Quantafuel ASA

Quantafuel reported third-quarter revenue of NOK14.8 million. Group cash at quarter-end was NOK247 million, or about NOK314 million including deposits in the Resource Denmark joint venture. Management said quarterly cash flow was negative NOK220 million, driven in part by Esbjerg sorting-plant investments and other capex; they also said around NOK88 million was deposited with Resource Denmark during the quarter and roughly NOK220 million more remains to be funded during 2023, though debt financing could offset most of that. No EPS, gross margin, or company-wide profit figure was stated in the transcript. Guidance-wise, management expects Skive to reach positive cash flow in December 2022 and still targets about NOK70 million of annual EBITDA from Skive on current assumptions; Kristiansund is now expected to be cash positive from around mid-2023, with first-half 2023 negative result expected to be less than minus NOK5 million. The company also said a generic PtL plant still has a targeted payback of about four years and reiterated that the current generic CapEx guide remains NOK150 million per tonne for a 100,000-tonne input facility until FEED is completed.

Lars Jensen’s message was that Quantafuel is moving from development toward industrial scaling, with Skive serving as the learning base for Mk II and with several projects advancing in parallel. He emphasized that the company is building a volume-driven platform and is willing to lower ownership stakes where needed to secure financing and momentum. His tone was confident and strategic, but he repeatedly linked progress to execution discipline, feedstock availability, and capital access.

Christian Nilsen focused on liquidity, project funding, and the economics of the existing plants. He said cash was NOK247 million at quarter-end, or about NOK314 million including Resource Denmark deposits, and confirmed a negative quarterly cash flow of NOK220 million, citing Esbjerg sorting-plant spending and other investments. He said the company expects Skive to become cash positive in December 2022, Kristiansund to become cash positive around mid-2023, and that the group needs new capital concluded by the first half of next year; he also said the company is in dialogue to gear Resource Denmark with debt and expects that concluded around mid-2023.

Analysts pressed management on Kristiansund feedstock constraints, and Lars said the issue is more limited there because of feedstock quality requirements, while Esbjerg is designed to handle mixed household waste plastic. Questions also focused on the NOK88 million Resource Denmark deposit schedule, the heavy NOK220 million quarterly cash outflow, and the timing of a broader capital raise; management said the JV installments had been front-loaded and that new capital should be concluded by the first half of next year. Analysts challenged the economics of the new PtL platform versus Skive capex, and management answered that Mk II will be much larger than Skive, benefit from Skive learnings, and still has a four-year generic payback target based on conservative assumptions.