Interim report January-September 2021
Third quarter 2021 (Q3 2020)
- Order intake decreased 11 percent, totaling SEK 203 million (228)
- Sales decreased 32 percent, totaling SEK 76 million (111)
- Operating profit totaled SEK 14 million (21), corresponding to 18 percent (19) of revenue
- Adjusted operating profit totaled SEK 14 million (21)
- Earnings after tax totaled SEK 10 million (13)
- Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK 0.18 (0.26)
- Cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK 32 million (-16)
Jan–Sep 2021 (Jan–Sep 2020)
- Order intake decreased 22 percent, totaling SEK 302 million (389)
- Sales decreased 8 percent, totaling SEK 274 million (297)
- Operating profit totaled SEK 8 million (38), corresponding to 3 percent (13) of revenue
- Adjusted operating profit totaled SEK 28 million (38)
- Earnings after tax totaled SEK 0 million (20)
- Earnings per share before and after dilution amounted to SEK -0.01 per share (0.39).
- Cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK -21 million (21)
Events during the third quarter of 2021
- On July 2, 2021, Permascand announced that the oversubscription option that the principal owners had issued in conjunction with the company’s listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market had been partially exercised. In conjunction with this announcement, the stabilization period was concluded.
- During the quarter, Permascand took the next step with the customer Verdagy and signed a collaboration agreement. The agreement is a continuation of the letter of intent that was signed between the companies in June 2021 and will accelerate commercialization of the electrochemical cell that is the cornerstone of Verdagy’s technology for green hydrogen water electrolysis (the VWE process).
- On September 30, Permascand announced that the company had received an order of approximately EUR 17.5 million from its largest customer for delivery of electrochemical cells for ballast water treatments systems (BWTS) starting in 2022.
CEO comment: Solid foundation for strong growth in 2022
The third quarter of 2021 was marked by a good level of activity with many customer inquiries in all segments. The lower sales level in the quarter compared with the corresponding period last year is a result of lower order intake earlier in the year, mainly within Water Treatment, due Covid-19. The lower order intake is a result of the pandemic, higher prices for raw materials and supplies as well as supply chain disruptions. However, this lower sales rate had a positive effect in that we are now even better prepared for future growth, and we see that the investments and strategic initiatives that we have carried out to date have generated more efficient processes and working methods. This has had a positive impact on gross profit, which totaled SEK 27 million during the quarter, corresponding to a margin of 35 percent – the highest gross margin ever for Permascand.
Permascand offers customized solutions that are crucial for maximizing performance and durability. On average, we spend four to five years – in dialogue with the customer – to produce, test and adapt our products before the customer submits a final order. Activity levels in this area remained high during the quarter. We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from potential customers who are looking to initiate partnerships and evaluation procedures together with us, which speaks to strong underlying demand. Despite the continued growth in underlying demand, we still felt the impact of the negative effects of the pandemic during the quarter. On the one hand, this concerned materials supply and generated longer turnaround times than normal – which we successfully offset through existing inventory – and higher prices for raw materials and supplies on the other. The result is that customers have become more hesitant in their investment decision and more cautious in their choice of projects, which we are seeing in the form of a temporary decrease in sales, since part of the deliveries we had relied on were postponed.
In the third quarter, we signed a large and important order in Water Treatment, which indicates that the market in the segment is well on its way toward picking up momentum again. We have also noticed a steady positive trend in our Industrial Solutions and Electrification & Renewables business segments.
Demand in Industrial Solutions remains stable, generating interesting projects. We are also seeing an expanded market, with new Greenfields projects under way. This both generates sales now, and opens the way to new aftermarket opportunities. The framework agreement that was signed during the quarter with one of the leading global players in the chlorine hydroxide and sodium hydroxide market has provided us with a strategically important position for growth in the North American market.
In Electrification & Renewables, there is significant interest in development of cells and production methods, where Permascand can capture a strong position in the continued development of the electrochemical cells that are a crucial part of the technology. During the quarter, we also took the next step in our successful partnership with Verdagy. The prototypes have now been created, and the next step is to produce test cells for test runs and, ultimately, commercialization in an even larger testing facility.
Operationally, the third quarter was reminiscent of the preceding quarter, which was also filled with new partnerships and customer projects. We continue to work with a long-term perspective, and have already seen our efforts begin to pay off despite the slower growth phase. We have extremely robust resources in research and development, and our efforts at a full-scale technology and innovation center in green hydrogen are progressing in accordance with plans. This will strengthen our position and potential for delivering innovative, competitive electrochemical and manufacturing solutions to this rapidly growing global market.
To sum up, the third quarter was a stable one with a healthy level of activity and operational progress despite a challenging market situation. The demand situation at the end of the third quarter was a positive one. We enter the final quarter of the year with a historically strong order book, and we expect that demand will gradually increase. We now have a firm basis for accelerating in pace with the market for the global green energy transition.
Peter Lundström, CEO
Link to report
The interim report is attached to this announcement and can be found at: https://permascand.com/investors/financial-reports/
