FINANCIAL RESULTS FOURTH QUARTER 2023
- Net sales amounted to SEK 38.4 million (18.1)
- Net sales, excluding metals for electrolysis, amounted to SEK 38.1 million (16.7) [1]
- Total revenue amounted to SEK 31.1 million (22.8)
- Operating profit amounted to SEK -1.3 million (-12.4)
- Operating profit after financial items amounted to SEK 0.6 million (-12.4) [2]
- Cash flow amounted to SEK -17.6 million (-21.4)
- Net cash, end of period, amounted to SEK 119.8 million (61.4)
- Liquidity ratio amounted to 200% (201)
- Order backlog coating systems at period end amounted to SEK 4.7 million (21.1)
- Order backlog Coating Services, excluding metals for electrolysis, amounted to SEK 1.0 million [1]
- Order backlog Coating Services, including metals for electrolysis, amounted to SEK 1.0 million [1]
FINANCIAL RESULTS FULL YEAR 2023
- Net sales amounted to SEK 98.4 million (32.0)
- Net sales, excluding metals for electrolysis, amounted to SEK 88.8 million (30.7) [1]
- Total revenue amounted to SEK 89.0 million (57.0)
- Operating profit amounted to SEK -33.9 million (-47.0)
- Operating profit after financial items amounted to SEK -32.0 million (-47.0) [3]
- Cash flow amounted to SEK 60.5 million (-68.3)
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS FOURTH QUARTER 2023 [4]
- Five-year leasing agreement within waveguide antennas with Waveland Technology, for Coating Services production line in China
- Lower Coating Services activity than anticipated, delayed orders within electrolysis
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE PERIOD [4]
- No significant events have occurred after the end of the period
[1] Metals for electrolysis are invoiced in a cost-neutral manner and do not affect operating profit.
[2] Q4 operating profit after financial items includes one-time effects amounting to SEK 4.0 million.
[3] Includes severance pay for the departing CEO of SEK 3.0 million.
[4] Significant events refer to events that comprise insider information and shall be made public via press release.
CEO’s COMMENTARY
Record sales for full year 2023 – continued focus on profitable growth
With great enthusiasm and pride, we wrap up the fourth quarter with a new sales record for the full year 2023. The entire team has worked hard and we have reached several important milestones during the year. At the same time, we appreciate that much work remains as we look ahead toward achieving profitable growth.
The company's future direction is clear: we aim to strengthen our position as a market-leading player in electrolysis coatings for green hydrogen while continuing to leverage the strength in our PVD coating technology's wide range of applications, for example in automotive applications.
Continued strong growth during the fourth quarter
The fourth quarter concluded a successful year for Impact Coatings. Net sales for the full year amounted to SEK 98 million (32). Excluding metals for electrolysis, net sales amounted to SEK 89 million (31). A key success factor behind the past year's development has been our combination of Coating Services and continuity in system sales. By listening to our customers, we have adapted our offerings to the market's needs, with Coating Services a clear example of this.
Net sales for the fourth quarter amounted to SEK 38 million (17), excluding metals for electrolysis. The quarter was strongly influenced by successful delivery of two coating systems at the end of the year. One system was our first delivery of an INLINECOATER™ IC2000 and was delivered to a fuel cell customer in China. The second delivery was to a European customer in metallization for vehicle safety functions.
Coating Services continued to develop well despite a lower than expected growth rate at our Coating Service Center in Linköping during the quarter, mainly caused by delayed orders in coatings for electrolysis. However, we still expect planned volumes and look forward to resuming full production capacity. As in the previous quarter, the hydrogen segment drove sales within Coating Services, where coatings for both electrolysis and fuel cells contributed to the positive development. We are also increasing our strong presence on the Asian market through our Coating Service Center in Shanghai. Being closer to customers means that we can more proactively and efficiently develop as part of the active fuel cell market in China.
The aftermarket continues to be a prioritized business area and we are investigating several development opportunities, including related to networked systems, and with the potential for increased recurring revenues. The work is still in the development stage, and we look forward reporting our progress in the future.
We report operating profit after financial items of SEK 0.6 million for the fourth quarter due to strong sales, but also due to one-time effects amounting to SEK 4.0 million, including capitalization of development costs for the new Premium FC coating for fuel cells in heavy vehicles launched in the third quarter.
Sales development
We enter 2024 with a weak order backlog but a strong sales pipeline in terms of numbers of new leads and active customer discussions. Having just returned from visits to our priority growth markets, I am both inspired and convinced by the development potential we have ahead of us. During these visits, we could confirm the increasing potential we see in the hydrogen market. Together with our regional sales managers in Europe, Asia, and North America, we visited both existing and potential customers. We could further confirm that our offering of both Coating Services and machine sales is appealing to our potential customers. Another observation regarding the Chinese market is that there is significant potential for additional sales to existing customers.
In the broader Asian market, the Joint Development Agreement with Hyundai has not been extended for 2024 since we aim to move towards a more commercial relationship with a focus on delivery rather than development.
Temporary swings in coatings for electrolysis continue to be reflected in the order backlog. Our offering within Coating Services is specifically designed to enable customers to adapt to changing conditions. Our business model, through which we can deliver Coating Services, coating systems, or combinations of these based on the customer's needs, allows us to offer flexibility and reliability even in a volatile market.
New customers in our entry stage business
Recognizing our relatively long sales cycles, we view each new customer as an important step towards long-term success and we welcomed several new customers during the fourth quarter. In one such example, the agreement we signed at the end of the year with Waveland, a Chinese start-up in waveguide antennas, is fully in line with our focused application area metallization. Metallization of plastic and its applications in vehicle safety is an area where we see great potential to continue developing the business. In addition to several orders for tests and test series in electrolysis and fuel cells, I would also like to highlight a smaller order in Coating Services with an exciting player developing fuel cells for aircraft. Our experience and expertise in electrolysis coatings enable further strides in high-performance fuel cell coatings to help meet the requirements of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Standardization for increased customer value
The past year has been characterized by investments to position Impact Coatings in the hydrogen coating market, international expansion and development of our Coating Service Centers. We can conclude that we have successfully executed on the plan to further enable efficiency and expansion of the business.
In parallel, we also continue to work with the development of our technology solutions and what we call the industrialization of the business. The team effort we made to deliver the system orders we had in the order backlog towards year-end sets the conditions for us to take the next step towards a more standardized production of systems. We have laid the foundation for the tactical change to produce machines against qualified market forecasts rather than reacting to incoming orders. Through standardization and volume purchasing, we see a significant opportunity to lower the costs of input materials, while at the same time we will be able to meet the demand from customers for faster deliveries of our systems and thereby shorten the lead times from around one year to a few months.
Outlook
I assumed the role of CEO on October 1 and am reporting here my first quarter leading the company. I am proud of our employees' drive and achievements during the past year. Thanks to a smooth transition from my predecessor Torbjörn Sandberg Kanon, we have been able to continue at full speed and take several important steps in getting closer to our customers, strengthening the sales focus in the organization, and streamlining operations.
With the organizational changes implemented during the fourth quarter, we have now filled important roles and adopted a new group management that reflects our operational activities, providing long-term stability in the company and a clear orientation towards increased focus on sales and product development.
We have several milestones to look forward to in the coming year. High on the agenda is clearly the move and development of our Coating Service Center and headquarters in Linköping, as well as putting our third planned Coating Service Center in New York into operation. We also strive to further strengthen the organization and look forward to starting the shift from reactive to proactive production of our systems, which will enable faster and more efficient deliveries – and in the long run, increased value for our customers.
I would like to extend my thanks to all employees, partners, customers and shareholders who have been part of Impact Coatings’ development in 2023. Together, we continue to strengthen the company's position as a market leader in electrolysis coatings and as a long-term strategic partner for our customers.
Jonas Nilsson, CEO
The full report is attached, and can be retrieved on the company’s website at www.impactcoatings.com/finansiella-rapporter-arkiv/.