Nel ASA

Nel reported revenue from contracts with customers of NOK 153 million, down 12% year over year. Total revenue and income was NOK 182 million versus NOK 215 million a year ago. EBITDA was negative NOK 155 million versus negative NOK 86 million last year, with management saying the difference was driven by a NOK 70 million Iwatani settlement; adjusted for that, EBITDA was flat year over year. Alkaline revenue was NOK 56 million with EBITDA of negative NOK 28 million, and PEM had revenue that was down 10% year over year. Order intake was NOK 230 million, backlog was NOK 1.2 billion, and cash was NOK 1.3 billion. Management did not provide formal next-quarter or full-year financial guidance, but said the new pressurized alkaline platform will take a few quarters to translate into orders, and that more orders are needed on PEM to break even, especially at megawatt scale.

Håkon Volldal framed the quarter as a transition period, with the strategy unchanged but the product mix evolving toward newer platforms. He emphasized that the new pressurized alkaline system was launched to improve competitiveness, restore order intake, and move the alkaline business back toward the 2024 level when it was EBITDA positive. He also said the company’s future priorities are the rollout of pressurized alkaline and next-generation PEM, and noted that the board has already started the search for his successor while the existing strategy remains intact.

Kjell Christian Bjørnsen said Nel’s cash position of NOK 1.3 billion is solid and that there is “no urgency” to do anything about funding, while still stressing the company will act if needed to stay in a good position. He tied cost control to the reduced headcount from 430 to 313, mainly in production and project delivery, and said personnel expenses are down versus both last year and the peak in Q3 2024. On receivables, he said a large overdue balance is linked to a German bankruptcy, with the net cash effect expected to be zero if nothing is recovered, though the company hopes to reclaim some inventory.

Analysts focused on funding, overdue receivables, order momentum, and the path to positive EBITDA. Management said the current cash position is solid, there is no immediate need for financing, and they have historically used capital raises and customer contract structures to protect liquidity. On receivables, they said the large overdue item is tied to a German bankruptcy and should be cash-neutral overall. On profitability, Volldal said PEM may need about 20%-24% plant utilization to reach positive EBITDA, while alkaline needs more, and that the business needs to move into the hundreds of megawatts per year on alkaline and tens of megawatts on PEM to become profitable.