Defence Properties Finland’s financial statements 2023: with the changed security situation in Europe, more investment than ever was made in construction
Defence Properties Finland’s financial statements and annual report for last year have been completed. Defence Properties Finland, part of Senate Group, successfully implemented the service targets set for it by Parliament and the Ministry of Defence. Due to the current security situation, investments and separate orders for services made by clients reached a record high during the year. The savings targets set for the Finnish Defence Forces in terms of premises costs were also achieved.
Defence Properties Finland’s revenue for 2023 was €360.5 million and the profit was €3.4 million. The price of energy was lower than forecast, which meant slightly better profit than budgeted.
Investments increased by more than 60% compared to the previous year and reached €155 million. €40 million was spent on facility maintenance, which was also higher than earlier.
The €2 million target set for saving costs was exceeded by €0.5 million. The savings consisted of divestments of buildings with low occupancy rates and energy savings.
”We also increased the savings target for the strategy period from €8 million to €10 million. One concrete measure involved us pledging to halve our own use of facilities by the end of 2027. We want to set an example of how to reduce facility costs smartly and efficiently,” says CEO Matias Warsta.
Start made on building F-35 infrastructure at the Rissala base
Planning and construction of the infrastructure for the F-35 fighter aircraft purchase progressed as required: overall costs remained under control, and the projects progressed to the agreed timeline. The first actual construction project began in winter 2023 at the Rissala base, and the volume of construction grew rapidly during the course of the year.
“Finland has passed the design reviews carried out by the manufacturer of the fighter aircraft with excellent feedback. In particular, information flow and close communication between Defence Properties Finland, the Finnish Defence Forces and the guiding ministries has been commended by the manufacturer,” Warsta says.
Progress made with modernisation of shelters
Last year, the focus of measures to improve preparedness and resilience was on securing the usability of shelters used by the Finnish Defence Forces through maintenance measures and modernisations. Supplements of critical material continued to increase the self-sufficiency of Defence Properties Finland.
Strategy update
Defence Properties Finland updated its strategy in 2023. The key matter to be updated concerned the time span for the implementation of the preparedness-based service model already included in the strategy. In the current security situation in Europe, it was considered necessary to study how the transition to a preparedness-based service model could be speeded up.
“In practice, speeding up implementation would mean Defence Properties Finland concentrating its own service production resources as soon as possible on the most significant locations in terms of the client’s operations in emergency conditions,” Warsta explains.
In late 2023, Defence Properties Finland made a decision on changes to its organisation to support a preparedness-based service model. The changes concerned centralised control units for service production and the division into service areas. These changes do not affect the customer interface.
The Board of Directors adopted Defence Properties Finland’s financial statements and annual report for 2023 at its meeting on 27 February.
Defence Properties Finland’s financial statements and annual report (in Finnish, pdf)
