Economic Top-Grade for SafeBase
SafeBase is experiencing steady bottom-line growth for the tenth year in a row and is awarded an AAA credit rating from Dun & Bradstreet. — Safebase is not a passing phenomenon. We will be here in ten, fifteen, twenty years – and well into the future, says CEO Lars Erik Gjervan.
Last year provided a quite satisfactory result. For Safebase, reaching this year’s target of 30% annual growth already looks promising.
— Our customers make significant investments in our technology to digitalize their grids. For them, it is crucial to collaborate with suppliers who are stable and can stand the test of time. The solid growth we have experienced, year after year, is the result of an economically sustainable strategy, explains Gjervan.
The Key to Success
Because the owners of SafeBase – who are also employees of SafeBase – have a strategy of making money before spending money, the company has been profitable from day one.
— We take low risks and are careful of what we invest in. Because we are employee-owned and do not have to handle the requests of external owners, we can put the profits back into the operation.
This has secured Safebase a top score with both Dun & Bradstreet and Proff Forvalt, where they share a score of 98 with companies such as Equinor and Nammo. KPIs such as profitability, liquidity ratio and equity ratio provide momentum with the research companies.
Balancing Income and Costs
Without demands from external owners, the profits stay with the company.
— We have always aimed for a balanced growth. This means that when results and turnover increase, we expand accordingly by hiring more people. There must be a balance between income and costs.
After a year in their new premises at Pirsenteret in Trondheim, they once again expanded the office premises to house the latest additions to the team. Among other things, a new OPS room for operational control and customer support has been added to the mix.
The Future of Safebase
Gjervan reveals that SafeBase is promisingly positioned to pass a turnover of NOK 100 million by next year – and that the target is again doubled by the end of 2026.
— However, no matter how much we grow and possibly expand in the future, we must always do so with low financial risk. First and foremost, we will always be a Trondheim company, no matter how big we become, he concludes.