The director presents the strategic report for F.H. Bertling Logistics Aberdeen Limited (“the Company”) for the year ended 31 December 2024.

We consider that our key performance indicators are those that communicate the financial strength of the Company as a whole, being revenue, gross margin, profit before tax and net assets.

The key financial highlights are as follows:

The Company has delivered a strong year of profits ahead of last year being driven by an increase in turnover. During this year the Company continued to contend with the with the worldwide economic, political, and financial market difficulties including the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East. Despite these instabilities a profit was delivered and is attributable to the group network the Company operates within, as well the local development and direction driven by the director and the management team.

During the year under review, the Company turnover increased by 26% compared to prior year. This increase was ahead of plan and related to acquisition of some new projects. The new business was across the energy spectrum which overall helped improve gross profit in pound value. Despite global sanctions and restrictions sales efforts were rewarded in core markets. The Company remained profitable due to its ability to flex resources from strategic partners and the wider business network and maintaining strong relationships with its client portfolio ensuring costs were maintained at the right levels.

The gross margin at 21.5% was lower than last year but remained in line with previous years.

Administrative costs increased by 10% year-on-year, the primary factor being increase in personnel as business volumes picked up as well as continued investment in new personnel to bolster sales efforts. The increase in new business and sales development also saw increase on travel and related expenditure with the focus on further sales enhancement. The Company was able to post a profit before tax of £1.20m for the year under review. With strong cashflow management the Company sees a strong net assets position at the year end, this reflects a satisfactory performance for the business.

At the year end, the Company had net assets of £4.3m being £0.9m higher than 2023 driven by profits in the year. As noted below, cash flow management is a key area of focus and it is pleasing to note that our cash reserves at year end remain strong sitting at £1.2m.

The Company operates in a highly competitive environment. The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company include the continuing pressures on the Company’s margin through competition and from fuel prices as well as the impact of significant project renewals for the business and the political and economic pressures around certain key freight routes for customers, particularly where these routes encompass jurisdictions subject to global sanctions.

To mitigate the risks faced by potential global sanctions, management actively monitor and keep an open dialogue with customers to ensure alternative routes can be deployed using the extensive supplier network at our disposal.

Being a global market player, the Company is able to utilise a world-wide network to ensure that any disruption can be minimised and is not detrimental to the Company nor its customers.

The business continued to face the risk in 2024 driven by the geopolitical tensions with the conflicts like the ongoing war in Ukraine which continues into 2025, as well as trade tensions between China and the U.S., continued to disrupt global supply chains. Political instability in regions like the Middle East and Africa also caused uncertainty. The impact on our business continued to be mitigated through various avenues including the strong relationships with our strategic partners, proactive and tight cost control without impacting our ability to deliver the service our strategic partners expect of us. Coupled with a strong balance sheet, we are in a very good position to continue to manage this worldwide crisis and remain optimistic in doing so.

Management continues to develop its business continuity plans as in previous years and this enabled our entire network to continue with a ‘business as usual approach’ whilst adhering to all national and international restrictions. We will continue with the development of business continuity plans as recent events have shown the necessity of active and up to date plans to ensure we can operate and manage the health and safety of our employees.

The global shipping market in 2024 and early 2025 continue to face challenges such as decrease in demand for container shipping especially in key markets like Europe and North America. After reaching record highs in 2021, container rates have dropped significantly. Carriers, however, are still dealing with overcapacity in some regions. In 2025, this imbalance is expected to stabilise, but recovery for certain routes might take time.

Continued economic instability and inflation concerns in various regions affect both demand and operational costs. Rising interest rates, particularly in the U.S. and parts of Europe, impact spending and investment in logistics infrastructure.

The main business impact of this volatility is that it again introduces uncertainty in the forward rate environment and makes long term commitments more challenging.

Management looks to continue to develop opportunities from both within and out with the energy industry, building upon our strengths of executing large scale industrial projects for our client base. This is also enhanced with additional resources added to the business development teams locally and globally.

The logistics industry continues its push towards digitalisation, with more companies adopting AI, robotics, and blockchain technology. The business has also made investment in continuing to enhance our business systems and controls in terms of Health and Safety, environmental management, quality systems and ethics and compliance, with a view to ensuring our processes and cost base are as efficient and effective as they can be.

Contract negotiation will always be a principal risk for our business, but we are confident in the strength of our brand and in our customer relationships that put us in a good position heading into any contract negotiations, coupled with our strategic objective of looking to diversify our customer industry base.

The Company continues to be diligent in respect of adhering to relevant sanctions and all worldwide communications taking the lead from Head Office. Energy prices are expected to remain high, which will impact the global supply chain and transportation costs.

We are constantly monitoring the sanctions programs announced by various countries and supranational authorities. We keep closely monitoring the escalated conflict between Russia and the Ukraine and consequential restrictions imposed on Russia and their impact on global trade lanes, supply chains and potential operational impacts if any.

The Company's activities expose it to several financial risks including credit, cash flow and liquidity risks. The Company does not use derivatives to manage financial risk or for speculative purposes.

Credit risk

The Company’s principal financial assets are bank balances and cash, trade and other receivables and amounts due from group undertakings. The amounts presented in the statement of financial position are net of allowances for doubtful receivables. An allowance for impairment is made where there is an expected loss event, which based on previous exposure, is evident of a reduction in the recoverability of the cash flows. The credit risk on trade receivables is managed through maintaining good customer relationships and the monitoring of credit levels and settlement periods. Given the quality of the Company’s customer book, the director considers there to be no significant credit exposure. Amounts due from group undertakings primarily arise from the Company participating in servicing clients where it is not the primary contract holder. Recoverability of these balances is monitored, and comfort taken through the primary contract holder’s diligence as to the commercial success for the F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group of the client before taking the project on. The credit risk on liquid funds is considered limited because the counterparty is a bank with a credit rating assigned by international credit rating agencies.

Cash flow risk

The Company’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company seeks to mitigate this risk by matching foreign currency receipts with foreign currency payments in order to naturally hedge cash flow. The director does not consider this to be a significant risk, hence derivatives are not used to manage this area.

Liquidity risk

In order to maintain liquidity to ensure that sufficient funds are available for ongoing operations and future developments, the Company monitors the timing of expected cash flows. Further cash resources are available from the wider F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group if required, however the Company’s primary source of finance is the operating cash flow it generates.

Future developments

We maintain a good reputation as a leading provider of project logistics services and freight forwarding services. We see good opportunities for developments in both areas once our clients from the extractive industries recommence large scale investments. We also see good opportunities arising in energy transition.

The upcoming year is expected to see decreased volumes in line with 2022. The Company continues to invest in resources to boost commercial activity to diversify and enhance the client base and management expect to see some of the benefit from this but we remain cautious about the business for the remainder of 2025 and beyond.

As director of the Company, I have and continue to act in a way that we consider, in good faith, to be most likely to promote the continuing success of the Company for the benefit of its members, and in doing so had regard, amongst other matters, to:

• The likely consequences of any decisions in the long term;

• The interests of the Company’s employees;

• The need to foster the Company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others;

• The impact of the Company’s operations on the community and the environment;

• The desirability of the Company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct; and

• The need to act fairly between members of the Company.

The following are some examples as to how we have had regard to the matters set out within sections 172(1)(a)-(f) when discharging our section 172 duties.

Our key strategic objective remains to build a sustainable business, for the benefit of current and future generations, whether that is in the form of members, employees, customers, suppliers, the community and environment. For this to be achieved, our management of the Company involves us taking both decisions for the present and future benefit of the business. We work within the business on a daily basis, so key internal and external relationships are maintained directly, and employees, suppliers and customers have appropriate access to us. We also ensure there is a wider understanding of the Company’s key strategic objectives, through distilling the key messages through our management teams within the business.

The Company’s employees are critical to the continued success of the business and it is key we effectively engage with them. Examples of how we do this include:

• Regular updates on business performance KPIs through various channels (intranet, email, “town hall” meetings);

• Offering employees the opportunity for further professional and career development through relevant training courses and qualifications;

• Linking an element of employee reward to the financial success of the Company, amongst other appraisal criteria; and

• Having appropriate whistleblowing procedures that employees are comfortable using.

One of our core visions is to be the “Project Freight Management Partner” of choice, to both upstream and downstream oil and gas, energy, construction, mining, and government infrastructure sectors. We cannot achieve this without having strong relationships with both our suppliers and customers. We foster these business relationships through utilising some of the following practices:

• Maintaining strong relationships across our supply chain through regular contact and meetings with our key suppliers;

• Encouraging our customers and suppliers to raise any issues or concerns they have over their relationship with the Company, incorporating all aspects (legal, commercial, operational etc.);

• Continuing to focus on the qualities that appeal to our customer base and differentiate us from our competitors; and

• Offering dedicated points of contact within our team to promote the building of long-term business relationships with our customers.

We are committed to supporting the communities that we work in and being environmentally responsible. To this end, the Company is part of the F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group which have formal policies regarding Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment, designed to improve the Company’s contributions to these communities and promote the effective use of resources to avoid the unnecessary generation of waste and pollution, with a focus on sustainability and compliance with environmental standards and targets.

Section 172(1) statement (continued)

We are also committed to conducting our business in an ethical manner and have a reputation for this, in accordance with the formal policy laid out by the Company’s ultimate parent, F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH, entitled “Values and Code of Conduct”. This policy encapsulates our commitment to ensure the highest standard of ethical conduct in the way we conduct business. The core principals contained within the policy are:

• Respect for people;

• Preventing corruption and fraud;

• Upholding human rights;

• Promoting free competition; and

• Promoting financial transparency.

These principals are integrated into the Company’s business culture and the way we operate.

The Company is a wholly owned member of the F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group, so no conflicts exist between shareholders in relation to the Company.

The Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018

Consumption (kWh) and Greenhouse Gas emissions (tCO2e) totals

The following figures make up the baseline reporting for the Company:

Scope 1 consumption and emissions relate to direct combustion of natural gas, and fuels utilised for transportation operations and trade such as company vehicles. This is consumption and emissions from sources owned or controlled by the Company and only include gas and fuel purchased by the Company, not the fuel consumed by contractors (unless the related fuel is purchased directly).

Scope 2 consumption and emissions relate to indirect emissions relating to the consumption of purchased electricity in day to day business operations.

The total consumption (kWh) figures for energy supplies reportable by the Company are as follows:

The total emission (tCO2e) figures for energy supplies reportable by the company are as follows:

Intensity Metric

An intensity metric of tCO2e per £m revenue have been applied for the annual total emissions of the company. The results of this analysis are as follows:

The Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (Continued)

Energy Efficiency Improvements

The Company is committed to year-on-year improvements in its operational energy efficiency. The decrease seen in 2024 is as a result of the annualised effect of some reduced excess office space in the prior year to help mitigate increases and ensure energy efficiency. With the increase in turnover not attracting any new energy consumption we see an improvement on the intensity metric. We continue to drive our business aiming for a net zero carbon emission operation and are developing opportunities for energy consumption reductions as well as offsetting carbon consumption which we will not be able to avoid.

During 2025 the company is planning to continue with its systematic re-evaluation of its emission sub-scopes in more detail. The company assigns key performance indicators into the environmental management returns to drive further operational energy efficiencies.

On behalf of the board

The director presents his annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

The principal activity of the company continued to be that of project logistics services and freight forwarding services.

Interim dividends of £nil (2023: £2 million) were paid during the year. No final ordinary dividends have been recommended by the director (2023: £nil)

The director who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements was as follows:

Johnston Carmichael LLP have expressed their willingness to continue in office as auditor for another term and appropriate arrangements have been put in place for them to be deemed reappointed as auditor in the absence of an Annual General Meeting.

So far as each person who was a director at the date of approving this report is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware. Additionally, the director has taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as director in order to make himself aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information.

At the time of approving the financial statements and having considered the continuing impacts of the global sanctions and the pressures from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine coupled with the Company's financial forecasts, the director has a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Company has been profit generative during the year, has strong reserves and future prospects, thus the director continues to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

The Company has chosen in accordance with Companies Act 2006, s. 414C(11) to set out in the Company's strategic report information required by Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, Sch. 7 to be contained in the Director's Report. It has done so in respect of financial risk management objectives and policies, future developments and energy carbon reporting.

The director is responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the director to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the director has elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the director must not approve the financial statements unless he is satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the director is required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The director is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. He is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We have audited the financial statements of F.H. Bertling Logistics Aberdeen Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the income statement, the statement of financial position, the statement of changes in equity and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its profit for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the director's use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the director with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The director is responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

• the information given in the strategic report and the director's report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the strategic report and the director's report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report and the director's report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of director's remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

As explained more fully in the director's responsibilities statement set out on page 8, the director is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the director determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the director is responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the director either intends to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below:

We assessed whether the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence and capabilities to identify or recognise non-compliance with laws and regulations by considering their experience, past performance and support available.

All engagement team members were briefed on relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks at the planning stage of the audit. Engagement team members were reminded to remain alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the company and the sector in which it operates, focusing on those provisions that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The most relevant frameworks we identified include:

• UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;

• Companies Act 2006;

• The Bribery Act 2010;

• Tax legislation(UK); and

• Health and safety legislation.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud (continued)

We gained an understanding of how the company is complying with these laws and regulations by making enquiries of management and those charged with governance. We corroborated these enquiries through our review of submitted returns, external inspections, relevant correspondence with regulatory bodies and board meeting minutes.

We assessed the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur, by meeting with management and those charged with governance to understand where it was considered there was susceptibility to fraud. This evaluation also considered how management and those charged with governance were remunerated and whether this provided an incentive for fraudulent activity. We considered the overall control environment and how management and those charged with governance oversee the implementation and operation of controls. In areas of the financial statements where the risks were considered to be higher, we performed procedures to address each identified risk. We identified a heightened fraud risk in relation to:

• Management override of controls

• Revenue recognition

In addition to the above, the following procedures were performed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements were free of material fraud or error:

• Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance for reference to: breaches of laws and regulation or for any indication of any potential litigation and claims; and events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud;

• Reviewing the level of and reasoning behind the company’s procurement of legal and professional services;

• Performing audit procedures over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and assessing judgements made by management in their calculation of accounting estimates for potential management bias;

• Making enquiries of the Global Director of Risk Quality and Compliance for potential items;

• Performing audit procedures over the risk of revenue recognition to confirm revenue from all material income streams were recognised and recorded within the correct accounting period;

• Completion of appropriate checklists and use of our experience to assess the company’s compliance with the Companies Act 2006; and

• Agreement of the financial statement disclosures to supporting documentation.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to the risk of material misstatements in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

The income statement has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations. There are no other gains or losses for the year, other than those shown above, hence a separate Statement of Comprehensive Income is not presented.

F.H. Bertling Logistics Aberdeen Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Twin Spires Business Park, Unit 23, Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn, ABERDEEN, AB21 9BG. The company's principal activities and nature of its operations are disclosed in the director's report.

The material accounting policies adopted by the company are set out below. These policies have been

consistently applied to all the years presented unless otherwise stated.

The financial statements of F.H. Bertling Logistics Aberdeen Limited (“the Company”) for the year ended 31 December 2024 were authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on the date set out on page 13 and the statement of financial position was signed on the Board’s behalf by Mr C F MacIsaac. The Company is a private company incorporated and domiciled in Scotland with liability limited by shares and its registered office is Unit 23, Spires Business Centre, Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9BG. Its principal activity continues to be the provision of global logistics solutions, principally to the oil and gas industry. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary within the F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group which prepares consolidated financial statements in which the Company is included. The consolidated financial statements of F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH group are available from the Bertling Group Head Office, Am Sandtorkai 70-72, 20457 Hamburg, Germany.

These financial statements were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (“FRS 101”). In preparing these financial statements, the Company applies the recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of UK adopted International Accounting Standards but makes amendments where necessary in order to comply with Companies Act 2006 and has set out below where advantage of the FRS 101 disclosure exemptions have been taken.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £'000 except where otherwise indicated.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The accounting policies which follow set out these policies which have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

The Company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions under FRS101:

• the requirements of IFRS 7 “Financial Instruments: Disclosures”, on the basis that equivalent disclosures are presented within the consolidated financial statements of F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH in which the Company is included;

• the requirements of the second sentence of paragraph 110 and paragraphs 113(a), 114, 115, 118, 119(a) to (c), 120 to 127 and 129 of IFRS 15 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”;

• the requirements of paragraph 52 of IFRS 16 “Leases”. Also the requirements of paragraph 58 of IFRS 16, on the basis that appropriate ageing analysis has been presented separately for lease liabilities;

• the requirement in paragraph 38 of IAS 1 “Presentation of Financial Statements” to present comparative information in respect of paragraph 73(e) of IAS 16 “Property, Plant and Equipment”;

• the requirements of paragraphs 10(d), 10(f), 16, 38A to 38D, 40A to 40D, 111 and 134 to 136 of IAS 1;

• the requirements of IAS 7 “Statement of Cash Flows”;

• the requirements of paragraphs 30 and 31 of IAS 8 “Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors”;

• requirements of paragraphs 17 and 18A of IAS 24 “Related Party Disclosures”; and

• the requirements in IAS 24 to disclose related party transactions entered into between two or more members of a group, provided that any subsidiary which is a party to the transaction is wholly owned by such a member.

At the time of approving the financial statements and having considered the continuing impacts of the global sanctions and the pressures from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine coupled with the Company’s financial forecasts, the director has a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Company has been profit generative during the year, has strong reserves and future trading prospects, thus the director continues to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.true

Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for services supplied, net of discounts and value added taxes. The Company recognises revenue when performance obligations have been satisfied and for the Company this is when the services have transferred to the customer. The Company’s activity is described below.

The Company provides general cargo chartering and brokerage services, incorporating technical shipping, freight management and freight forwarding services. The Company’s focus is the Oil and Gas Industry. Revenue from providing these services is recognised in the accounting period in which the services are rendered.

The performance obligation within these customer contracts is satisfied upon physical delivery of the cargo for which the Company has been engaged to arrange freight. Where it is not practicable to identify the final delivery date for multiple individual shipments to their final destination, the performance obligation is considered to be satisfied when the main part of the carriage (usually by sea or air freight) has been completed. As the customer does not receive and consume the benefits of the service until the cargo has been delivered, revenue is recognised at that point in time, rather than over the duration of the freight.

Where payments are received in advance of performance obligations being satisfied, they are included as contract liabilities (deferred income). Where revenue is recognised in advance of amounts being invoiced, it is reported as contract assets.

All property, plant and equipment is stated at historical cost less depreciation. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items.

Depreciation on assets is calculated using the straight-line method to allocate their cost to their residual values over their estimated useful lives, as follows:

The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each reporting period. An asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if its carrying amount is greater than its estimated recoverable amount.

Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised within the income statement.

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost comprises cost of purchase and, where applicable, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.

The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

The tax expense for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the income statement, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity, respectively. The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the statement of financial position date in the countries where the Company operates and generates taxable income. Management periodically evaluates positions taken in tax returns with respect to situations in which applicable tax regulation is subject to interpretation. It establishes provisions, where appropriate, on the basis of amounts expected to be paid to the tax authorities.

Deferred income tax is recognised on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the financial statements. Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates (and laws) that have been enacted or substantially enacted by the statement of financial position date and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realised or the deferred income tax liability is settled.

Deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilised.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against current tax liabilities and when the deferred income taxes assets and liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority on either the taxable entity or different taxable entities where there is an intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

i) Short-term employee benefits

Short-term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are expensed as the related service is provided. A liability is recognised for the amount expected to be paid under short-term cash bonus or profit-sharing plans if the Company has a present legal or constructive obligation to pay this amount as a result of past service provided by the employee, and the obligation can be estimated reliably.

ii) Defined contribution plans

A defined contribution plan is a post-employment benefit plan under which the Company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. The Company has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods. Obligations for contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an employee benefit expense within the income statement in the periods during which related services are rendered by employees.

All material leases are accounted for by recognising a right-of-use asset and a lease liability except for:

• Leases of low value assets; and

• Leases with a duration of twelve months or less.

Lease liabilities are measured at the present value of the contractual payments due to the lessor over the lease term, with the discount rate determined by reference to the rate inherent in the lease unless (as is typically the case) this is not readily determinable, in which case the Company’s incremental borrowing rate on commencement of the lease is used. Variable lease payments are only included in the measurement of the lease liability if they depend on an index or rate. In such cases, the initial measurement of the lease liability assumes the variable element will remain unchanged throughout the lease term. Other variable lease payments are expensed in the period to which they relate.

Trade and other receivables

Trade and other receivables are amounts due from customers for services performed in the ordinary course of business. If collection is expected in one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business, if longer), they are classified as current assets. If not, they are presented as non-current assets.

Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment.

The Company applies the IFRS 9 “Financial Instruments” simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables and contract assets.

To measure the expected credit losses, trade receivables and contract assets have been grouped based on shared credit risk characteristics and the days past due. The contract assets relate to unbilled work in progress and have substantially the same risk characteristics as the trade receivables for the same types of contracts. The Company has therefore concluded that the expected loss rates for trade receivables are a reasonable approximation of the loss rates for the contract assets.

The Company assesses, at the end of each reporting period, whether the recognition of an expected credit loss on amounts due from group undertakings is required.

Trade and other payables

Trade and other payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Payables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

The preparation of financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported for assets and liabilities as at the statement of financial position date and the amounts reported for revenues and expenses during the year. However, the nature of estimation means that actual outcomes could differ from those estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised, where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods, where that revision affects both current and future periods.

The following are considered to be either judgements that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised within the financial statements, or estimates that are dependent upon assumptions which could change in the next financial year and have a material effect on the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities recognised at the year end:

Recoverability of contract assets and trade and other receivables

At the year end, there were significant amounts of working capital tied up in contract assets and amounts due from group undertakings. The director has reviewed their carrying values, coupled with assessing the financial strength of the counterparties and concluded that these balances are fully recoverable. See note 13 for details of the value of the year end contract assets, trade and other receivables.

A loss allowance of £22k (2023: £19k) has been recognised for trade receivables. The credit risk exposure of the company is considered to be low. The credit risk on trade receivables is managed through maintaining good customer relationships and the monitoring of credit levels and settlement periods. Given the quality of the Company’s customer book, the director considers there to be no significant credit exposure.

Leases

The company has utilised a discount rate of 7% on its leased right of use assets on capitalisation of its leases. The discount rate used is deemed a reasonable estimate of the incremental cost of capital of each business unit.

Revenue recognition

As disclosed in note 1.3, revenue is recognised when the main part of the carriage (usually by sea or air freight) has been completed. The director has made a judgement that onward road or rail freight to the final destination is not a material requirement for revenue to be recognised. There may be some cases where onward road or rail freight is a material part of the performance obligation but the director does not consider these to be significant.

The director considers that there are no other judgements, estimates or underlying assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets or liabilities.

The Company operates one principal area of activity, that of logistics solutions.

An analysis of the Company’s revenue by geographical market is given below:

With the Company having one principal source of revenue, being the rendering of services, its revenue is derived from contracts with customers. As such, all receivables and contract assets are derived from contracts with customers and presented within note 12. Contract liabilities are presented within note 14.

Most general freight forwarding activity sees full payment from customers typically due within 30 days of an invoice being raised and the invoice is typically raised within 30 days of the performance obligation being satisfied, although some customers will see more beneficial debtor terms to allow the Company to widen the client base. Charter shipments will see shorter payment terms with faster invoicing process as per individually negotiated terms. Larger projects will see delays on invoicing to the client as the administration required by the client has an intensive level of back-up documentation and client approvals before invoices can be raised.

Revenue recognised in the period that was included in opening contract liabilities was £605k (2023: £1,035k).

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:

Their aggregate remuneration comprised:

The number of directors for whom retirement benefits are accruing under defined contribution schemes amounted to 1 (2023 - 1).

The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit per the income statement as follows:

All other trade and other receivables are current.

Included within amounts due from group undertakings is a loan issued in the prior year to a fellow group undertaking with amounts outstanding at the year end of £639k (2023: £1,746k). The loan accrues interest at 7% per annum, payable at the end of each calendar year. Amounts drawn down under this credit agreement can be repaid and reborrowed with any amounts outstanding being repaid no later than 31 July 2025. Based on the informal repayment and reborrowing nature of the loan, the loan has been classed as a current asset.

Other amounts due from group undertakings due within one year are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.

A contract asset represents services that are in process of being supplied to the customer but where there is still further performance required in order to earn the right to consideration. Accrued income is not a contract asset as this receivable merely requires the passage of time.

Trade and other payables are all current. Amounts due to group undertakings are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.

Contract liabilities relate to payments received in advance of performance obligations being satisfied.

Included within amounts due to group undertakings are £nil (2023: £349k) dividends due to shareholders, which were declared pre-year end but remaining outstanding at the year end.

Trade and other payables are all current. Amounts due to group undertakings are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.

Contract liabilities relate to payments received in advance of performance obligations being satisfied.

Included within amounts due to group undertakings are £nil (2023: £349k) dividends due to shareholders, which were declared pre-year end but remaining outstanding at the year end.

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.

At the year-end, £1k (2023: £nil) was included within other payables.

The share capital account represents the nominal value of shares issued. The ordinary shares hold equal voting rights and no rights to fixed income.

This is a previous capital contribution made by the Company’s immediate parent, F.H. Bertling International GmbH, to recapitalise the Company.

The retained earnings reserve reflects the aggregate of all profits and losses recognised through the income statement, less dividends paid throughout all periods up to the statement of financial position date.

A new finance lease agreement for office space in Aberdeen was entered into on 1 January 2025.

During the year £nil (2023: £2 million) of dividends were declared to the shareholder of the company, with £nil (2023: £349k) remaining outstanding as at the year end (see note 12).

The immediate parent of the Company is F.H. Bertling International GmbH, a company registered in Germany. The director regards the ultimate parent and controlling party to be F.H. Bertling Logistics Holding GmbH, a company registered in Germany. The ultimate parent undertaking is the smallest and largest group to consolidate these financial statements.