Intereuropa Croatia performed better last year than the year before and exceeded the planned targets for 2021. Total revenues thus increased by 26 percent last year, amounting to 230.6 million kuna, while earnings before interest and taxes rose by 35 percent. Because of all this, Darko Skrnički, CEO of Intereuropa, is optimistic, especially since their sales index in the first five months of this year was 115, and earnings before interest and taxes increased by five percent compared to the same period in 2021. Although current circumstances are unfavorable, as the prices of Intereuropa’s logistics services primarily depend on energy prices, Skrnički remains optimistic and expects stabilization in the future.
What challenges do you often face in land, maritime, and air transport and logistics, and how do you address them?
– The Intereuropa Group operates in nine countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, and Ukraine, and all logistical challenges are solved together by the associated companies. Through mutual synergy, we offer comprehensive solutions even for the most demanding customers. Certainly, different situations and disruptions in the global market have always impacted logistics processes, and the current situation is no exception. The rise in energy prices currently has the most significant impact on logistics service prices, which is conditioned by the geopolitical situation in Europe and the world. Compared to other services, the road transport product feels the shortage of Ukrainian drivers working for Slovak and Hungarian carriers. Maritime transport is facing unstable prices, for which I currently do not see a possibility of stabilization. The result is high service costs that ultimately reflect on product prices, which most affects end customers. Air transport is now stable after a turbulent period. Our warehouse capacities, of which we have 50,000 square meters in Croatia, are recording excellent results with constant additional demand for capacity. In this product, our comparative advantage is the ability to offer a complete service for capacity and logistics solutions, primarily referring to 3PL (third-party logistics) and 4PL (fourth-party logistics) services with last mile delivery for B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) clients. We are intensively investing in this product by building a new logistics center in Rijeka with a capacity of about 8,000 square meters of warehouse space. Within the warehouse spaces in Zagreb, Samobor, Rijeka, Split, Osijek, Varaždin, Zadar, and Dugopolje, we offer customs and non-customs warehouses, excise warehouses, and temperature-controlled warehouses.
How have you adapted your business to the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine?
– The COVID-19 crisis did not negatively affect our business. Upon closer inspection, logistics, along with trade, is one of the few segments in the market that has not come to a standstill. Moreover, business activity has intensified. We promptly adapted our operations to the new situation and ensured the uninterrupted operation of all our services. During the spread of the coronavirus, we invested heavily in our IT system, which not only proved successful in organizing work but also revealed new possibilities for system improvement. The COVID-19 crisis has led to an increase in parcel distribution, especially in the segment of webshops and B2C services, and I expect growth and further development in this segment to continue. Regarding the war in Ukraine, the exposure of the Intereuropa Group is reflected in the sale of our services in the Russian and Ukrainian markets and in the assets of two subsidiaries operating in Ukraine, but no negative impact on the group’s business is expected in this regard.
How do you adapt to end customers and provide them with tailored logistics solutions?
– Constant adaptation to the market and client demands with a custom-made approach is our continuous mission. In Croatia and the region, the most important operations are based on full-service offerings, within which we provide complex combined services. At our own terminals, we easily and quickly organize processes from the delivery of goods with customs clearance/storage services, complete warehouse logistics, and further domestic and international distribution to the end recipient, which allows us to satisfy even the most demanding clients. With our range of services and the ability to provide a complete service at all our locations, Intereuropa has become recognized in the market as a synonym for executing the most operationally demanding logistics processes.
