Aker has gone through a year with remarkably high activity! We delivered significant annual return to our shareholders, with a value creation of 52 per cent, including dividends. While 2021 was our year of acceleration, 2022 will be the year of execution in a more turbulent market environment. At Aker, we stand well prepared, and our strong foundation opens up for further growth in our portfolio companies. Our commitment to making a meaningful contribution to a greener and more sustainable future remains unchanged, and the establishment of Aker Asset Management adds yet another exciting chapter to that strategy.

For the second quarter in a row, we reported a record high Net Asset Value! We also announced that to further strengthen the development of Aker, Asset Management is established as a new business area and growth platform.

Dear fellow shareholders, Aker's positive development continues. At the end of September, our net asset value (NAV) reached a new record of NOK 70.8 billion, up from NOK 66.9 billion at the end of June. To strengthen our development further we are establishing Asset Management as a new business area.

Over the course of my more than 12 years at Aker, I have seen countless examples of the shared competitive advantage of companies across our portfolio – leveraging a 180-year track-record of building on the shoulders of existing capabilities, access to excellent industrial competence, financial strength, and a willingness to seize opportunities for value creation and long-term growth. In recent years, another advantage has become increasingly important as we build and grow as a group: the Aker collaborate advantage. Whether in financial transactions, strategic partnerships, or joint efforts for more sustainable growth, Aker’s ability to attract and sustain fruitful collaborative partnerships has never been more important, nor have the results been more apparent.

At a time when oil prices are rebounding, energy demand increasing, and sustainable energy simultaneously experiencing explosive growth, Aker is finding itself positioned for bilateral value creation. Aker Horizons and Aker BP are driving Aker’s growth during the first quarter. While addressing different energy segments, they have a shared competitive advantage: creating value in the most cost-efficient, sustainable manner, driven by industrial software and access to excellent industrial capabilities. For Aker, the result is a period with a value growth of nearly 17 percent.

Looking back on 2020, with all its surprises and challenges, it also turned out to be a year of opportunity in ways we could hardly have imagined as we entered into the decade. I am deeply imporessed by how Aker's portfolio companies, with employees, business partners and customers, weathered the storms and came toghether in an unparalleled effort. It turned into an extraordinary endeavour that led to a transformation of the Aker group through the most challenging times in recent memory. The year left us with learnings on which to build and drive further value creation in both existing and new parts of the Aker portfolio.

Last year, I wrote that environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are core premises for our business and investment decisions. The last twelve months put that statement to the test.

It has been quite a quarter, quite a year, and quite a start to a new one.

Aker’s President & CEO shares a few highlights from the third quarter 2020 results presentation.

Watch video to follow panel discussion with BP's CEO Bernard Looney, deputy CEO Aramco's Ahmad Al-Sa'adi, and CEO and President Øyvind Eriksen.