Side 4
THE CORE OF OUR BUSINESS MUST BE THE FOCAL POINT It has been a challenging 2024 for the DLG Group, with difficult market conditions having a significant impact on the results we created. This is a testament to the fact that we have a big task ahead of us in terms of developing the Group and ensuring long-term competitiveness, while realising our ambition to commercialise sustainable solutions for the benefit of our owners and customers. Therefore, this year, we have made a conscious decision to make a range of necessary structural adjustments that will enable us to deliver better results in the future. This way, we exercise due diligence, so that we can continue to create value for our cooperative members and customers in the future. This is the first step in the transformation journey the DLG Group is about to embark on. We must focus on the core of the business with efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness at the centre. I am confident that the strong team led by our new CEO, Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, can navigate the current challenges and build the foundation for a stronger future for the DLG Group. As a result of the adjustments, there will be a number of write-downs and special items which mean there will be no profit declaration this year. This is obviously not satisfactory, but it is a necessary measure to main- tain the company’s long-term competitiveness. THE TRIPARTITE HERALDS CHANGE With the political adoption of the green tripartite agreement, the direction has been set for a historic transformation of Danish agriculture. Our social contract has been renegotiated and the map of Denmark is now being redrawn to give more space to nature, and less to food production. This is not the first time we have had to adapt to change, and history has shown that we can come out stronger on the other side. But it requires us to think innovatively and dare to do things differently to how they were done before, because we cannot tackle tomorrow’s challenges with yesterday’s solutions. At the DLG Group, we are committed to transforming the world of agriculture. In recent years, we have invested significantly in, among other things, the development of alternative proteins. As a result, when it comes to knowledge, we are in a much stronger position, but we must also recognise that it has been difficult to turn future solutions into good business today. Therefore, we need to focus on green investments that are even closer to the core business and which have scaling potential. The need for food will not diminish in the future, and when a good chunk of agricultural land is to be converted into nature, we must find alternative ways to ensure that we can continue to produce quality food for Denmark, the EU and the rest of the world. Plant breeding is one of the keys to doing just that, which is why, this summer, we entered into a collaboration with Novo Holdings to promote sustainable agricultural and food production. UPDATED OWNERSHIP STRATEGY Strong interaction between owners and the coope- rative is crucial to the DLG Group’s development and success. To ensure the best possible conditions for the company’s continued development, the Board of Representatives and the Board of Directors continued to develop our ownership strategy in 2024, which led to a number of amendments to the Articles of Association. 4 DLG ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Side 5
We, the Board of Representatives, must follow the structural agricultural development, which is why the size of the Board of Representatives will be reduced upon the elections in 2026. To further strengthen the competencies of the Board of Directors, the number of owner- elected members will be reduced by one, while there will be four external Board Members. At the same time, a Competence Committee will help ensure the right competencies on the Board of Directors. With these changes, we will have the strongest possible Board setting the direction for the DLG Group going forward. Niels Dengsø Jensen Chairman of the Board 5 Introduction – Results – Business areas – Introduction to ESG – Environment – Social – Governance – Accounting
