DelfinGroup ranks in Silver category in the Sustainability Index
Forbes
Baltic edition
This year, Latvian financial services company AS DelfinGroup participated in the Sustainability Index evaluation for the first time and received a high evaluation in the first year of participation landing in the Silver category of the Index.
67 organisations reached the minimum threshold of the Sustainability Index this year, but 19 companies and organisations managed to reach the Silver category, including the airline Air Baltic Corporation, beverage manufacturer Aldaris, courier service provider DPD Latvija and others.
Chairman of AS DelfinGroup Management Board Didzis Ādmīdiņš: “Over the past few years, we have been particularly active in arranging the day-to-day processes of the company to meet the highest standards of corporate governance and sustainability. As one of the few Latvian companies, we have prepared an environmental, social, and corporate governance or ESG report. At the beginning of this year, we organised an international competition for the election of independent and professional Supervisory board members, which is still a rather unique event among private companies in Latvia. Currently we have set ourselves a new goal - in the second half of this year to be fully ready for initial public offering of shares (IPO) at Nasdaq Riga stock exchange.
Dace Helmane, Head of the Institute for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility and Coordinator of the Sustainability Index: “Sustainability is no longer a fashion trend in the corporate environment. The latest Eurobarometer data show that nine out of ten Europeans are concerned about sustainability issues, which means only one thing: companies that follow the principles of corporate sustainability and responsibility in their daily work are the leaders of the future. Therefore, the fact that more and more organisations in Latvia are starting to think about sustainable and responsible business practices is welcomed. In addition, the global pandemic has significantly boosted the interest of the business sector and also the understanding of the principles of responsible business, as this year sets a record number of new participants in the Sustainability Index - 24% of companies participated in this assessment for the first time”.
The vision of sustainability is fundamentally connected to the DelfinGroup basic goals of business development - to ensure excellent corporate governance and to combine green thinking with economic benefits. Thus, promoting the popularity and implementation of the circular economy’s basic principles in the daily lives of the people of Latvia. Banknote pawn shop network has become one of the leading sales channels in Latvia of pre-owned and tested goods, helping people all over the country to exchange things that they no longer need. In this way, goods gain a second life and people have the opportunity to buy the things they need in a more convenient way. Reuse of goods is an effective way of reducing unnecessary consumption and overexploitation of natural resources, as well as helping people to save and manage their financial resources more efficiently.
The Sustainability Index is a strategic management tool, within the framework of which the principles of risk and process management of organisations are assessed according to the principles of internationally recognised methodology. Until now, 249 companies from all over Latvia have participated in the Sustainability Index at least once, while seven companies have participated in all 12 Sustainability Index assessments carried out so far.
AS DelfinGroup is a licensed financial services company founded in 2009 and represents the brands Banknote, VIZIA, and Rīgas pilsētas lombards (Riga City Pawnshop). The company employs 277 professionals in 92 branches operating in 38 Latvian cities. DelfinGroup is a member of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Latvian Association of Alternative Financial Services and has received the Gold Level status of the State Revenue Service cooperation programme. DelfinGroup core services are retail sale of pre-owned goods in branches and online, pawn loans, consumer loans, and loans specifically designed for people at retirement age. DelfinGroup bonds are listed on the Nasdaq Riga First North bond list. In 2020, the company's revenue was 23.7 million euros, the loan portfolio reached 34.7 million euros, EBITDA increased to 9.3 million euros and profit before taxes reached 4.6 million euros. DelfinGroup estimated taxes for 2020 are 3.42 million euros.