Notice to Annual General Meeting in Permascand Top Holding AB

The shareholders in Permascand Top Holding AB, Reg. No. 559227-6124 (”Permascand” or the ”company”), are hereby summoned to the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 10 May 2022.

In light of the ongoing pandemic and to minimize any risk of spreading the corona virus, the Board of Directors has decided that the Annual General Meeting is to be held only through postal voting in accordance with temporary legislation. This means that the Annual General Meeting will be conducted without the physical presence of shareholders, representatives or external parties. Shareholders will only be able to exercise their voting rights by postal voting in advance of the Annual General Meeting in the manner described below.

Information on the resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting will be disclosed on 10 May 2022, when the outcome of the postal voting has been confirmed.

A presentation in which Permascand’s CEO Peter Lundström comments on the company’s operations will be published on the company’s website, www.permascand.com, on 10 May 2022.

Right to participate
Shareholders who wish to participate in the Annual General Meeting must

  1. be registered as of 2 May 2022 in the share register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB, and
  2. no later than 9 May 2022 give notice of participation by casting its postal vote in accordance with the instructions under the heading ”Instructions for postal voting” below so that the postal vote is received by the company no later than that day.

Nominee-registered shares
In order to be entitled to participate in the meeting, shareholders who have their shares nominee-registered through a bank or other nominee must, in addition to notifying participation in the meeting, have their shares registered in their own name so that they are registered in the share register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB as of the record date on 2 May 2022. Such registration may be temporary (so-called voting rights registration), and request for such voting rights registration shall be made to the nominee in accordance with the nominee’s routines in such time in advance as determined by the nominee. Voting rights registrations effected no later than the second banking day following 2 May 2022 will be considered in the presentation of the share register.

Instructions for postal voting
Shareholders may exercise their voting rights at the Annual General Meeting only by postal voting in advance in accordance with Section 22 of the Act (2022:121) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations.

Shareholders who wish to postal vote must use the postal voting form, which is available on the company’s website, www.permascand.com, and from the company at Folkets Husvägen 50, SE-841 99 Ljungaverk. The postal voting form is considered as notice of participation in the Annual General Meeting.

The completed and signed form must be received by the company no later than Monday, 9 May 2022. The completed and signed form shall be sent by mail to Permascand Top Holding AB, Folkets Husvägen 50, SE-841 99 Ljungaverk, or by e-mail to investor@permascand.com. If the shareholder is a legal entity, a registration certificate or other authorization document must be attached to the form.

The shareholder may not provide the postal vote with special instructions or conditions. If so, the vote (i.e., the postal vote in its entirety) is invalid. Further instructions and conditions can be found in the postal voting form.

Shareholders who wish to postal vote by proxy must issue a written and dated power of attorney for the proxy. If the power of attorney is issued by a legal entity, a registration certificate or other authorization document for the legal entity must be enclosed. Proxy form is available on the company’s website, www.permascand.com, and shall be attached to the postal voting form.

Proposed agenda

  1. Opening of the meeting
  2. Election of Chairman of the meeting
  3. Drawing up and approval of the voting list
  4. Approval of the agenda
  5. Election of one or two persons to certify the minutes
  6. Determination of whether the meeting was duly convened
  7. Presentation of the submitted annual report and auditors’ report and the consolidated annual report and the auditors’ report for the group
  8. Resolution regarding
    1. The adoption of the income statement and balance sheet and the consolidated income statement and balance sheet
    2. Allocation of profit or loss in accordance with the adopted balance sheet
    3. The discharge from liability of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer
  9. Determination of the number of Board members and auditors
  10. Determination of fees for the Board and for the auditors
  11. Election of the Board and an auditing company or auditors and possible deputy auditors
  12. Resolution on authorization for the Board to issue shares, warrants and/or convertibles
  13. Resolution on a long-term incentive program for members of the Board of Directors
  14. Closing of the meeting

Proposed resolutions

Item 2 – Election of Chairman of the meeting
The Nomination Committee proposes that Per Lindberg, or the person appointed by the Board in the event of his impediment, be appointed Chairman of the meeting.

Item 3 – Drawing up and approval of the voting list
The voting list proposed to be approved under item 3 on the proposed agenda is the voting list drawn up by the company, based on the general meeting share register and received postal votes, and controlled by the adjusters.

Item 5 – Election of one or two persons to certify the minutes
The Board of Directors proposes that Johannes Wingborg and Patrik Jönsson, or the person or persons appointed by the Board in the event of impediment of any or both, be elected to certify the minutes. The tasks of the persons elected to certify the minutes also include verifying the voting list and that received postal votes are correctly reproduced in the minutes of the meeting.

Item 8 b – Resolution regarding allocation of profit or loss in accordance with the adopted balance sheet
The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend is paid and that available profits are carried forward.

Item 9 – Determination of the number of Board members and auditors
The Nomination Committee proposes that the number of members of the Board of Directors shall be seven (7) and that one (1) registered auditing company be appointed as auditor.

Item 10 – Determination of fees for the Board and for the auditors
The Nomination Committee proposes that fees to the Chairman of the Board shall be SEK 550,000 and fees to the other Board members elected by the Annual General Meeting who are not employed by the company shall be SEK 225,000 each. Furthermore, it is proposed that the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee shall receive remuneration amounting to a total of SEK 60,000 and the other members of the Remuneration Committee shall receive remuneration amounting to a total of SEK 20,000 and the Chairman of the Audit Committee shall receive remuneration amounting to a total of SEK 110,000 and the other members of the Audit Committee shall receive remuneration amounting to a total of SEK 30,000.

The Nomination Committee proposes that fees to the auditor shall be paid per approved invoice.

Item 11 – Election of the Board and an auditing company or auditors and possible deputy auditors
The Nomination Committee proposes re-election of the Board members Per Lindberg, Marie Grönborg, Mario Houde, Ingar Jensen and Johan Karlsson and new election of Anna Alexandersson and Karl Bergman for the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. It was noted that Per-Ola Baalerud and Pernilla Lundin have declined re-election. Furthermore, re-election of Per Lindberg as Chairman of the Board is proposed.

The Nomination Committee further proposes, in accordance with the Audit Committee’s recommendation, re-election of KPMG AB as auditor for the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. KPMG AB has informed that the Authorized Public Accountant Helena Nilsson will be appointed auditor in charge.

Anna Alexandersson
Born: 1979
Education: Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology

Other relevant experience: Business developer at Statkraft Hydrogen AB and Board member of Vätgas Sverige

Shareholding in Permascand (including closely-related persons): 0
Anna Alexandersson is independent in relation to Permascand and Permascand’s management as well as in relation to major shareholders.

Karl Bergman
Born: 1960
Education: PhD in Solid-State Physics from Lund University
Other relevant experience: Head of Research at Vattenfall and member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA)
Shareholding in Permascand (including closely-related persons): 0
Karl Bergman is independent in relation to Permascand and Permascand’s management as well as in relation to major shareholders.

Item 12 – Resolution on authorization for the Board to issue shares, warrants and/or convertibles
The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to authorize the Board of Directors during the period up until the next Annual General Meeting to, on one or more occasions, resolve to issue shares, warrants and/or convertibles, with our without preferential rights for the shareholders, in the amount not exceeding ten (10) percent of the total number of shares in the company at the time when the authorization is used the first time, to be paid in cash, in kind and/or by way of set-off.

The purpose for the Board of Directors to resolve on issuances with deviation from the shareholders preferential rights in accordance with the above is primarily for the purpose to raise new capital to increase flexibility of the company and possibility to advance the development of the company’s business or in connection with acquisitions of companies.

Issuances of new shares, warrants or convertibles under the authorization shall be made on customary terms and conditions based on current market conditions. If the Board of Directors finds it suitable in order to enable delivery of shares in connection with an issuance as set out above, it may be made at a subscription price corresponding to the shares’ quota value.

The Board of Directors, or a person appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be authorized to make such minor adjustments in the above resolution that may be required in connection with the registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Item 13 – Resolution on a long-term incentive program for members of the Board of Directors
The shareholder Norvestor proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to adopt a warrant-based incentive program for Board members of the company (”LTIP 2022/2026”) through (A) resolution on issue of warrants of series 2022/2026 to the company, and (B) resolution on approval of transfer of warrants of series 2022/2026 from the company to Board members of the company, as set out below.

Background and motives
Norvestor considers it important that Anna Alexandersson and Karl Bergman also are given an opportunity to receive remuneration that is related to and dependent on the value growth they contribute to creating, on corresponding terms as for the rest of the Board in accordance with LTIP 2021/2025. Furthermore, Norvestor believes that it is beneficial for the company and the shareholders that the incentive program’s participants thus are given a personal and long-term ownership commitment. Such ownership commitment is expected to stimulate increased interest in the company’s business and earnings development as a whole, as well as to increase motivation for the participants and aims to achieve increased community of interest between the participants and the company’s shareholders.

In light of the terms, the size of the allotment and other circumstances, Norvestor considers that the proposed warrant program as follows below is reasonable and beneficial for the company and its shareholders.

A. Issue of warrants to the company
Norvestor proposes that the meeting resolves to issue no more than 132,536 warrants of series 2022/2026 with deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights, entailing an increase in the share capital upon full exercise by no more than approximately SEK 4,908.74, subject to the following terms:

  1. With deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights, the right to subscribe for the warrants shall be given the company with the right and obligation to, on one or more occasions, transfer warrants to Board members in accordance with what is stated in item B below. The company shall have no right to dispose of the warrants in any other way than as stated in the proposal in accordance with item B below. The reason for deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights is that the warrants shall be used within the framework of LTIP 2022/2026.
  2. The warrants shall be subscribed for from and including 10 May 2022 up to and including 31 May 2022 on a special subscription list, with the right for the Board of Directors to extend the subscription period.
  3. The warrants are issued free of charge to the company.
  4. Each (1) warrant entitles to subscription of one (1) new share in the company during the period from and including 1 May 2026 up to and including 10 June 2026, at a subscription price corresponding to 110 percent of the volume-weighted average price of the company’s share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market during the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding 31 May 2022. The subscription price shall be rounded to the nearest whole SEK 0.01, whereby SEK 0.005 shall be rounded upwards. According to the terms of the warrants, the period during which the warrant may be exercised may be extended if participants are prevented from exercising their warrants due to applicable laws on insider trading or equivalent. The part of the subscription price that, in the subscription of shares by support of the warrants, exceeds the shares’ quota value shall be added to the company’s unrestricted share premium reserve.
  5. New shares subscribed for by exercise of warrants entitle to dividends for the first time on the record date for dividends occurring after the registration of the new shares with the Swedish Companies Registration Office and the shares have been entered in the share register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB.
  6. The complete terms and conditions of the warrants are available on the company’s website, www.permascand.com. According to the terms of the warrants, the subscription price and the number of shares that each warrant entitles to subscription of shall be recalculated in the event of a split, reverse split, issues etc., in accordance with customary recalculation provisions, and the period for subscription based on the warrants can be brought forward.
  7. The Board of Directors, or the person appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be authorized to make the minor adjustments to the issue resolution that may prove necessary in connection with registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office or Euroclear Sweden AB.

B. Approval of transfer of warrants from the company to Board members
Norvestor proposes that the meeting resolves to approve that the company, within the framework of LTIP 2022/2026, transfers no more than 132,536 warrants of series 2022/2026 to Board members, subject to the following terms:

  1. The right to acquire warrants from the company shall be granted to Anna Alexandersson and Karl Bergman, each of whom, personally or through a wholly-owned company, has the right to acquire no more than 66,268 warrants. A participant may apply for the acquisition of a lower but not a higher number of warrants than stated for him/her above.
  2. Notice of acquisition of warrants shall be made no later than 31 May 2022. Transfer shall take place as soon as possible after the end of the notice period, provided that the participant is a member of the company at the time of the acquisition.
  3. Transfer of the warrants shall be made at a price corresponding to the market value of the warrants at the time of transfer, which shall be calculated according to Black & Scholes’ valuation method or other accepted valuation method. The valuation of warrants shall be carried out by an independent valuation institution or auditing company. In connection with the transfer of warrants to the participants, the company shall, by agreement, reserve the right to repurchase warrants if the participant’s assignment ends or if the participant in turn wishes to transfer the warrants.
  4. Payment for warrants acquired shall be made in cash no later than 1 June 2022.

Existing incentive programs

Long-term incentive program for management

The Extraordinary General Meeting in the company on 3 June 2021 resolved to issue warrants as a part of the implementation of an incentive program (“LTIP 2021/2024”) for existing and potential future senior executives and other key employees in the Group, twelve employees in total (the “Participants”). In total, LTIP 2021/2024 will comprise a maximum of 729,153 warrants.

The warrants will be issued to the Participants or a Group company and subsequently transferred to the Participants at fair market value, which will be set by PricewaterhouseCoopers in accordance with the Black & Scholes valuation method at the time of transfer. The number of warrants per Participant will vary depending on the Participant’s position within the Group. The maximum number of warrants that each of the Participants in the Executive Management will be allowed to acquire is specified in the table below.

Participant Warrants % of program
Peter Lundström 227,205 31,2 %
Fredrik Herlitz 72,292 9,9 %
Linda Ekman 72,292 9,9 %
Viktoria Lindstand 72,292 9,9 %
Lars Nyman 72,292 9,9 %
Lena Oskarsson Engberg 48,195 6,6 %
Jens Michael Povlsen 48,195 6,6 %
Erik Zimmerman 48,195 6,6 %
Louis Obaro Andrew 48,195 6,6 %
Nicholas Laroche 20,000 2,7 %
Total LTIP 2021/2024 729,153 100,0 %

The warrants can be exercised during the period 1 May – 10 June 2024. The strike price of the warrants will be SEK 40.8.

The terms and conditions of the warrants include customary recalculation provisions relating to, among other things, dividends that are distributed before the time of exercise of the warrants. The company has reserved the right to repurchase the warrants if, for example, the Participant wishes to sell the warrants to a third party or if the Participant’s employment is terminated.

Assuming that all 729,153 warrants in LTIP 2021/2024 are exercised for subscription of new shares, the share capital of the company will increase by approximately SEK 27,005.67, corresponding to approximately 1.2 percent of the company’s share capital. Since the warrants are transferred at fair market value, the company assesses that any potential costs for social charges associated with the program will be limited. The costs related to the program will accordingly mostly consist of limited costs for the implementation and administration of the program.

Long-term incentive program for the Board of Directors

The Extraordinary General Meeting in the company on 3 June 2021 resolved to issue warrants as a part of the implementation of an incentive program (“LTIP 2021/2025”) for existing directors in the company (the “Board Participants”). In total, LTIP 2021/2025 will comprise a maximum of 504,899 warrants. The warrants will be issued to a Group company and subsequently transferred to the Board Participants at fair market value, which will be set by PricewaterhouseCoopers in accordance with the Black & Scholes valuation method at the time of transfer. The maximum number of warrants that each of the Board Participants of the Board of Directors will be allowed to acquire is specified in the table below.

Participant Warrants % of program
Per Lindberg 151,470 30,0 %
Johan Karlsson 88,357 17,5 %
Ingar Jensen 66,268 13,1 %
Marie Grönberg 66,268 13,1 %
Pernilla Lundin 66,268 13,1 %
Mario Houde 66,268 13,1 %
Total LTIP 2021/2025 504,899 100,0 %

The warrants can be exercised during the period 1 May – 10 June 2025. The strike price of the warrants will be SEK 37.4.

The terms and conditions of the warrants include customary recalculation provisions relating to, among other things, dividends that are distributed before the time of exercise of the warrants. The company has reserved the right to repurchase the warrants if, for example, the Board Participant wishes to sell the warrants to a third party or if the Board Participant’s Board assignment is terminated.

Assuming that all 504,899 warrants in LTIP 2021/2025 are exercised for subscription of new shares, the share capital of the company will increase by approximately SEK 18,699.96, corresponding to 0.9 percent of the company’s share capital.

Since the warrants are transferred at fair market value, the company assesses that any potential costs for social charges associated with the program will be limited. The costs related to the program will accordingly mostly consist of limited costs for the implementation and administration of the program.

Dilution effects, costs etc.

As of the date of the proposal, there are 59,313,529 shares in the company. If all warrants that can be issued and transferred are exercised for subscription of shares, the number of shares and votes in the company will increase by no more than 132,536 (subject to any recalculation of the number of shares in accordance with the terms of the warrants) corresponding to a dilution of the share capital and votes in the company of approximately 0.2 percent. The warrants are expected to have a marginal effect on the company’s key performance indicators.

Assuming issue and full allotment of the proposed warrants and that the market value per warrant corresponds to approximately SEK 4.9 (according to a preliminary valuation assuming a price of SEK 30.4 per share, a subscription price of SEK 33.4 per share corresponding to 110 percent of the price, a ceiling of SEK 68.4 corresponding to 225 percent of the price, a risk-free interest rate of 0.39 percent and a volatility of 27.5 percent), the income from the proceeds received from the transfers of the warrants is estimated to exceed the costs, which are estimated to be insignificant, in the creation of the program. When transferring warrants to participants, the market value will be determined based on updated assumptions and then known parameters.

Preparation of the proposal

The proposed resolution on adoption of the warrant-based incentive program and the proposed resolutions under items A and B above have been prepared by a shareholder in consultation with external advisors.

Other information

Majority requirements
Resolution in accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal under item 12 above presupposes that the resolution is supported by at least two-thirds of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting.

Resolution in accordance with the shareholder’s proposal under item 13 above presupposes that the resolution is supported by at least nine-tenths of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting.

Number of shares and votes
The shares in the company are issued only in one series. Each share in the company carries one vote at the Annual General Meeting. At the time of this notice, the total number of shares in Permascand, as well as the total number of votes, amounts to 59,313,529. Permascand holds no treasury shares.

Shareholders’ right to receive information
In accordance with Chapter 7, Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act, the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer shall, if any shareholder so requests and the Board of Directors believes that it can be done without material harm to the company, provide information at the meeting about circumstances that may affect the evaluation of an item on the agenda, circumstances that may affect the assessment of the company's or subsidiaries' financial situation and the company's relationship with another company within the group.

Due to the fact that the Annual General Meeting will be held without a physical meeting, requests for information must be submitted in writing by mail to Permascand Top Holding AB, Folkets Husvägen 50, SE-841 99 Ljungaverk, marked “AGM 2022”, or by e-mail to investor@permascand.com no later than 30 April 2022. Such information is provided by being kept available from the company at the address Folkets Husvägen 50, SE 841-99 Ljungaverk and on the company’s website, www.permascand.com, no later than 5 May 2022. The information is also sent within the same time to the shareholders who so request and provide their postal or e-mail address.

Documents
The company’s annual report for the financial year 2021 and the accompanying auditor’s report will be available from the company no later than three weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. Documents under the Swedish Companies Act will be available from the company no later than two weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. Copies of said documents will also be sent to shareholders who so request and provide their postal address. The documents will also be available on the company’s website, www.permascand.com.

Processing of personal data
For information regarding the processing of your personal data, see
https://www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf

____________

Permascand Top Holding AB
Ånge in April 2022
The Board of Directors

Karl Bergman and Anna Alexandersson proposed to join Permascand’s Board

The Nomination Committee in Permascand has decided to propose Karl Bergman and Anna Alexandersson for election as new Board members at the Annual General Meeting on May 10, 2022.

Karl Bergman has held several senior positions at Vattenfall and is currently Head of Research and Development. Previous roles include senior positions in business units for CCS, nuclear power and heat. Karl Bergman has previously worked for Cap Gemini, ABB Power Systems and ABB Corporate Research and holds a PhD in solid state physics from Lund University.

Anna Alexandersson has experience of electrification, hydrogen and renewable energy through several roles at the research institute RISE. She currently holds the role of business developer at Statkraft Hydrogen AB and is also a board member of Vätgas Sverige. Anna holds a M.Sc. in chemical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology.

“We are pleased to be able to propose Karl Bergman and Anna Alexandersson as new Members of the Board of Permascand. Karl Bergman has broad and solid experience from research and development that will further be able to confirm Permascands as a leading innovative force in green technology applications. The Nomination Committee sees Anna Alexandersson's expertise in business development linked to hydrogen and electrification as an important addition to strengthen Permascand's position within green hydrogen and to utilize the commercial potential in the segment,” said Trond Bjørnøy, Chairman of the Nomination Committee.

The Nomination Committee proposes re-election of the current Board members Marie Grönborg, Mario Houde, Ingar Jensen and Johan Karlsson. The Nomination Committee proposes re-election of Per Lindberg as Chairman of the Board. Board members Per-Ola Baalerud and Pernilla Lundin have announced that they are not available for re-election at the upcoming AGM. The Nomination Committee's additional proposals will be published in conjunction with the notice of the 2022 AGM.

Employee representative resigns from his position in Permascand’s Board of Directors

Emil Wiljesäter and Andreas Bergström resign from their positions as employee representative and deputy member of Permascand’s Board of Directors, respectively, due to the fact that they have been appointed to new positions within the company.

IF Metall will appoint a new employee representative.

Permascand receives two orders of totally SEK 100 million from a world-leading supplier of chlorate

Permascand has received two orders from a world-leading supplier of chlorate regarding electrochemical cells and correlated equipment for a Greenfield project in South America. The orders will be included as order intake for the first quarter of 2022 and is worth SEK 100 million, with planned deliveries beginning in the latter part of 2022 and beginning of 2023.

The business partnership is well-established and Permascand has historically delivered coatings and new installations to the customer's facilities in Sweden and Europe, as well as North and South America.

“Receiving these orders is an honourable project for us and it is very positive that we can contribute to a new project of this kind. Together, we increase innovation and sustainability in the industrial market and support the green technology transition”, says Peter Lundström CEO at Permascand.

The client is a global, specialty chemicals leader. Markets and consumers worldwide rely on their solutions to manufacture chlorate, hygiene products, cleaning goods, agriculture and food, pharmaceuticals, and building products. The company operates in over 80 countries around the world with industry-leading brands.

Q4 2021: Continued strong profitability despite supply chain disruptions

Year-end report 2021

Fourth quarter 2021 (Q4 2020)

  • Order intake decreased 10 percent, totaling SEK 74 million (82)
  • Sales increased 10 percent to SEK 130 million (118)
  • Operating profit totaled SEK 30 million (22), corresponding to 23 percent (19) of revenue
  • Adjusted operating profit totaled SEK 32 million (27)
  • Earnings after tax totaled SEK 21 million (13)
  • Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK 0.35 (0.26)
  • Cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK 33 million (32)

Jan–Dec 2021 (Jan–Dec 2020)

  • Order intake decreased 20 percent, totaling SEK 377 million (470)
  • Sales decreased 3 percent to SEK 405 million (415)
  • Operating profit totaled SEK 38 million (60), corresponding to 9 percent (15) of revenue
  • Adjusted operating profit totaled SEK 60 million (65)
  • Earnings after tax totaled SEK 20 million (33)
  • Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK 0.37 (0.65)
  • Cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK 11 million (53)

Events during the fourth quarter of 2021

  • On October 15, 2021, Permascand announced that the company had signed a framework agreement with one of the largest global players in chloralkali and diaphragm technology. The value of the agreement is estimated at between SEK 30–50 million per year during the three-year contract period.

CEO comment: Continued strong profitability despite supply chain disruptions

The fourth quarter of 2021 is testament to the fact that we are on the right path in our continued journey of growth, in which we will continue to deliver profitable growth by capitalizing on rapidly growing markets being driven by megatrends in environment and sustainability.

During the quarter, we continued to be affected primarily by a volatile supply chain that affected customers' decision-making processes in the short term. We thus found many of our customers holding off on placing orders during the quarter. We still displayed strong total figures for the quarter. Sales increased 10 percent to SEK 130 million, and once again we achieved a robust gross profit of SEK 47 million, which corresponds to a gross margin of 36 percent. This is proof that the investments we made in automation has resulted in improved production processes. We delivered an adjusted operating profit of SEK 32 million during the quarter, compared with SEK 27 million in the year-earlier period. This, despite a larger cost base as a result of the investments we made for future growth.

We are experiencing a historically high level of activity, with several customer inquiries in all three of our business segments. The high level of activity is a prerequisite for a strong commercial order intake and sales in the future, which is originating from smaller project orders. To maximize performance and sustainability, Permascand’s solutions are to a great degree tailored to the end customer through dialogue, testing and adaptation. There is no doubt that the underlying demand in the market remains high, given the significant interest from customers looking to initiate discussions and partnership agreements.

Our ambitions in green hydrogen – a sub-segment under Electrification & Renewables – are high. Our largest innovative effort, the construction of a full-scale technology and innovation center and investments in the company’s research team, proceeded according to plan during the quarter. There are strong opportunities in the market for green hydrogen produced via electrolysis, a market in which Permascand has delivered electrodes for electrolysis for over 20 years.

The level of activity in Industrial Solutions remains healthy, and numerous interesting dialogues are in progress. This indicates a strong underlying demand driven by increased awareness of the climate gains that are generated by the use of dimensionally stable anodes. We have also been working intensely on a new type of high-efficiency coating technology that is planned to be put into operation in the second quarter of 2022. The higher efficiency leads to lower costs and a more sustainable production.

Water Treatment was relatively unchanged during the quarter. The pandemic continued to have a short short-term dampening effect on the shipping industry and the growth in the field. The need for systems that can efficiently purify ballast water remains, and we believe that market conditions beyond the pandemic remain unchanged.

Using a flexible approach, we have been highly successful in adapting our operational activities to the prevailing situation. In combination with improvements in automation and robotisation, we will continue to increase our efficiency in the various parts of our operation so that we will be ready when the market situation returns to normal. We look forward to the remainder of 2022, where we will be well positioned to capture additional market shares and strengthen our profitability to increase our lead over our competitors.

Peter Lundström, CEO

Report presentation
CEO Peter Lundström and CFO Linda Ekman will present the report in a conference call today 10 February at 10:30 CET. The presentation will be held in English and will be concluded with a Q&A session.

Link to the presentation: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/permascand-top-holding-q4-2021

Telephone numbers for the conference call:
SE: +46 8 5055 8368
UK: +44 3333 009 031
US: +1 631 913 1422 (Pin: 27301922#)

Link to report
The report is attached to this announcement and can be found at: https://permascand.com/investors/financial-reports/