CHG-MERIDIAN Group expanded its portfolio of financed and managed technology assets by 4% to $8.8 billion in 2021 while increasing consolidated net income by 30% to $128 million.

“Our digital and sustainable business model based on the circular economy once again proved to be highly resilient and reliable in 2021,” Dr. Mathias Wagner, chairman of the board of management for CHG-MERIDIAN, said at the International Funding Partner Conference hosted by CHG-MERIDIAN in Frankfurt. “Even in times of crisis, we continue to support our customers with their technology investment projects and, above all, with their digital transformation. We regard the trust that our customers place in us as both an honor and obligation.”

According to CHG-MERIDIAN, new customer business remains a challenge, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly noticeable. Volatile markets, supply bottlenecks and the lack of planning certainty for businesses caused the volume of lease originations at CHG-MERIDIAN to drop by 2% to $1.956 billion in 2021.

“This is a trend we need to reverse, as growth is a crucial strategic objective for us. With new products, such as our climate-neutral financing option, carbonZER0, and our first ESG-linked loan, we have already demonstrated clearly in 2021 how agile we are as a group,” Wagner said. “Even in a crisis, there is a limit to how long investment in digitalization and sustainability can be deferred.”

In 2021, CHG-MERIDIAN created devicenow, a newly founded subsidiary that, in collaboration with global IT service provider Hemmersbach, delivers IT rental solutions for hardware and service packages, including options for PCs, laptops, cell phones and tablets. The subsidiary’s target customers are multinational corporations and medium-sized companies.

“devicenow GmbH expands our range of international leasing solutions with a simple digital rental offering that all of our customers can use. Having a device-as-a-service concept in the form of a rental model will enable us to satisfy new customer requirements and to do so globally in [the] future,” Wagner said.

CHG-MERIDIAN also continued its focus on the circular econmy in 2021, giving a second life to roughly 840,000 IT assets in 2021, which equates to a refurbishment ratio of 96%. In addition, by co-founding and serving as a principal investor in circulee, CHG-MERIDIAN is strengthening its position in this segment. The newly established business addresses the demand for refurbished IT equipment in the B2B market and specifically supplies small and medium-sized companies with certified second-hand IT hardware and related services.

“There is tremendous demand for refurbished assets as an alternative to new equipment. This is due in part to current supply bottlenecks but primarily to the growing commitment to sustainability of many companies. circulee’s service offering closes a gap in the market by enabling companies to drive forward the digital transformation of their business in a manner that is both cost-efficient and sustainable,” Wagner said.