s equity investments provide good diversification between sectors and geographical markets. At the end of 2020, approximately 40% of Ferd’s investments were exposed to Norway, while no single sector represented more than 25% of its total exposure. 40% of Ferd’s investments were in Norwegian krone, approximately 25% are in US dollar, approximately 25% are in euro and 10% are in other currencies. The Norwegian krone fluctuated in value significantly against the US dollar and the euro in 2020, but overall Ferd recognised a foreign exchange gain on its value-adjusted equity of under 1%.

Division of Ferd’s value-adjusted equity at 31 December 2020 between business areas:

Since its launch in the spring of 2001, Ferd has generated a total return of NOK 37.8 billion, equivalent to an annual return of 10.6%. It is important that the returns achieved by Ferd are assessed in the context of the absolute return achieved over time and how this relates to the level of risk exposure that has been involved. Ferd’s value-adjusted equity since 31 December 2000:

¹Annual growth rate are including dividends

Ferd AS reports an accounting result for the year of NOK 6,508 million, which is an increase of NOK 2,780 million from 2019. The table below shows that in 2020 the operating profit of each of Ferd’s business areas was higher than in 2019. The returns delivered by Ferd Capital’s portfolios of privately owned and listed companies were the most important reasons for the increase in the result for the year.

Operating profit by business area:

For further commentary on the improvements in operating profit achieved by Ferd’s business areas, see the separate sections on each area below.

Net cash flow for 2020 was made up of NOK 2,198 million from operating activities and NOK - 581 million from investment activities. Ferd’s cash flow from financing activities was NOK - 40 million.

The annual accounts have been prepared on the going concern assumption and, in accordance with Section 3- 3a of the Accounting Act, the Board confirms that the going concern assumption is appropriate.

The registered office of Ferd AS is at 10, Dronning Mauds gate, Oslo.

The group’s sales revenue was NOK 18.2 billion in 2020, as compared to NOK 15.3 billion in 2019. Ferd acquired Simployer at the end of 2019, and both Elopak and Mestergruppen achieved higher revenue in 2020 than in 2019. The income from Ferd’s financial investments increased from NOK 2.2 billion in 2019 to NOK 3.1 billion in 2020. Ferd Capital’s portfolio of listed companies delivered a positive return that was higher than in 2019, while the absolute return on Ferd Invest’s portfolio of shares was also higher than in 2019.

The group’s development activities are conducted at its subsidiaries. Development costs of NOK 150 million were expensed in 2020, an increase of NOK 11 million from 2019.

The group’s tax charge for 2020 was NOK 215 million as compared to a charge of NOK 493 million in 2019. The principal reason for the lower tax charge was that more of Ferd AS’ fund investments are now subject to the exemption method, and Ferd AS recognised a tax deduction for a loss realised in 2020.

Net cash flow for 2020 was made up of NOK 1,259 million from operating activities, NOK - 2,876 million from investment activities, and NOK 627 million from financing activities.

Ferd’s investment decisions are based to only a limited extent on the overall outlook for the macroeconomy and market developments. We are, rather, continually on the lookout for high-quality individual investment opportunities in all business areas. It is therefore factors specific to each investment opportunity that play the crucial role when deciding whether or not an investment is an attractive proposition.

The measures that the authorities implemented in 2020 to limit the spread of coronavirus resulted in a marked decrease in the level of economic activity. The unemployment rate increased significantly in most Western countries, including in Norway. Substantial economic measures relating to financial and monetary policy were implemented to reduce the consequences of the crisis. Central banks flooded the markets with liquidity and cut interest rates. In Norway, Norges Bank cut its key policy rate to zero. These economic stimulus measures are expected to be maintained in 2021.

There continues to be uncertainty about the length of time the economic recovery will take and when the coronavirus-related restrictions will be eased or lifted entirely. If the health authorities’ vaccination program can be completed as planned, the infection control measures may be eased before or during the summer of 2021. There is therefore uncertainty surrounding the continuing consequences for some of Ferd’s portfolio companies.

The overall vision for Ferd’s activities is to “create enduring value and leave clear footprints”. Ferd strives to maximise its value-adjusted equity capital over time.

The generational perspective inherent in the Andresen family's ownership provides Ferd with a flexibility and predictability that differentiate us from many other investment organisations. As well as our strong capital base, we also contribute our extensive expertise and a willingness to invest to deliver value creation. Our wide-ranging activities encompass active ownership and corporate development at private and stock exchange listed companies, financial equity investments, real estate development, investment via external managers, impact investing and social entrepreneurship.

As active owners, Ferd Capital and Ferd Real Estate use their influence to contribute to each company’s development and growth, always with the objective of delivering robust and sustainable value creation over time. They work with others to achieve the long-term value creation potential of the companies and real estate projects we own. Ferd Invest and Ferd External Managers are active investors in listed Nordic companies and international funds. Their aim is to identify high-quality companies and funds that will succeed in their respective markets over time. As active investors, they follow their investments closely.

It is Ferd’s intention that its allocation of capital should be characterised by a high equity exposure and good risk diversification. Ferd enjoys significant flexibility, does not have to hold a controlling interest and can take a long-term approach to ownership. This flexibility can give a competitive advantage in comparison with other investment companies that depend on sources of capital with limited time horizons.

The Board and executive group management regular reviews Ferd’s risk capacity under. This is particularly important when there are significant falls in the equity markets. The allocation of new capital, as well as the reallocation of capital between business areas, represents a systematic approach to making use of the group’s capital base. Capital allocation must be consistent with the owners’ willingness and ability to assume risk. Ferd’s risk of fall in value is measured and monitored continually with the help of stress testing.

Ferd always aims to maintain sound creditworthiness in order to ensure that it has freedom of manoeuvre and can readily access low-cost financing when it wishes. To protect Ferd’s other equity from risk, Ferd Capital and Ferd Real Estate carry out their privately owned investments as stand-alone projects. Good liquidity is important to ensuring Ferd has the freedom to manoeuvre as it wishes. Ferd has an internal liquidity requirement that stipulates that it must hold a minimum of NOK 4 billion in cash or liquid investments at all times. Ferd has always held liquidity comfortably in excess of the minimum liquidity requirements we impose internally. Ferd has an active approach to currency exposure and follows developments in the group’s levels of exposure to different currencies. We work on the assumption that a certain proportion of Ferd’s equity will always be invested in euro and US dollar denominated investments as well as other currencies.

Ferd’s vision is to “create enduring value and leave clear footprints”. Achieving this vision is a question of creating a return from multiple perspectives – not just from a financial perspective. It is about creating and developing companies, investment teams, organisations and changes that lead to progress for both individuals and society as a whole.

In 2020 Ferd continued and intensified its work on how all parts of the organisation can work on sustainability in a more unified and systematic way. We have selected the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the UN Global Compact as the framework for Ferd's sustainability work. Ferd assesses all its investments against the Government Pension Fund Global’s Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion from the Fund.

With regard to Ferd’s activities, it is useful to distinguish between two perspectives in relation to sustainability:

1. Active owner

Ferd’s role as an active owner gives us the influence to create sustainable change at the companies we own. Historically, strong corporate governance has been an important element in how we exercise active ownership, and we can see that our influence as an owner contributes to long-term value creation. Going forward, we will also implement a more structured approach to how we integrate environmental and social considerations into our ownership agenda at our portfolio companies. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations shall be integrated into our investment analysis, decision-making, ownership and reporting on all our activities.

1. Active investor

Where we are invested without having direct influence, we will, as an active investor, seek to influence companies and external managers to work on sustainability in a way that is relevant to their activities. We will enter into dialogue with them to communicate our expectations on how they address sustainability and how we will monitor this over time. This engagement will potentially lead to us exiting our investment if the company or fund does not make progress on ESG matters to our satisfaction. Due to our position and size, we believe that our voice will be heard both by individual companies and external managers alike.

The investor perspective is relevant to all our business areas in different ways. With regard to Ferd’s business areas, the active owner perspective is relevant to Ferd Capital, Ferd Real Estate and Ferd Social Entrepreneurs. Ferd’s business areas have different strategies for their ESG work as a result of the two different perspectives.

Ferd Capital now carries out an ESG analysis in relation to all new investment opportunities it assesses. If a potential investment is not assessed to be satisfactory from an ESG perspective, or if it is not probable that the ESG challenges associated with it can be resolved, no further work will be done on the opportunity. With regard to privately owned companies, Ferd enters into a discussion with the management of each company through its involvement in the work of each company’s board of directors regarding the targets on which the company will focus going forward. When sustainability targets are being selected, emphasis is put on identifying those targets that will have the biggest impact, e.g. on environmental challenges. In 2020 the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy attracted the attention of investors. The EU’s taxonomy is a shared classification system that determines which activities can be defined as sustainable. Ferd Capital worked on and assessed the question of what the taxonomy’s implications could be in terms of the investment opportunities it assesses as well as its existing portfolio companies. In order to ensure Ferd Real Estate’s sustainability work has a solid foundation, it endorses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and has signed the Norwegian Property Federation’s “The Property Sector’s Roadmap Towards 2050’. Constructing energy-efficient office buildings and recycling are two concrete examples of Ferd Real Estate’s sustainability work. Ferd Real Estate seeks to complete its projects using as few resources as possible by focusing on using recycled materials and by reducing and actively sorting waste.

Ferd Invest has integrated ESG analysis into its assessments of all the Nordic listed companies which it considers. Ferd Invest strives to be a predictable and good owner and to engage in meaningful dialogue with the boards and executive management teams of the companies in which they invest. Ferd Invest votes at the general meetings of the companies in which it invests in accordance with its shareholdings. Ferd External Managers has ESG as a set agenda point when assessing all new and existing external managers. If a fund does not have a satisfactory ESG strategy, this will be followed up with the fund. The fund will be given some time to implement measures to improve on ESG factors. If Ferd External Managers finds that the fund is not working to resolve its ESG insufficiencies, it will consider selling its investment in the fund. In the Global Equity mandate, Ferd External Managers has analysed a renewable energy funds.

Going forward, Ferd has a target of making more impact investments. Ferd recruited a new employee to manage this work in 2019, and a second person has now joined the team. Impact investments are investments made with a target of generating a social and/or environmental impact. Ferd Impact’s investments span a range of geographies and industries, but common to them all is that they are intended to have a significant positive impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Ferd Social Entrepreneurs (FSE) invests in social entrepreneurs both by taking equity stakes and by providing financial support. The primary aim of social entrepreneurship is to deliver social impact at the same time as helping organisations to become viable for the long term. Going forward, FSE’s sustainability work will be focused on impact management processes at the companies in which it is involved in order to demonstrate more clearly the relationship between their activities, measurable results, lasting change and social impact.

The objective for our corporate governance work is to contribute to better results over time by facilitating better decision-making processes, more precise risk assessment and improved decisions. This will, in turn, ensure that we operate in accordance with approved strategies and risk limits, and that these are adapted to our owners’ wishes.

A lean structure and an unbureaucratic approach are two of Ferd’s important competitive advantages. To preserve these advantages, it is important that the company has clearly defined limits and levels of authorisation to allow decisions to be delegated to a large extent.

There is therefore a clear division of roles between management and Ferd’s Board of Directors/owners. While at family-owned companies family members are often members of the board and executive management teams, Ferd has chosen a corporate governance model that is in line with recommended practice in Norway. One of the group’s owners is the chair of the Board, but he is not a member of its management team. The other owners are observer members of the Board of Directors of Ferd Holding AS, which has substantially the same responsibilities and authority as the board of a public company. The Board of Directors of Ferd Holding held eight board meetings in 2020.

Ferd Capital is a long-term, flexible and value-adding partner for Nordic companies. It has three investment mandates: private companies, listed companies and special investments. In 2020 the business area continued to focus on investment opportunities that make the most of Ferd’s ability to be flexible and to take a long-term approach. In the private transaction market Ferd Capital experienced a high level of competition for new investment opportunities during 2020, and they expect this to continue. Ferd Capital now has 12 privately owned companies in its portfolio following its acquisition of Norkart, which was announced in March 2021. Elopak is the largest privately owned company in the Ferd Capital portfolio, and is Ferd’s largest investment. In 2020 Elopak had a good year and delivered a strong improvement in profitability. Ferd Capital’s portfolio of privately owned companies consisted of the following at 31 December 2020:

• Elopak, which is a leading supplier of packaging systems for liquid food products. The company’s organisation and collaboration partners sell and market Elopak’s products in more than 100 countries.
• Aibel, which is a leading service company that works in oil, gas and offshore wind. Its 4,000 employees, who are located in Norway and internationally, work on fields and installations on land and offshore.
• Interwell, which is a leading Norwegian provider of high-tech well tools to national and international energy companies.
• Mestergruppen, which is one of Norway’s largest groups in the building materials trade, homebuilding chains for builders, and real estate development.
• Brav, which is a global brand warehouse in the sports and outdoor industry and has a portfolio of leading brands: Swix, Toko, Lundhags, Ulvang and Helsport.
• Servi, which develops and manufactures customer-specific hydraulic systems, cylinders and valves for offshore, maritime and land-based industries.
• Mnemonic, which is a market leader in Norway and one of Europe’s leading companies in information security.
• Fjord Line, which is a modern shipping company offering safe and environmentally friendly transport between Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
• Fürst Medisinsk Laboratorium, which is a privately owned laboratory specialising in medical biochemistry, clinical pharmacology, microbiology and pathology.
• Broodstock Capital, which focuses on small and medium-sized Nordic businesses in the seafood industry in general and in the aquaculture supplier industry in particular.
• Simployer, which provides organisations with tech and expertise in HR.

Ferd Capital’s summary of 2020 is available on Ferd’s website by clicking on the following link: Ferd Capital

Ferd Capital seeks to contribute actively to the development of the stock exchange listed companies in which it has invested. In 2020 Ferd Capital increased its ownership interest in several of its listed companies, and its biggest investments were made in Nilfisk and Boozt. Ferd Capital’s three largest listed investments are:

• Benchmark Holdings, which helps improve fish health and sustainability in the fish farming industry by selling specialist foods, breeding and genetics products, and medications. Benchmark is present in 27 countries and markets its products in more than 70 countries.
• Nilfisk, which is a leading global provider of cleaning equipment and products, primarily for the professional market. The company offers an extensive range of premium products, of which the main product lines are floor care equipment, vacuum cleaners and high-pressure washers.
• Boozt AB (Boozt) is a Nordic technology company that sells fashion and clothing online. Boozt.com is a multi-brand online store that offers more than 600 different brands for men, women and children.

The return from Ferd Capital’s portfolio of listed investments was very strong in 2020 at 41.8%. The best listed investment in 2020 was Boozt, which delivered a return of over 300%.

Ferd Capital made one new investment through its Special Investments mandate in 2020 and follow-up investments in a number of its existing investments. The portfolio delivered a very good return and was up 41.9% in the year.

The majority of the privately owned companies in which Ferd Capital has invested delivered better earnings in 2020 than in 2019, and Ferd was particularly pleased with this outcome given the reduction in economic activity associated with the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The return on Ferd Capital’s combined portfolio was 23.9%. Ferd Capital’s three portfolios were valued at NOK 24.3 billion at 31 December 2020.

Ferd Capital’s return in percentage and NOK terms over the past five years:

Ferd Real Estate is a leading urban developer. Ferd Real Estate creates value that is more than just a financial return through its active development, implementation and management of environmentally friendly real estate projects.

2020 proved to be another busy year for transactions in the commercial property market, with a large number of transactions and a significant volume in overall terms. The most important driver for the market has been the significant decrease in interest rates, and the yield on commercial real estate decreased. 2020 saw strong growth in residential real estate prices in Norway, with the rate of growth standing at 8.7%. Residential real estate prices grew more strongly in Oslo than in Norway as a whole, and in Oslo were up 12%. There was a high level of demand for residential properties in 2020, as well as a large number of transactions. A significant contributor to the growth in the real estate market was the fact that Norway’s key policy rate was cut to zero.

Ferd Real Estate achieved a good return on both its residential investments and its office properties. The reasons for this were the strong progress made at the majority of the business area’s individual projects and the increase in the value of its properties. The portfolio generated a return for 2020 of 15.7%. At the end of 2020, the value of the business area’s real estate holdings was NOK 14.3 billion and the equity value of the portfolio was NOK 5.4 billion.

Ferd Real Estate’s return in percentage and NOK terms over the last five years:

In February 2020, Ferd entered into an agreement to acquire the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) plot in Marienlyst. Ferd will create a new vibrant residential area in Marienlyst that will bring together the history of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, the knowledge-based activities around the University of Oslo’s Blindern campus and Oslo’s desire to become a greener, creative and inclusive city. The agreement gives NRK a minimum price of NOK 3.75 billion, but the final price will depend on the zoning adopted for the area.

Ferd Real Estate’s largest residential project is Tiedemannsbyen in Oslo’s Ensjø district. The Tiedemannsbyen project is for around 1,400 units. 164 residential units were sold in total in Tiedemannsbyen in 2020, compared to 107 in 2019. Approximately 1,000 new residential units have been built at this development in the 2010-2020 period. 

Ferd Real Estate has a number of ongoing office projects and made a number of acquisitions in 2020. Its two largest office projects are Hieronymus Heyerdals gate 1 and a plot known as Trekanttomten in Oslo’s Vika neighbourhood. Hieronymus Heyerdals gate 1 is a characterful building that is the closest neighbour to Oslo City Hall. The building has some vacant space in the top three floors, which will be renovated to a state-of-the-art standard. The street area around the building will also be revitalised. Trekanttomten was purchased in partnership with Vedal, a construction company, in December 2020. The plot, which was bought for NOK 1.5 billion, is centrally located in Norway’s most attractive area for offices. It currently has approval for a development with a total new floor area of 24,000 m².

Ferd External Managers is responsible for the group’s investments with external managers. The business area focuses on markets that complement the areas where Ferd invests directly, and it invests in funds that will give attractive returns over time.

Global stock markets climbed 16.3% in US dollar terms in 2020, despite falling by a remarkable 32% between the start of the year and their lowest point, which was reached on 23 March 2020. There were major variations in the returns delivered by various sectors in 2020. Globally, IT (+44%), consumer discretionary (+37%) and communications services (+23%) were the best performing sectors. The final months of 2020 were strong for energy, finance and utility company shares, although all three sectors delivered a negative return for the year as a whole. At the regional level, the broad Asian market stood out with a return of 19% in local currency terms and a return of 22% in US dollar terms. The US was not far behind, with the S&P 500 climbing 18.4% in the year, while the tech-focused Nasdaq climbed 45%.

Ferd External Managers’ portfolios, which are accounted for and managed in US dollars, produced an aggregate return of 22.4% in 2020. The results achieved by the mandates were good in both absolute and relative terms.

Ferd External Managers’ return in percentage and USD terms over the past five years:

The Global Equity portfolio, which at the end of the year comprised different equity funds and two equity long/short hedge funds, had a very good year and was up 31.4%. The two equity long/short funds performed very well both during the fall in the stock market in March and the subsequent period of strong growth in the autumn. Approximately NOK 750 million was allocated to this portfolio in 2020. At 31 December 2020, this portfolio had a market value of NOK 2,368 million.

The Global Fund Opportunities portfolio delivered a very good return and ended the year up 20.5%. The portfolio’s largest investment had another very strong year. The market value of Ferd External Managers’ three portfolios at 31 December 2020 was NOK 4.8 billion.

Ferd Invest invests in large listed Nordic companies with strong market positions and good prospects. It holds a portfolio of investments in up to 25 companies, the majority of which have a market capitalisation of over NOK 15 billion. Its target is to generate a return that is higher than the return on a Nordic benchmark index.

2020 was a strong but unusual year for equity markets. The measures implemented by the authorities to address the coronavirus pandemic caused significant volatility in commodity prices, exchange rates and stock markets. The large interest rate cuts caused a rise in share prices, particularly for growth shares. Tech companies grew their earnings as people were forced to use digital solutions for work more than previously. Politicians put increased focus on investments that can help deliver the Paris Agreement, including through the actions of the EU via its sustainable finance taxonomy. This caused a significant increase in the value of ‘green’ companies.

Ferd Invest’s return in percentage and NOK terms over the past five years:

Ferd took advantage of the fall in the stock market in March and increased its exposure to the Nordic equity markets by NOK 750 million. Ferd Invest achieved a return of 14.9% in 2020. Ferd Invest’s portfolio of listed companies has generated a satisfactory absolute return in recent years, but its return has fallen short of the return delivered by the Nordic region’s equity markets.

The largest investments in the portfolio at the close of 2020 were Novo-Nordisk, Lerøy Seafood, Vestas and Hexagon. The value of Ferd Invest’s portfolio at 31 December 2020 was NOK 3.7 billion.

Ferd Impact Investing invests in early-phase companies with the potential both to have a positive impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and to generate a robust risk-adjusted return. It primarily invests through funds and other forms of complementary and resource-efficient partnerships. It concentrates on three sectors, namely renewable energy, proptech and aquaculture. There is a high level of activity among early-stage environmentally friendly companies. Companies of this type have become more committed to communicating their positive impact, including by explaining which of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals they help address.

In 2020 Ferd Impact Investing focused on creating a good platform for its investment mandate. It invested in four different and complementary fund structures. It also established good collaborative relationships with their managers, and it will consider investing in partnership with them in the time ahead. It also made two investments related to wind power, a sector in which Ferd as a whole has significant positions and ambitions going forward.

At the end of its first full year of operations, the Ferd Impact Investing portfolio comprised six investments.

Ferd Social Entrepreneurs (FSE) invests in social entrepreneurs that can demonstrate measurable social and financial results. Through a combination of capital, expertise and networking, it strengthens these companies’ chances of success. It also collaborates with the public sector to create the tools and frameworks it needs to collaborate with these innovative entrepreneurs.

The majority of the companies in the FSE portfolio are now equity investments. This represents a significant change from previous years when the majority of companies in the portfolio had received grants from FSE. The social entrepreneurship market has become more developed and mature in recent years. There is a trend for both private and institutional investors to want some of their investments to generate a social impact in additional to a financial return.

2020 was shaped by Covid-19. Both FSE and its portfolio companies had to change how they worked, and we all had to adapt to new digital ways of collaborating. Several FSE’s portfolio companies had to furlough staff on either a full-time or part-time basis as a result of the lockdown. The Covid-19 restrictions on food service activities unfortunately had a major impact on Mestringsguiden, which had to close down in the autumn of 2020. In 2020 FSE increased its ownership interest in Unicus and is now the majority shareholder in the company. Unicus provides high-quality services in areas including software development and testing, quality assurance and data science. The company’s special feature is that all its consultants have an autistic spectrum diagnosis, more commonly known as Asperger’s. At the end of 2020, FSE had 11 companies in its portfolio.

For more information on FSE’s portfolio companies, please follow this link: Ferd Social Entrepreneurs

Norway’s first social impact contract was signed in 2019. A social impact contract involves a private investor financing an activity with a fixed performance target, with the investor reimbursed by the public sector if the target is met. The authorities only reimburse the private investor if the pre-agreed results are achieved, and the investor is only repaid if society itself benefits. Towards the end of 2020 a group of municipalities led by Larvik Municipality put a social impact contract out to tender. This contract is based on a national pilot project led by the Norwegian Correctional Service and the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration.

FSE continued its work on Impact StartUp, a tailor-made accelerator program that helps fledgling social entrepreneurs become financially sustainable earlier than they would otherwise have achieved. Impact StartUp ran two accelerator programs in 2020. The autumn program was on work integration, while the spring accelerator was open to all social entrepreneurs regardless of their focus.

Ferd's objective is to be a workplace in which men and women are treated equally. We have procedures that are intended to ensure that no-one is treated differently on the basis of their gender in matters such as pay, promotion and recruitment. 26 of Ferd AS’ 56 employees are women. Of the 11 people who joined Ferd AS in 2020, eight were women. Two of these women were recruited to management positions, namely the Director of Ferd Real Estate and a Co-Head of Ferd Capital. Three of Ferd’s five business areas are managed by women. The Board of Ferd AS consists of one woman and four men. Ferd works actively to recruit more women to its business areas. In the last two years half of all new appointments to Ferd Capital, Ferd’s largest business area, have been women.

The aim of the Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act is to promote equality, to ensure everyone has the same rights and opportunities, and to prevent discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, descent, skin colour, language, religion or belief. Ferd works actively and systematically to promote the aims of the Act within its organisation.

The Ferd group had an average of 4,560 employees in 2020, and, after including the employees of Aibel, Fjord Line, Fürst and Mnemonic, the number for 2020 was approximately 9,800. The proportion of female employees at the Ferd group was 27%, and sick leave amounted to 4.3% in 2020. The working environment at Ferd AS is considered to be good. No serious accidents or injuries took place or were reported at Ferd AS in 2020. For the group as a whole, there were no accidents that led to loss of life.

It is proposed that the profit for the year of NOK 6,508 million is transferred to other equity.

Oslo, 19 April 2021

The Board of Directors of Ferd AS

____________________ ___________________

Johan H. Andresen Morten Borge

Chairman of the Board Board member, CEO

___________________ _ ___________________ ___________________

Tom Erik Myrland Erik Rosness Gry Skorpen

Board member Board member Board member