PowerCell Sweden Stock price
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Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = kr1.19b | Revenue (TTM) = kr264.81m
Market Cap = kr1.19b | Estimated Revenue = kr296.64m
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = kr1.20b | Revenue (TTM) = kr264.81m
Enterprise Value = kr1.20b | Forward Revenue = kr296.64m
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF)
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF shows how many years it would take for a company to "pay back" its enterprise value using its free cash flow.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It focuses on real cash generation, ignoring accounting noise — ideal for assessing profitability and value based on liquidity, not earnings.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF may signal undervaluation and strong cash generation.
- A high EV/FCF might reflect weak recent cash flow or aggressive growth expectations.
- Best suited for stable, mature businesses with predictable free cash flows.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow shows how much actual cash remains after a company covers its operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s real financial strength – regardless of accounting profits. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow means the company generates real, usable cash – independent of reported net income.
- It’s often the most reliable base for sustainable dividends and buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be an early warning sign – even when profits appear stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free cash flow margin
📈 What is it?
The free cash flow (FCF) margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as actual free cash after covering all operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This margin reflects the true liquidity generated by the business – independent of accounting rules or depreciation. It’s especially relevant for dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment decisions.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high FCF margin means a company consistently generates strong cash flow.
- It’s a positive signal for financial stability and shareholder returns.
- The long-term trend is key – a declining margin may indicate rising investments or weakening operating efficiency.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Turnover per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
PowerCell Sweden Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
7 Analysts have issued a PowerCell Sweden forecast:
Analyst Opinions
7 Analysts have issued a PowerCell Sweden forecast:
PowerCell Sweden Events
Past Events
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JUL
16
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
2 months ago
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APR
23
Q1 2026 Earnings Call
5 months ago
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FEB
4
Q4 2025 Earnings Call
8 months ago
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OCT
23
Q3 2025 Earnings Call
11 months ago
|
StocksGuide Free
PowerCell Sweden — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the PowerCell Group Q2 2026 Report Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the CEO, Richard Berkling; and CFO, Anders During. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and a warm welcome to our quarter 2 report. Sorry for the slight delay. We had an issue with the system that we did a reboot and a restart, which is also something that we're doing with PowerCell because what we see this quarter is that we are delivering on what we said we are in a very uncertain, volatile year.
Next slide, please. The second quarter was weak. We were reporting a falling revenue of 46% year-over-year, excluding the one-off effects that we saw in license transaction last year. I'm not going to dress that up. That is a very disappointing quarter. But I won't dwell on the number either. What matters is what is behind it and what we can do about it and what we are doing about it. So in this presentation, we're going to be very straight about what we can control and equally clear about what we don't control.
But at the same time, I don't want this quarter and the numbers to hide another fact. How is the company reporting these numbers? It's a fundamentally stronger company today than we were just a couple of years ago or 1 year ago. Anders, CFO, will walk you through the details of the quarter shortly. But first, I want to share with you the lens which we will read this quarter numbers through.
Next one, please. This is a quarter shaped by the nature of the market that we are in. This is a difficult market. It's a lumpy market. So what we are reporting is not a loss of demand. We are in the middle of an emerging business in a technology shift. We saw massive hopes and expansions in the early stages of 2021 to '23 and then the market reaction setting.
Markets like ours, every technology shifts are lumpy. Intake and revenue does not arrive in a smooth line. They come in steps. Individual large orders can change both a quarter and a full year for companies like PowerCell. If we then on top of that, add a year where we have had strong global uncertainty and that unevenness becomes even more pronounced.
So this is exactly what we reported at the year-end report in February in which you also circle back to in quarter 1, where we said that 2026 would look much more like '23 and '24 with a significant shift between quarters. And I'm not saying that's a point backwards, but because it matters for how you read us. When we tell you what we're seeing, it most often plays out. So underneath the numbers in quarter 2, the demand signal is moving the other way. Order intake was strengthened, and I'll show you that in a moment.
With that lens, let me hand over to Anders for the numbers, calling in from your phone, so you cannot flip the slides yourself. And then I will come back to what we have done and what we're doing going forward. So next slide, please.
Thank you, Richard. I will briefly go through the numbers. I think it's kind of self-explanatory what happens in comparison this year with last year. And after taking the increased sales on IP and royalty away from the quarters, there are still some comparison that could be made.
The importance for the quarter is to say that you may feel that the gross profit margin is declining despite you taking the IP sales away. Now there are quite a number of reasons for that, but there are 2 significant reasons that happens at the same time that I'd like to highlight. And I think it's important understanding that the gross profit margin that we are dealing with or that will be for the future. And that is that we were -- when the point in time entered the negative media coverage, we were also at the same stage in final deliveries to customer. That conjunction of events triggered us to be very careful on how we delivered and securing the relationship and the final deliveries to customers, which triggered an excessive cost during that phase that strike our profits in the second quarter. I think that is in itself important to carry.
So the final deliveries with the [media] approximately -- and if we would have had a more normal quarter, you would have anticipated a gross profit margin of around 25%, not the 10% we report now. Then you can do the backward calculation how much this is striking us at that point in time.
In the quarter, though, there are still one positive thing I'd like to report on, and that is the operating cash flow. Like last year, it's a bit of a bounce back from the first quarter that usually significantly negative. But I think it's important to know that given that some have a very large or a high number of working capital, that certainly helps us when we can utilize what we have in a quarter like this. So despite a very, let's say, small top line, we managed to have a positive operating cash flow in that scenario.
With that, we can move on to the accumulated numbers, so we can flip slide to the H2 period. I think numbers are repeating themselves. But on this page, I really like to take the opportunity to say that now for a number of reasons, we also, like Richard say, are in a position where we take actions on the cost base side. I mean there are a number of those background reasons. The first more narrow strategic focus as we move forward.
Secondarily, as we look into the time horizon going forward, we know that we need to focus more on tomorrow and the day after tomorrow rather in a very long period of time because we have now come to place with our company where we can swap between short term, long term without necessarily having any setbacks from that. So we are simply more efficient in what we do on that angle and particularly then related to R&D.
Thirdly, when you move from -- and you may recall this from the first quarter report. You remember us presenting the capabilities of PowerCell being the fuel stack, the systems and the software. Of course, in that change, that comes with a certain level of competence. So we need to take that into account as well.
And last but not least, and here's why I think it makes no sense to you, obviously, with a huge cost base given the turnover we have, we need to revisit and realign the cost base. And the actions are already in place. And the importance when you look at future quarter reports and then start to wonder how much are the reductions, what is actually happening, I would like to take the opportunity already at this point in time to say that these things are happening during '26. The importance for us is to make sure that when we enter 2027, we have a cost base that is a relevant cost base for what we foresee being the revenue levels in '27. Although we will report and you will most likely also recognize the number changing throughout the rest of the year.
With that, Richard, I think I'm done with my numbers, and I leave that to you.
We'll come back to that during the questions. If you flip side, you will see the upcoming events and reports. Quarter 3 in October 22 and quarter 4 on February 3 in 2027. So if we move on.
Next slide. Thank you. As Anders said, we have already acted. We have now worked hard to increase focus and build on the discipline that, that delivers. We have a harder market. We have had that for the last 9 to 12 months. Our response has been to become a better company. Three areas that we are working on. One is resilience, as Anders was talking about. We are rightsizing the organization, adapting the cost base to the current market conditions. And as Anders pointed out, to be very fit for the market entry in 2027. We see the effects materializing in the second half of 2026. The balance point we need to preserve is to have long-term competitiveness and the ability to scale. So resilience to protect profitability has been in focus for the first half of 2026, and you will see effect in '26 and '27 going forward.
Then we have also increased focus because when the market is difficult as it is, it's important to concentrate your resources where your competitive advantage is the strongest. So Marine remains our commercial foundation. I was really happy to see the order being signed here in the late part of June. Power Generation with the order that we signed as a subsequent event to quarter 2, the data center order from California is a very important first step to establish Power Generation as the second growth pillar to double the potential served market for PowerCell.
What we also have seen is a focus on technology where improvement performance on current generations allow us to postpone investment into next generation, which is also very important and a valuable thing. It gives us 2 things. One is, of course, lowering cost and pushing investment further out in time, but also longer time to live and build the company on what is already invested, which is really, really strong.
And then third, precision. We are increasing customer value and improving our differentiation. DMC, the Dynamic Master Controller, which is the software platform that is integrating large installations with multiple megawatts of fuel cells. That is a really strong differentiator, and we'll come back to that one. Software and controls in general allows us to control a drive collective, protect lifetime and durability, but also orchestrate energy in hybrid installations, which is becoming much more important in the market that we're entering at the moment. It's not just about Power Generation, but how to orchestrate energy in an installation. And then, of course, working on the application-specific integration and value that you create for earning customer, Power Generation customers, et cetera.
So if we move to the next one. Order intake was up in the quarter. The number shows that we are heading in the right direction in that one. The order intake is leading and then revenue follows. Revenue is trailing in this market. Sometimes we deliver within 6 months, 3 months. Other times, it's 18 months. But it's a very important signal to us that we saw order intake rising to SEK 86 million new signed orders in the quarter, up from SEK 50 million in quarter 1. Even more importantly, it accelerated towards the end of the period and continued now into the second -- third quarter.
In Marine, we saw Proven Foundation signing an order with LH2 Shipping, which was exactly the kind of customer that is driving this transition. In Power Generation that we have identified as the second growth pillar for PowerCell. We signed our first multi-megawatt order with ECL signed just after closing of the period. But this gives us the 2 pillars that we have been focusing on the strategy that we have to build PowerCell going forward.
Revenue lagged this quarter, but intake accelerated. And this is just how business looks in building a company in this technology shift. Sometimes demand is building faster than delivery revenue yet to show.
So let me now show you where this actually really sit. It's not just the hardware. So next slide. We are talking more and more about software and features and integration, and that is becoming more important for PowerCell and the industry. The foundation of PowerCell will always be to do the right side. We're extremely proud of the S3 stack that we have. We have products and technology, which is creating massive value for us. But what we have learned in the last 18 months is not just to have good technology, but to become an industrialized product company.
So if we start at the right, the S3 stack is a very versatile and a robust component that we have now pushed in test. So we see that we have performance and durability beyond the spec. We have a very wide operation window, which is important when you go into more demanding applications like data centers because they have a very active dynamic load. So a fuel cell in a data center is not just operating on its optimal workload, but it needs to have a wide range. So the S3 stack is really competitive and strong when you operate it between 40% load and 80%, 85% load. And that is a very wide operational window, which gives us the opportunity to use the same core technology in different demanding segments.
We have validated it beyond its spec, both in high-end temperature and using grey hydrogen, which has less purity than the green hydrogen. So we see that we have a very strong foundation going into the market.
Then the PS190 system that has been developed in collaboration with Bosch. It's been running now in daily commercial operations at the ECL MV1 site, a 1-megawatt AI data center site. ECL selected this one after doing side-by-side testing with a number of other fuel cell manufacturers over more than 2 years' time.
The DMC that we'll talk about more is protecting the system from the anomalies that come in a very demanding high-end application. And then once again, the DMC, which we are now seeing becoming a strong strategic differentiator. It allows for a single interface in a multisystem installation. So for instance, when we deliver 5 megawatt or 10 megawatts, we are talking about installations between 30 and 60 and 70 units to make that integration and then the optimization between systems is a very complex but also very value-creating operation.
That is what we are doing with this dynamic master controller, which is a control platform for optimization. It gives us uptime and redundancy from the drive collective and not the individual system, which is very important going into more demanding applications. And we can also, with this optimize the fuel efficiency, lifetime and load balancing when we go into the hybrid prime power applications.
Next one, please. So talking a bit more about ECL. ECL is an AI data center company in California. They have been running 2 years of operations with liquid hydrogen, batteries and also power generators with diesel, creating this multi-hybrid installation with different energy sources. They have been running real technologies in real conditions before choosing PowerCell. The firm order is for the PS190 system, around 5 megawatts with the DMC licenses on top. The value is approximately SEK 30 million, and it will be fully delivered in 2026.
The order value is not the main story here. The significance is far greater than the size of the order. It is a reference case that opens up the door for future multi-megawatt installations in Power Generation. So this is an early proof-point. This is not the final proof point. The real test for us is to secure order # 2, 3 and 4, both with ECL and alongside others.
We also signed a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding covering future capacity of around 300 megawatts. That figure is the ambition of ECL and their growth plan. It's not our guidance, and it's nonbinding with no committed volume or revenue. I want to be crystal clear on that one. But the most important thing about ECL is not the order size. It is how the system will be used. And if we go to that, we will now talk about something.
Next slide. That was outside of scope for PEM fuel cells for a long time. This is not backup power, and it's not peak shaving. This data center and our installation is designed for continuous prime power operation, which is a very, very valuable and also demanding application. That distinction is the whole point because the traditional PEM fuel cell role has been around backup sitting idling, waiting for an outage. ECL is deploying our system as part of their primary continuous power supply for mission-critical infrastructure. That is a fundamentally larger role and a fundamentally larger potential market for us.
And the question I get here is where does the hydrogen come from? Well, the growing availability of grey and blue hydrogen is making prime power commercially relevant today. This is especially visible in the U.S., but we are seeing the same trends also in Europe. That opens up for a market for renewable green hydrogen when that volume and offtakers are out there. So let me then step back from ECL and more look on the markets underneath it.
Next slide, please. So behind the short-term volatility, the long-term drivers are not slowing. They are accelerating. We have talked more about energy resilience, power demand, data center is crowding out capacity and in parallel to that, also improved hydrogen availability. Grey and Blue today, what we are reading constantly about new FIDs on green hydrogen as well as deployment of green hydrogen production and distribution. Pollution, emission, regulation, those are still drivers that are extremely important for PowerCell.
But the demand of power, speed to power and energy resilience, those are the drivers in the market that we see today. Those drivers are real and they are strengthening. Again, I'm citing constraints, capital discipline in the market, geopolitical uncertainty and also sometimes lack of infrastructure. That combination is exactly what we have been trying to describe for a long time that we have strong demand drivers, but we also have slow decision cycles.
So the question is whether or not we're positioned to capture the volume that are out there when the cycles turn. And we think that we are with the product portfolio we have, but also with the industrial setup that we are representing.
Next slide, please. So when we say that we are positioned to capture it, this is why we think we are. Power Generation isn't a new thing within PowerCell. It is the same core technology as Marine with the same volume benefits that from both ways through Bosch and through our Marine applications. Our portfolio is also optimized for it. The performance, price in combination with the Dynamic Master Controller gives us a very, very competitive component for Power Generation. And the contribution to this is additional growth potential, of course, but without the proportional capital spend.
We are doubling our growth pillars. The growth potential for PowerCell is stronger with Power Generation, but we're building it on an industrial setup that is protecting EBITDA in a soft market, but it gives us an opportunity to stay ready when the market turns from the setup we have with Bosch that is sourcing and supplying the complete system for PowerCell, and we are doing the application and integration at the customer side.
So what can we expect from this when we look forward? Next slide, please. Let me be very straight about what to expect. The volatility will continue. We are in a market where a number of customers -- customer decisions can move a whole quarter or even a year. And the timing of those decisions are hard to predict. We won't put a number on what is not signed. We have a very active sales pipeline at the moment. We have worked hard on the commercial process within PowerCell. But we need to acknowledge the fact that before it's signed, the value is 0.
My conviction has strengthened throughout the quarter, especially the end of the quarter. Customer activity is rising. Quotation requests are growing. And with ECL, we have tangible proof of the strategy is gaining traction, but also creating value for the customer. We are also prepared either way. We have focus and the measure to continue to defend breakeven, as Anders was saying, in the low end of the scenario going forward, but we also have a capability to act and deliver on the higher end of any outcome, which brings me to where I want to end.
Next slide, please. So let me bring us back to where I started. We own this weak quarter. This is the volatility that we flag for. It's not a loss of demand. We're focused, more focused than before commercially, technically, structurally, and we are prepared. We also see the very important indicator that order intake is going up. Just in the last 2.5 months -- 2.5 weeks, we signed 9 megawatts of orders late June and now early July.
So what we cannot control is when the market turns into activity and that turns into order. We can control how well we prepare for it and when it happens, how well we execute. My ambition with PowerCell is to continue to manage this uncertainty with very strong product offerings to the market, very close collaboration with customers, making sure that our products are not just delivered, but also creating value in the customer operation. And we feel that we have positioned PowerCell to do that in a good way.
So with that, thank you very much, and we will open up for questions.
[Operator Instructions]
So the first question is for Anders. Our cash position seems to be low at SEK 76 million. Will you raise cash? Or how do you tackle that problem?
We tackle the problem by being careful about how we spend cash, and we think that the position we have right now is just a natural position given the business situation we're in. Are we concerned about the near future? No, we are not, and we feel comfortable at the level where we are.
Very good. Let me see if we have any more questions here. So we have a question about Bosch Royalty.
Here, we need to explain and perhaps deep a bit -- dive a bit deeper. In 2025, hydrogen was identified as one of the focus areas for the new Chinese 5-year plan. How China works is that in January, they start working on the new 5-year plan, identifying how to implement what areas and then the implementation starts in the second quarter. So we are now expecting to see revenues coming from the Chinese hydrogen market in the second half of 2026, which is just the effect of how they implement the policies.
What we do need to acknowledge is the fact that more than half of the investment into hydrogen production is in the world is happening in China. China has also identified a number of corridors, hydrogen highways, where operators of heavy-duty trucks can run. They get subsidies for the CapEx, of course. But what's more valuable is that the OpEx is affected by the fact that they are running toll-free on the roads. So it is expected to see a growth for transportation in China. And then also, we would expect to see Power Generation and other segments to follow.
The question then follows immediately, do you have a partner in China?
Yes, Bosch is our partner in China. They are the sales channel for both automotive and non-automotive in China. And they have an extensive operation, both with factories in Wuxi and Chongqing. So Bosch is a very established player on the Chinese market and one of the leading suppliers of fuel cells to the truck industry in China. But China is going to be a very important market for hydrogen in general. It will drive development of new technology, implementation and scale of economy.
So we have a new question here. Anders, a question for you. Right use of assets increased with noncurrent lease liabilities up correspondingly. What is this new commitment?
Yes, I'm sorry. You're going to repeat that, Richard, because I can't read the question.
We have a question from Elsa Carnegie. Right-of-use assets increased with noncurrent lease liabilities up correspondingly. What is that new commitment?
Well, the right of use is the -- I'm not sure really about the question, to be honest.
Okay. We will then go back to Elsa Carnegie afterwards and check with her.
One additional question that we see here is the outlook then for hydrogen availability, and that is a difficult question to answer.
Yes, hydrogen availability is improving. Green hydrogen is being deployed now at a stage and a pace that we haven't seen before. Norway have in 2026 signed up for 5 new production sites with logistics. And when you have production, you always see a growing market because when they design the production, the offtakers are quite often lower than what the potential is. So that is improving.
We also see now in both Spain and Rotterdam, large installations going into deployment, but also then new investments being decided and initiated. So green hydrogen is expanding at a pace that we haven't seen in this industry before. But what is encouraging, and this contradicts a bit PowerCell's background as a very green company, but the availability of grey hydrogen and blue hydrogen where you make hydrogen a reformed from natural gas, is allowing for an availability, both market availability and logistics chain that is more -- is already existing, but also at a cost that is attractive for customers even using it for prime power.
So the hydrogen availability is something that is driving demand and is going to open up doors. And even though we would like to see more green hydrogen being available, creating a market where you have fuel cells and other offtakers for hydrogen being based on the grey hydrogen as a start, that is going to accelerate also the deployment and investment interest into green hydrogen.
So, with that, I think we have covered all the questions I'm trying to look through here. With that, we're grateful for the support that we have from customers, from our stakeholders, owners as well, and of course, our employees. We feel that we are well positioned on a market that is very difficult. It is hard out there. We are seeing signs of improvement in shape of order intake. But the proof is going forward, not just signing the first order, but signing the order # 2 and 3.
So with that, thank you very much. We wish you a nice summer. And as always, you're more than welcome to reach out and visit us at PowerCell in Gothenburg. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
PowerCell Sweden — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the PowerCell Group Q1 2026 Report Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the CEO, Richard Berkling; and CFO, Anders During. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and thank you very much for joining us. Also today, we have our CTO, PowerCell, Andreas Boden, joining in to give you a presentation and an in-depth look at the technology of PowerCell. But before going into the quarter, let me briefly frame the environment that we're operating in at the moment.
We are now seeing an increasing demand of energy in society and in the world, both when it comes to energy resilience, but also the fact that the energy demand in society is accelerating quite drastically. So we see interesting search in the industry that we're operating in. But at the same time, we are operating in a very uncertain time. Geopolitical issues that we are all affected by, we see capital discipline, but also some lack of infrastructure that is creating a headwind towards the increased demand that we see in energy.
For PowerCell, this is the reality that we're navigating in. Our commitment as management is to make sure that we have an action readiness, and we're prepared for a variety of outcomes because we are going to navigate in uncertain waters for quite some time going forward.
Today, we will keep this presentation focused and structured because we have a lot to share. We will start with the technical foundation of our systems, giving you an update on what we have spent the last 3 years doing here at PowerCell, both internally at PowerCell, but also with our industrial partners around the world. We are also giving comments to the quarter and the numbers from Anders and then an outlook on what is happening in the marketplace and how we are framing PowerCell's opportunity going forward.
But first, let me say, for quarter 1, for me as a CEO, the quarter 1 did not meet the expectations. At the same time, this is in line with the volatility that we predicted in quarter 4 report. We have said previously that 2025 was somewhat of an anomaly with more stable revenue over the quarters, where 2026, most likely more will resemble '24 and '23, where we have a more project-driven sales, which will give volatility and uncertainty over the quarters. More on that when we go into the technical or the financial side and also the market prediction.
But before we go to the financials, I would like to start then with the foundation of our business and also, I would say, the heart and soul of PowerCell. Over the past years, we have invested in industrializing our technology, strengthening our product portfolio and also building the process required to deliver demand in real-world applications. Everything we do, both commercially, strategically and financially is built on this foundation. And to give you an in-depth view on that one, I hand over the word to Andreas Boden. Let me now slide -- change the slide. Here we go.
Thank you, Richard. So PowerCell builds on different layers to build reliability in real application. And the foundation of our company and technology and products are the fuel cell stack. And I think we have talked about this over the years. And the last 6 years, we have matured this stack and industrialized it together with Bosch. If you look on the bottom section, you can see that the cycle for a stack developing between 5 to 7 years from start to full validation before we go to an application. This is the key.
It takes a long time, and we want the stack to be mature and predictable because on top of the stack and around it, we build a system architecture with pumps, fans, sensors, et cetera, to both protect the stack from the application, but also to create the environment for the stack so it can perform operating over time in the application as good as possible.
And then, of course, on top of that, in a system, we now have a control system and software that we can frequently update to recalibrate depending on application or recalibrate depending on live experience from the real application. This is the 3 layers that build our foundation in our system product development and it's the core. And as you can see, they have different cycle time.
For the system, we spend 1 to 2 years for an iteration and software, we can do between weeks and months. So in real application, when we have a defined hardware, we can update them continuously to improve performance and enhance durability over time.
So if you take the next slide, we go a little bit deeper into technology and lifetime. So lifetime is determined by the operating profile, how the system is used in the application and not by a single test by itself. And what affects the fuel cell is basically how it's operated like load transient, if we cycle it, start or stop it a lot and also the load level for the fuel cell. If we operate it on half load or 70% load and in some applications, we will run it a lot on the max load.
So in this graph, which is a little bit technical, you can see degradation rates on the Y-axis and operating hours in the x-axis. And the key thing here is it's not a single test result determine how long a lifetime. It's the combination of experience and how we have designed the system, but how it's operated.
And we have tests that has been running over time that show in a marine environment with different operating profile, we can have between 24,000 and 43,000 hours of operating before we need to change stack, mostly due to it has lost performance or the hydrogen consumption is increased. So it makes financially sense to swap the stack to lower the hydrogen consumption. The stack is fully operational still, but yet on a lower efficiency.
And this resembles degradation in batteries for electric vehicles, et cetera.
Exactly. It's a natural behavior of when a fuel cell or battery is used in an application. It loses performance. So how do we test? How do we stress our technology? We have -- an EU-funded project, we worked with industrial partners and institutes developed a stress test, which finds the key spots where the fuel cell is not treated as well to provoke that this performance degradation is -- can happen.
And this cycle was developed in this project, and this is a cycle that we use to do our testing, both on stacks and system. But this is far more harsh and aggressive than any fuel cell system will see a real application. So all the test results that we get from this test has then a lot of margin in the real application because our are more softer in transient and also the load levels are normally not as high. And we don't do aggressive start and stop like the peak you can see at the end of the cycle.
So we have conducted a PowerCell marine durability test according to this accelerated stress test. For the first test was 20,000 hours on the old generation stack and the latest stack generation now, which we have industrial together with Bosch, we have done over 5,000 hours of testing. And what we can see is that the performance of the old stack generation and now the new industrialized stack generation with Bosch are the same, which gives you -- we can also rely on old data when predicting performance and durability in application.
But on top of that, together with Bosch, we have over 200,000 hours of test data in total with different operating cycles in different environments, giving us a solid foundation on how our stacks behave in different conditions, which then we can use to build the system around it and predict the durability and performance over time in real application. And on top of that, there is also 0.5 million hours of field data available for stacks together with Bosch.
So just to reiterate then the 20,000 hours of accelerated stress test that is done on one individual test objective to really found the boundaries and prediction of performance.
And we could actually run the test longer afterwards. It was not finished. But -- then we go to how do we build the system architecture. So as I said initially, the system is there first to make the performance as high as possible for the stack, so it's predictable both initially, but also over time. But also it's there to protect the fuel cell stack from the application, so we don't get events that affects the stack over time.
So by the system, then we control temperature, pressure, flows and humidity, which is important for the stack to perform as good as possible. And it also defines the operating window that we don't need to load the fuel cell too quick up and down. It's smoothing it out. And on individual system, we have over 1,600 hours of accelerated stress test according to the same cycle as we had for the stack, where we can see that the performance and aging properties are the same as when we do the stack test in a single stack test. So which means then we can rely on the system testing and the stack testing because they are compatible with each other.
We have also built a lot of system over the last years. So we have over 1,300 hours of total test time here on the multiple objects to see we can have a really stable performance from system to system, which is also important in the application to have that they are repeatable. And this is due to the industrialization we have done over the last years.
And on top of that, then we have developed over the last year a software layer. So we have 2 layers of software. The first layer is the one that controls the individual components in the system, matching the air flow with the hydrogen flow and cooling flow. And then we use different calibrations for different applications to enhance performance and predict performance over time. And this is really important because it's not a static calibration that will be the optimal over time. So we don't just do one calibration from start, but we need to update it continuously over a life cycle of the system, which is key here.
The other thing we need to do is also that we can balance the load between individual systems. So in an installation where we have 10 to 20 systems, some systems will perform better over time and some will be fresh because they are maintained. And then this distributed master controller that we have developed, balance then the load sharing between the systems so they are always operating at their best.
And this means we can predict performance and durability over time by individuals, even though we have updated and maintained individual systems in an installation. So this is also really important because by doing that, we don't stress systems that are close to maintenance more than necessary by onboarding them for the fresh systems.
So summarizing this, we have a really solid foundation of over 200,000 hours of in-stack testing together with Bosch. We have individuals that we have operated over 20,000 hours. We can, by using all this data we have gained, predict that in marine operating environment, we have somewhere between 20,000 to 43,000 hours in real operation using this accelerated stress test as the foundation.
So we have predictable performance and predictable durability in our application. But most of all, it depends really on how the fuel cell system is used and not by a single test in the lab.
So then looking at the technical foundation and how we have been working, there are some elements that are worth highlighting. One is actually the design philosophy because the decoupling strategy is extremely important when you work in a technology shift because you will have layers of technology that are updated, both internally in our R&D and innovation, but also from suppliers and other part of the value chain that are upgrading performance, quality and price. So you need to decouple in order to get stability.
Just reiterating the stack platform, we have massive testing, both at PowerCell and together with Bosch. And the stack is the core component, giving performance, it gives robustness and also reliability over time. When you have that one, you have a very solid foundation, and we are sharing technology with Bosch that they are using in their applications for automotive purposes.
The automotive test cycle is also more aggressive than our primary segments in marine and power generation because you have much more load transient from the increased start or stop that you have in our more stable environment. And then on system architecture, both individual testing on test objects to get reliability testing and then broad testing on the fleet to see that we have a repeatable behavior also in production.
But then on top, we build margin from the software and control. So we know that when we introduce the products to the market and we do the commissioning and integration with the customer, there will be adaptations because we are creating installations that are system of systems, which means that you need to optimize when you do the installation. You need to find the right balance point between the installation of fuel cells, the battery part and the power management system.
That is just part of doing technology development. But when you operate in a technology shift, you need to have risk margin. And the fact that we have tested and accelerated stress testing beyond the life expectancy is the margin that we have for our customers.
Does this mean that we will have no issues when we go to market and we introduce this? No, of course, because technology always comes with risk of having quality issues, disturbances and issues with the integration, but we're well prepared for that one. We have also selected partners and customers that have a readiness for this and have redundancy in their DNA. So we feel that we have a very strong offering to the market that we are standing on very solid ground, and we're quite proud over the achievements done at PowerCell over the last year and also the collaboration we have with Bosch as our really solid industrial partner.
So with that, thank you, Andreas. We now go over -- hand over to Anders for the financial update.
Thank you, Richard. I think the numbers in this report is quite a bit flavored of the heading. I mean it has been slow, and we have had a conversion situation that we'll go into further on in the presentation. But if we look at the quarter as such, I think there are at least 2 things I'd like to highlight for you. Part of the reason why the decline from last year is obviously the decline in IP and royalties in this quarter, which has a direct impact not only on top line but on the bottom line as well.
You also read if you have so far in the report that there are some FX effects. But those we have all the time, and they are different in nature at a different point in time. But the most important underlying difference from last year is the difference in IP and royalty revenues in this quarter. Then when we go to the next page.
Let me support you with this.
Then I have the rolling 12 number. You may find that here that the sales are about the same level. Gross margin is higher at this point in time for the reason of the deal we had in June '25 with Bosch on the IP. But then when we go to the net profit and loss, you see there are small differences.
Then you need to remember that in the second quarter of '25, we had a conversion of a loan into revenues that has been explained before. But I just want you to remember that when you look at that from that standpoint because that obviously tweaked the numbers from a rolling standing position. That was SEK 30 million for those that didn't remember.
Apart from that, I think it's for me important as a CFO to underline what Richard said that if you mention and in the light of the presentation from Andreas that we have a strong platform. At this point in time, I'd like to also share with you that we feel comfortable with the balance sheet we have. We feel comfortable with the revenue streams we see ahead of us. And we have, at this point, a very highly trust in that we are a robust company also from a debt standpoint. I think you recognize that in this quarter, for the first time, we had a project financing of SEK 28 million that we have been reported. That is the only debt we have, which is directly connected to a particular project with a revenue stream and gross margin that we're well covered to repay or amortize that debt.
Other than that, we have the Czech credit or the Czech facility that has been unused so far during the first quarter, of SEK 50 million in case that wasn't clear. With that, I think a brief, but in this case, the first quarter is from a financial standpoint, a brief quarter. So I'll leave it over to you again, Richard.
Yes. Thank you. And then you have the calendar for the remaining year, the AGM, May 11, and then the quarter 2 report on July 16.
So if we then look at the market development, we have seen commercial progress with signed agreements in quarter 1 to roughly SEK 50 million, activity both across marine and power generation, which is also what we see in the pipeline. We see also progress in the marine sector for existing customers where we are delivering according to contract and progressing well in that sense.
We also have signed agreements on engineering projects for the next generation, which is also good because we see that we have a value also long term for industrial partners, which is actually a very good sign because this industry, it is a marathon. So being part also actively in the next generation of technology systems is really valuable to PowerCell.
And then in power generation, we are completing the first -- we completed the first customer deliveries of the new 190 system, which is a very attractive proposal to the market. It fits really well into the increasing demand in power generation. Primarily driven on -- we hear a lot about data centers, but also auxiliary power and backup power in society construction sites. I will come more over to that.
So if we then look at the different segments, I will give you a brief update on what we see. Marine is still the growth driver for us. There is interesting activity in the market because the notion from the industry is that fuel prices will not come down. Over the coming years, there will be an increase. And we reported last time that from 2024 to 2030, fuel prices in marine will double. And then the increase from 2030 to 2035 will be an additional 50%. So the underlying driver is there.
We also see a pipeline of discussions that is stronger than we have seen before, but it takes time to make a decision. And that is also related to the uncertainty that we see in society because when we sign an order with a marine customer, that is part of a much larger investment decision. They are building a ship, they're providing an operator.
So we see a delay in those, but the underlying trend is strong, both when it comes to passenger vessels, ferries, but also then bulk carriers, which are operating on defined routes where you can have bunkering and infrastructure for refueling, which creates a very solid pattern for them. So interesting activity in marine. We hope to come back and report on progress on that one.
But the new segment for us, power generation has been really interesting since we made the product launch in quarter 4. We immediately signed a number of orders, although small, but the interest and the timing for this one was quite strong because, as we said before, demand in society for energy is just increasing drastically, 3% year-over-year from EASA, which is a massive increase. And also, we see in certain markets, especially driven then by the data center that availability of energy is very limited.
So far, when it comes to fuel cells, it's been the technology of SOFC because they're running on natural gas, which is an advantage for them. What we see right now is a strong interest of using natural gas with steam reformers to produce hydrogen on site. That is if you have a carbon capture, that is blue hydrogen. If you don't have it, it's gray hydrogen. Not as good from an environmental perspective on CO2 emissions, but it's better than running on conventional fuels.
And also, it gives availability of energy that is not there otherwise. It can also build in the U.S. on existing infrastructure where you have pipelines of natural gas. So while SOFC technology in fuel cells was the dominating force in especially data centers so far, we now see a rising interest, and we have ongoing dialogues that are quite interesting.
Also by the sheer fact that delivery time for SOFC fuel cells to data centers are right now around 3 years. And also if you want to have a gas turbine, the supply time is between 3 and 4 years. So -- when others can't deliver, they go for alternative solutions. And the PEM fuel cell that we are operating is very good for peak shaving and backup power because you have a dynamic characteristic of it.
So although SOFC will be more prevalent in primary power, we see that the PEM fuel cells that we are representing is really, really good complement when you are setting up your facility where you might have grid power for part of your operation, but then you have additional power sources like conventional IC combustion engines, but also green solutions.
Off-road is something that we're following. We see initiatives, but that is primarily regulatory driven. In London, they have a huge investment around the new highway, where they have demanded that part of the operation is done by hydrogen. So we will -- we know that there will be both excavators, wheel loaders, haulers and other equipment that will be running on hydrogen. They will also use backup power units, power gensets with fuel cells to power battery-driven excavators and haulers. So where you see that regulatory push, off-road is still a potential market, but it's not a segment that we see as a primary segment.
And then aviation, we have a lot of engineering projects together with customers there. We see an increasing demand in that one as well. Longer time to market, some interest in specific applications like drones, also driven by the new geopolitical environment. But aviation, as we said before, it is our innovation segment. We use it to push boundaries to secure and validate technology to build robustness and safety knowledge because aviation is the most demanding segment that you can be operating in. But it's also funding a lot of the activities that we then transfer to different segments.
I will actually go through this quite rapidly now. So if we look at the general market dynamics, we see some really, really strong drivers. Energy resilience in society is becoming more and more a hot topic for both companies and governments. We see energy demand where data center is actually crowding out and is capacity hoarding, which is affecting society in general. The geopolitical uncertainty is actually a driver. But as you can see on the opposite side, it's also a constraint. So the uncertainty that we're operating in is the new normal that we need to adapt to.
We still have a strong driver and demand to get rid of pollutions and emissions. And then the regulatory side of things is creating some push for us. But then the constraints and the headwind, a lot of capital discipline. We don't see investments in general, people are waiting on decisions and the decisions made are quite often in the same way as you did before. You don't take risk at the moment, which is affecting us.
And then infrastructure is still not in our favor. We have not built out the refueling system. We saw both Daimler and Volvo commenting this. We saw the Chairperson of Bosch go out and comment that Europe needs to invest much more in infrastructure. In China, that is a different story. They are investing heavily into hydrogen infrastructure. And there we also see that they are improving their deployment.
If we then summarize, PowerCell, we are quite proud of the company that we have established. We are structurally a much stronger company than we have been before. We have really competitive industrialized product portfolios, purposely designed for both marine and power generation. But we have also built a resilient company. We are prepared for a wide variety of outcomes.
Our obligation as CEO and CFO is to defend breakeven even if we see a lower scenario going forward. But at the same time, we need to have the ability to act and deliver on the high-end scenarios. And that is a balance point that we need to control every day. We have created a company that we have said before is asset-light.
So we can scale up without significant investment. And the fact that we are debt-free when it comes to our operations and industrialization means that we are not burdened by the same investment that needs to be depreciated in the same way that some of our colleagues in the industry. So we have had a very disciplined execution, and we can continue to do that on the current activity levels.
Focus is cost control. It is to leverage the existing product portfolio, but at the same time, do the investments and timing on the next generation of innovation will be industrialized and introduced to the market. We are also positioned to scale when demand converts, but we will also, as we said, protect bottom line. So that is the balance point.
We think we are convinced, that's why we do this, that hydrogen will be part of the energy mix going forward. We know that energy demand is increasing in society. None of us can really predict with precision if the growth in hydrogen and offtake in society will happen in 2026 or '27, but we are prepared for both an outcome where demand is increasing, but also to defend profitability and the power sales at lower levels.
So with that, we conclude the presentation. We know it was long this time, we don't have too much time for questions, but it was important for us to convey the situation and the company we are right now. So we then go to questions.
One question from Alvin is why is the Bosch royalty so low when they have seen to start up in China with some deliveries and starting serial production?
China is an interesting market. Hydrogen was part of the new 5-year plan from the government. We see massive investment, but we also know that part of the value chain have stocked up on inventory. So although we know that Bosch is deploying more installations and Bosch customers are deploying more trucks and other vehicles to the market, that doesn't necessarily translate to new orders every quarter. So there will be delays and some volatility between the quarters.
But China is a really interesting market. And to some extent, they are inspiring us, but also fighting us because what they do is going to shift, I think, the power balance in also this technology sector like they did with batteries if we don't really protect ourselves in Europe and U.S.
Do you have any information on how large your customers that are operating in the defense sector? At the moment, we have no customers operating in the defense sector. We know that there is a demand from the geopolitical situation. But so far, we have not had any dialogues or ongoing customer discussions with that.
That was actually all the questions that we have seen so far. With that, we conclude. Let me see here. We got a very specific question from Carnegie. We mentioned milestone payments being invoiced in quarter 1, but cash arriving in April, roughly how large are these payments?
Anders you can comment on those details?
I think we don't do predictions on Q2. So you will wait and see.
Yes. I have then also a follow-up question from David Carnegie. We mentioned measures to improve efficiency and control and flexibility. Can you specify what actions have been initiated and where you see the largest saving potential? Should we expect that these cost measures result in visible OpEx reductions already in quarter 2? Or is the impact more weighted towards the second half of 2026?
We don't comment to that detail. What I can share with you is that the fact that we have manufacturing also outsource to Bosch. We have not the same exposure on a fixed cost like we -- many others have or we could have. In essence, I would say that the primary value that we can do is to smoothen out the investment in innovation.
We have core technologies that Andreas presented based on the S3 stack. That is a very, very competitive and potent component. We are now doing new tests on pushing the boundaries that see that we actually have performance that is better than we thought. In aviation, we can operate on higher temperature, which means that some of the investments in next generation might be postponed because we can work and live on the existing technology longer.
That balance point is something we evaluate, and that will also be part of it because then you can postpone some investments, both in equipment, in machinery, et cetera. So we will come back to you when we have a more clear picture on this one and also when we know what we want to share.
So we have one question on election. We have election in Sweden this year. And do we see that countries and societies are vulnerable and dependent on fossil fuels? We try to stay out of politics. I don't think that there is a government in anywhere in the world that is not affected by what is happening at the moment. Energy and availability of energy will become an even more important security issue.
We see strategies to have more local production of energy. Solar will be one of the -- I think it will be the dominant source of power in a few years because it gives availability of locally produced power. That is a trend that we think will continue. And regardless of government in Sweden, I think that we will see more focus on energy, more focus on energy resilience and more focus on energy independence, and that will be in all countries.
So with that, we need to conclude. And thank you very much for this one. You can always reach out with questions or if you want to come and visit us, we can raise any one. So thank you very much for this, and see you next time.
PowerCell Sweden — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the PowerCell Group Q4 2025 Report Presentation.
[Operator Instructions]
Now I will hand the conference over to the CEO, Richard Berkling; and CFO, Anders During. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and thank you for joining us. 2025 was an important year for PowerCell, not because everything moved fast, but because the right things moved forward. We operated in a market where interest in hydrogen and fuel cell clearly increased, but the investment decision remained cautious and uneven, which affected the market.
With that combination, market conditions requires discipline more than optimism and execution more than ambition, and that is what we saw in 2025 and what we will present here in this quarter 4 presentation.
So against that backdrop, parts have continued our shift from technology development to more industrial execution. We delivered a record year when it comes to several aspects. We had improved margins materially. We generated positive EBITDA for the first time for a full year, and we strengthened our cash position, all this while operating at a slightly lower top level than we initially anticipated.
So this is not where we want to end up, but it's also a very clear confirmation that our fundamentals are strengthening. It shows that we, as a company, can execute, control costs and deliver industrial performance in a very demanding environment.
So as we enter into 2026, we're not managing towards a single market forecast. We are deliberately building a structure that can protect earnings at a lower activity scenario while still remaining ready to scale when the opportunity materialize.
Marine is remaining to be our execution backbone where we see the most growth and more stable income. But power generation is now emerging as a second pillar, designed for scalable growth with a limited cash capital exposure.
So we said that 2025 was about execution over ambition. We said it was readiness over prediction and more from promise to performance. And that's really summarizing the year. We have executed on more or less all strategic ambitions, but we are also setting the bar higher for the future.
So key takeaways on 2025 and quarter 4. Our Q4 and cumulative 2025 results demonstrate a very solid execution on strategic priorities. Most notable, start of production deliveries to marine on time to customers, the product launch of the power generation platform that gives us an additional pillar for future growth.
The first industrial order on the methanol power plant, which was a significant milestone. And I really like the fact that when we do product introductions, we see immediate market traction, which gives us a confirmation that we have rather good precision in the efforts in product development, investment into new features and then also market positioning to a very demanding market.
And also for a company like PowerCell to find the breakeven point and deliver on it is extremely important. So it is encouraging that we can deliver organic growth in a volatile or flattish market to some extent.
If we look at growth year-over-year, we take out the FX effect, it's actually 24% organic growth, which is strong. Once again, not necessarily to the level that we have as an ambition, but on the market conditions we see, we're quite happy with the development.
We also delivered a very strong product offering in Marine introduced in 2024, which now was materialized into 0 production and customer deliveries, which we are now in commissioning and start of deployment. 2025 was about testing and proving that PowerCell can execute, deliver and remain financially disciplined also when the market is uneven.
And to that we stood the test. And going back to a year ago, when we started -- when we reported Q4 2024 and gave the introduction to '25, we said that 25 is a slightly different year because it's more even over the quarters.
We don't have the hockey stick revenue, which is then why we see that the quarter 4, compared to quarter 4 last year is a lower top line, but the full year is according to our expectation, and we're happy to see the progress. With that, I will hand over to Anders and a more detailed presentation on numbers.
I will not skip so many slides at once. I will start here with the fourth quarter and the numbers. Now Richard has been through basically the numbers and everything that's in essence. I'd just like to highlight 2 things, I think that's still important.
When you see the numbers for last year, SEK 144 million, the majority of that number is from one order that we had in -- very late in the year. So as in this year, we have had several orders rather in the fourth quarter, building up the SEK 95 million.
And then I think what we did after Q3 or when we presented Q3, we felt urge to give some guidance on the cash situation and the cash flow situation because we all realized that we have seen 3 quarters in a row where the path had been quite downward.
And we wanted to make sure that you, the market and everyone around us understood that, yes, without living or giving forecasts, we would like to say that we are hopeful for the last quarter when it comes to cash flow.
And now as you can see, the last quarter came in approximately -- which I say here, in line with expectations and then everyone would ask what were your expectations?
Well, now you know this was what our expectations were, and we did our best to guide you without leaving a forecast. And that felt very pleasant to have that feeling for the company that one can say things and you see that, that's delivered.
Moving on to the full year. Like Richard said, looking at the numbers straightforward, I mean, the growth is 15%. If you reduce that for FX effects in '24, which were positive and FX effects in '25 that were negative, you end up with 25% or 24% rather.
The EBITDA level, I will get back to that on the next page. But just running through the numbers here, you see that we are basically doing better on all levels, and that includes the operating cash flow, of course, that ended up only minus SEK 10 million.
And I think every one of you that listening to us and read our report after Q1, Q2 and Q3, we're a bit nervous about this, but we are happy to be where we are. And as you also noticed, we have added liquidity through this new credit facility on customer projects to our, let's say, asset bank when it comes to liquidity.
So that feels good. Then just for the comparison because Richard said in his introduction that the underlying business is growing. And I think the stress when the underlying business is growing, that important to recognize how -- what the differences really are.
If we eliminate the FX and the extraordinary items, and I think when it comes to extraordinary items, you that have followed us recognize that last -- in '24, in Q2, there was a huge ticket on SEK 30 million plus to the profit.
And in this year, in Q3, we had a negative similar thing basically related to reorganizations. If you eliminate all those and the FX effect for the 2 years, the underlying growth, 24%, like Richard said, but it's important also to recognize that EBITDA change 24 to 25 on that same account is 79 million.
And that is an effort that I think should be recognized. With that, Richard, I'll leave it back to you.
Perfect. Thank you. So then we can also promote upcoming events, interim report quarter 1, which will be on April 23, and then the AGM here in Gothenburg on May 11, which we obviously want to invite as many people as possible. So if we then look at what we see over the year and what 2025 gave us, we see that we have proven resilience.
Once again, EBITDA on the full year, the lower top level absorbed and we managed some headwinds. We are happy with the outcome. We are pleased to see that we have a resilient organization and a rather strong business model. But we're not yet at the ambition level that we want to be.
And this is something that we're working quite hard on. And 2026 will be more of a normal year in PowerCell context where we most likely will have more of a hockey stick because you don't have the same even distribution over the quarters.
This is also how it is to run a business in a technology shift. And reflecting a bit on this one, if you look at the market context, we try and visualize this with the navigation of a sailing yacht where you -- sometimes you have the headwind, you could have the tailwind, you have the current running with you.
As we said, we are not operating in a one market scenario. We are really working hard to optimize what we have to work with. So what we see right now is supporting us is the awareness. We see regulation supporting the transition, especially in marine.
And we also have a number of proof points from the use cases where we now have a rather strong deployed product portfolio, which are out in operation, giving us really, really solid proof points to more demanding customers.
What is a headwind or ahead current is that we see a lot of capital discipline. We see risk averse money on the sideline. Also, of course, the macroeconomics and geopolitical landscape is not supporting areas where you are investing into new technology.
But at the same time, we also see the cost and the drivers for especially marine, and this is something that we have been a bit surprised on the strength of this. Regardless of IMO postponing a decision 1 year to impose new emission regulation, EU has already moved ahead and EU have stricter policies than what the IMO proposed.
So if you break this down, cost for fossil fuels for the marine industry will double between the year 2024 and 2030. And then it will be equally amount until 2035. So you have an exponential cost development. This is driving a change of behavior. This is driving transition.
So when we signed the order with GAMMA [indiscernible] in quarter 3 or quarter 4, just in the break there for the bulk carrier, that was a breakthrough order because we see that they can deliver breakeven on the new technology rather early. So their ROI is well on this side of 2030.
We see more of that going forward. So we have a strong support from regulation and also the early movers proving that this is really, really working. We also see the particle emissions is a growth driver because of the health effects, especially related to port and harbors and urban dense areas, where respiratory illnesses is causing massive cost to society.
That is now the #1 driver compared to C2 that was the driver up until 2022 and 2023, in combination, of course, with energy resilience in society. So looking at the market going forward and what is resisting us is, of course, the risk-averse capital market.
But what we have seen from 2021 until now is the -- what we call a market normalization phase. We have now seen a washout event where the more sustainable business solutions and business setups and strategic positions will survive. And we feel that we're quite well positioned in this market going forward.
If we look at quarter 4 segment and what was in focus there, we can now see that the MS225, the marine systems are delivered completely to the customer and now are progressed into commissioning and deployment, which is quite encouraging.
We also reported a SEK 43 million methanol-to-power order secured with a European shipyard, which is confirming the commercial traction beyond just pure hydrogen, which is important to us because that is doubling the availability of fuel, which is important to be able to scale up the new technology. In power generation, the PS190 and the portfolio for power generation gained traction following the market launch, which was quite encouraging.
We have field validation agreement with the U.S.-based data center, which is, of course, really interesting to us because the data center industry is growing. It's a very demanding application.
I will not stand here and say that our fuel cells and the #1 driver for energy for data centers, but we are in the energy mix, especially when it comes to clean power for backup power and peak shaving.
So we look forward to experiencing this first installation and then come back and report on the progress. In aviation, we had a SEK 12 million follow-on order from a European Aerospace Research Institute on products and then an additional SEK 5 million on engineering services, which was encouraging.
So if we then look at power generation and why we are so happy to be able to introduce this and why it's so important to us, it is that power generation is something that is creating a second pillar to us. It's the same core technology as we use in marine. We have a lot of synergies between ourselves and Bosch, both when it comes to core technology and volume.
It is a highly competitive product portfolio. It is optimized in its performance and price for power generation, and it has a very interesting package when it comes to size, performance and functionality, especially in combination with the software platform, which is the integration platform that is really, really important in order to optimize the asset of a fuel cell.
So with that core component and the software platform that we are promoting to the market, we give a package that is easier to install and you can better optimize over the life cycle, extending durability, extending lifetime and also optimizing our fuel efficiency.
So we have a very, very strong product package to the power generation market. And the contribution to PowerCell is, of course, that it gives us another growth potential. It is an extension of our core business without the capital spend of start of production and market introduction when it comes to the industrialization phase. So really important proof point of our asset-light business model. Marine and Power Generation, it doubles the growth potential for us.
And it's really, really valuable for us to be able to protect our EBITDA and protect the bottom line if the market is sideways or slow, but it gives us a really strong opportunity to capture growth when and if it happens.
It also gives us an opportunity to continue to protect the breakeven margin on around SEK 400 million that we have proven this year. So expanding without adding too much of additional cost or fixed cost is, of course, important in the market conditions that we are operating in.
Briefly touching on the underlying market and what we see in different segments. Marine is continuing to be the strongest segment for us. We have the most clear business cases. We have the first customers that can clearly define their breakeven point.
And we also see now an infrastructure that is supporting more growth with availability of hydrogen in port and harbors.
2025 was actually a year where you saw more final investment decisions regarding hydrogen production than we've ever seen before. So marine is continuing to be the backbone of PowerCell short term.
Power generation, the addition of the product portfolio that we launched is really important. And hopefully, we can have the same development and traction as we did when we introduced the marine portfolio, and that is a focus area for 2026.
Off-road is continuing to be a segment that we're following and not necessarily actively developing. A bit slow. You see some traction in rail and locomotive, but other areas, we have customers operating with our products, but we don't really see the traction that we do in marine and power generation.
Aviation is a segment that is, as we have said before, it's not our volume segment, but it is the segment that is qualifying new technology and pushing the boundaries on safety, robustness and quality.
We have seen ZeroAvia communicating that they are scaling down some of their cost portfolio. What they have protected is the development and certification of the fuel cell driveline, which is, of course, where we are operating. We are continuing to supporting them, and we are looking forward to completing the certification.
But it is sometimes difficult for heavy capitalized companies in that energy transition to continue full speed ahead. So seeing them completing a new funding round was good. It was fortunate that they have decided to protect the part of the business that is focused on what PowerCell is doing.
So if we look at 2026 and how we continue to build the company, we have a very clear strategic focus. We need to continue to leverage the platform, the systems and the product that we have in production today. We need to continue to focus on growing.
We need to grow the top line. Right now, we are at a position where we have a really strong leverage on growth, being able to protect breakeven at a low level, also means that when you see a strong growth going forward, the leverage is going to be quite interesting for us.
The industrial partnerships are important to us. We need to continue to build business and market and volume through the larger OEMs that we're operating with. And then fiscal discipline is going to be in focus also for 2026. It's going to continue for PowerCell. And I'm happy to say that we have proven that resilience in 2025.
So 2026, we are focusing on staying the course. It's going to focus on real demand and the practical applications. We are going to continue with the step-by-step progress. Positive EBITDA is something that we're going to focus on and trying to protect really, really hard for 2026.
We are proud to say that we have an operational model that is remaining lean and cost discipline. You need to bear in mind that starting production as we did in 2025 comes at the cost, not necessarily always a financial cost, but there's also a cost and challenge to the organization.
And to see that we managed to start production, deliver on time to customer and come out protecting the bottom line is something that I'm extremely proud of, and that is a new phase for PowerCell.
So I'm really happy to see that we are progressing. The focus for 2026 is, of course, that we need to be very strong industrially. We need to have credibility as we are moving to customers that are really demanding. We need to broaden our commercial footprint.
Power generation is one aspect of that. And then, of course, a focused sales effort into areas where you see traction, India, Middle East and Europe, of course.
Summarizing PowerCell, we are built for volatility, but we're also built to capture the opportunity that we see there.
And if I'm reflecting on the Q4 2025 compared to the Q4 that was my first report 5 years ago. So this is actually the 20th report that I'm doing. What we can see is that the value creation, and this is where running a company and reporting numbers, numbers tells a story.
Numbers can also share the history and the progress of the company. In 5 years, the Q4 report in 2020, which was summarized in the full year, the development from that point until now is a completely different company, progressing product portfolios that are optimized and industrialized for specific segments, building a completely new company where you have industrialized processes, you have output of demanding industrial components that are put into operation in OEM applications.
But more importantly, is the internal value creation because the revenue in 2020 consisted of some throughput revenues that was really not value creating in PowerCell.
So growth is from that point until now, 720% when it comes to the value-generating abilities of PowerCell, where we go out and sell something, where we have designed something, where we are producing and delivering something.
And those 720% really tells a story. And to be able to do that and leverage growth and deliver a positive EBITDA for full year, it is, of course, something that we're quite happy with.
And then we say that we have not reached our full potential. We have more ambitions going forward. But if that ambition is completely fulfilled in '26 or '27, that is also up to the market conditions to decide.
And this is why we build a company that is able to protect bottom line if the market is soft, but also to act on the opportunity going forward.
So with that, we open up for questions on 2025 and Q4 report.
[Operator Instructions]
So one question that is coming in is why haven't we uncovered the full power generation lineup? Will HTS be part of that lineup?
So good question. The market introduction we did with power generation indicated 2 products that are available immediately or 2 system products and then 1 complete delivery. We have a road map to introduce more solutions, most likely with the higher power rating and also with some new functionality.
So continuing to build that portfolio and expanding to be able to provide value to more customers is also part of the market introduction. We also want to see where we get traction. So we are not overinvesting too soon. So we are going to continue to build more products and more offerings into the product portfolio to be able to continue to see where we see traction and where we see real customer value.
HTS will most likely be part of the lineup going forward. But as we have indicated, the development cycle is that the HTS will be commercialized and industrialized sometime around 2028. So it will be part of the lineup, but not in the short term.
So one question from Stefan is he missed the reason for decrease of sales in the last quarter. How are we going to strengthen the sales channel? And he's also asking and commenting that he's not seen and heard a commission situation.
A good question. As we said, 2025 was a different year compared to what is a normal year for PowerCell. And I would say for the whole industry when you're working in the energy transition. Quite often, you have a hockey stick development over those years because they are quite often budget driven, quite notably in China, where you saw a very low activity in the second half of 2025 because that was at the end of their 5-year plan.
In October, they communicated that hydrogen and fuel cells will be a very important part of the new 5-year plan, which is now then in place and is going to accelerate sales and volume in China. So it is the nature and the conditions of the sales distribution.
So in 2025, we had more of the large orders, as Anders commented, we had 2 really big orders that were evenly spread throughout the quarters. This year, we still have medium-term and large orders, but they are more centralized throughout the segment. So volatility will continue to be part of the segments.
And in quarter 4 this year, the volume was lower than quarter 4 last year. But for the full year, it was a rather solid growth.
So it is about the distribution between quarters. And this is also one reason why we're not making forecast because it is difficult to predict exactly how the distribution will be throughout the different quarters, especially when you're still a very small growing company. That means that specific orders can have a big impact, whether or not they are fulfilled and delivered before a quarter or after a quarter.
So we're continuing to see volatility, but we feel very solid in the performance and that we have a good growth strategy. And then the sales, we have an extremely strong product offering.
In Marine, after the introduction of the Marine System platform, we have an estimated 80% to 85% market share. After introducing the power generation lineup, we immediately signed a number of orders. No big volume orders yet, but we are hoping to have the same precision in that introduction.
And that is because we are we are quite determined and focused on making sure that we capture end user value and not just selling products. But still, the proof is in what we deliver going forward, but it's a really good question.
So one question from Carnegie. Given the current uncertainty around customer investment timing, the marine project execution and the ramp-up of power generation with Bosch, what are the key factors that would determine whether or not 2026 lands on the high versus the low end of the outcome range?
A very good question. A number of aspects to answer that question. And the question was well articulated because Marine segment is quite often projects with a longer cycle. When we deliver something, it goes into a vessel that is being built and the build period is between 2 and 3 years. Quite often, we deliver our hardware much earlier than the final commissioning.
So we have a shorter time to market than the actual vessel built, but it is a slower process. What we saw in 2024 and what we continue to see is that we have a rather short time between order and delivery also in Marine, much shorter than in the past.
We also now see with the new emission trading into effect in Europe, we also see a market opening up for retrofit, which could accelerate the order to delivery in Marine.
But that is also why power generation is complementing our portfolio in a nice way because power generation has a much shorter order to delivery cycle. Quite often, we can deliver something and it can be up and running within 2, 3 months. You don't need to wait for a vessel to be built, commissioned and put into operation. So that is complementing it.
So I would say that what would determine whether or not 2026 lands on the high versus the lower end of the outcome range is the distribution between marine projects, marine orders, power generation and, of course, IP, royalty and engineering services because all of those are also very short turnover business.
So product mix is going to determine the outcome. We are quite confident in the long-term development and the long-term ramp-up, but the short term is definitely decided by the product mix.
And this is where we are going to be clear when we get the orders on when the revenue is occurring and how it's distributed. But a very good question from Carnegie.
From Ari, we have an update related to Bosch and opportunities and threats.
I would say that our collaboration with Bosch is a very solid foundation for PowerCell. The fact that we have a collaboration with one of the really strong industrial partners in any industry is something that gives a solid backbone to PowerCell.
I have been in industries like this for 25 years. I can honestly say that without PowerCell, without Bosch, PowerCell would not be in the situation we are right now. They have matured our offering with at least one industrial cycle.
So that is really, really valuable. And then the opportunity, China is going to be an important market for hydrogen and fuel cells. China is the #1 market when it comes to investment into infrastructure into investment and availability of hydrogen, and they have a clear strategy on how hydrogen is going to be part of the energy mix in society.
Having Bosch as our sales channel in China is valuable. So working with them and supporting them in leveraging that opportunity is going to be really, really important. Threats, I don't see any immediate threat. I view Bosch as a very strong owner and industrial partner.
So one question from [indiscernible] is, are the Norwegians very fully invoiced and paid now?
I would say no to that. And we have some deliveries and commissioning left to do. And in that, we also have payment milestones. So revenues and liquidity is going to also affect 2026 in a positive way.
What would you say that this year is overall better in general compared to last year? Question from Fredrik.
A good question. I would say that the fact that we managed to achieve what we did in all aspects of running a company is what is overall better. I mean, first, the underlying growth.
Adjusted for FX, 24% with the FX fully affecting us plus 15%. It is a growth year, not on the levels that I want to be because I want to grow faster.
But at the same time, doing that organically on a slower market, it is still a good year. But doing that, delivering positive EBITDA for the full year and also doing a full industrialization and start of production is a complexity that is not easy.
It's been a tough year here at Ruskvadersgatan. The employees have really, really pulled through. Some areas of the company or the company as a whole has sometimes done more than you can ask for because it takes a lot of commitment to be able to start production.
And anyone who's been in an industrial company knows the pain of labor to do that. So being able to pull through and still protect EBITDA, have a strong operational cash flow in the end of the year, delivering on what we said, I think, is what makes this year overall better.
But we always want to do more. So hopefully, we can come back and show even more progress. But it's been a year where we've proven organizational and commercial resilience. And that is something I am quite happy with, and that gives me comfort going forward because it's continuing to be a difficult market out there.
Hopefully, we can see some progress in the macro effects. But unfortunately, that is not under my responsibility. Anders, do you see any questions that you want to know?
Well, I think there are some items that I've seen some questions popping up around. That is changing in assets in the cash flow analysis that is predominantly related to the payers of the license fee from Bosch that turns into long-term assets.
And I also noticed that some of you have comment on the fact that in our notes where we do the segmentation reporting, royalties and IP gets a bit confused.
In Q4, we had a classification of the royalties/IP revenues going into the service line because in the agreement with Bosch, we changed -- which slightly changed the terms and condition on that arrangement, which made it classified as IP for the most in Q4 rather than royalties.
And that is the confusion. Otherwise, to clarify it, the amount of money that we received on IP and royalties in Q4 is approximately equal to what we received last year in '24 for that same items. But we will make sure to take this confusion on our segmentation reporting away that will change that going forward. So that's more clear directly.
So let me see if we have any more questions. I think we have covered them all. So if we then close -- here we had one -- let's see if we have one more.
So from Carnegie, if market development remains slow, what cost or prioritization levers can you pull to continue being EBITDA positive without compromising long-term competitiveness?
This is a very good question. I should probably have noted that one, but in the positive sense, there is one thing I'm really proud of and also grateful for the support that we had from the Board.
It is a balance point of not reaching EBITDA positive by being anorectic by really scaling down. The fact that we have continued to invest in new products that we're introducing to the market as well as core technologies that will be the revenue engine from 2030 and onwards, I would say that balance point is really, really important.
With that said, I was commenting going back to 2020 and reporting on my quarter 4 2020, which was my first report from the previous year when I was not here. We have more or less the same cost structure as we did then. But now we are producing industrial components.
So we have made a rather interesting transition in the company. We have more levers to pull. We made a restructuring of the management team last year, which is going to have a positive effect on 2026 when it comes to cost structure.
We have cost levers to pull. Now with production, if we see a slower development, we can ramp down the shifts that we have in production. We are going to protect sales and business development because that is what is really the important thing right now.
We have levers to pull also when it comes to investment, which we can push or postpone. So we have a number of levers to pull. But the balance point, so the question is really well articulated. This is the #1, I think, obligation I have is to protect PowerCell and balancing between the short-term performance and protecting EBITDA, still being able to catch the potential growth that is out there, depending on how it materializes between product mixes.
And continuing to have strong competitiveness going forward because the energy transition and any technology shift, it is a marathon. We are now starting to see some tailwind when it comes to awareness, regulatory support and also infrastructure and availability of critical components like the hydrogen.
But it is a marathon. So thank you for asking that question. And I should probably have mentioned the balance point and how I am happy with the support we get from the Board in doing this.
But this is something we need to come back to going forward over the year because defending this balance point is what we do in the management team.
So with that, we have a company now that is built to endure, adapt and win as this transition unfolds. What we do is not easy. Business development in technology requires a pioneering mindset, but also clarity to see things for what it is in the short term.
We see a rather clear path going forward. And the simple golden rule for us as a growth strategy is to grow number of installations in the market as well as grow the value creation per installation.
When we do that, we capture the volume that is out there, we drive more penetration in the market, and we will also see growth that is sustainable and that we can leverage. So we are looking forward to 2026 that is going to be important to us, where we hope to prove our competitiveness as an industrial partner to our customers and also to continue to deliver growth that we can leverage and protect both bottom line while still being able to capture the potential that is out there. So thank you very much. Thank you for joining us. And as always, you are more than welcome to visit us in Gothenburg.
PowerCell Sweden — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
PowerCell Sweden — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the PowerCell Group Q3 2025 Report Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the CEO, Richard Berkling and CFO, Anders During. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and a warm welcome to this quarter 3 report on what is a very busy day on the Stockholm Stock Exchange with a lot of companies making their presentations. So we're extremely happy to see that many joining us at PowerCell. So we have closed quarter 3, and we are quite happy with the outcome. Previously, in quarter 1 and quarter 2, we reported with the headlines of steady pace through rough waters in quarter 1, which actually gave a good description on how quarter 1 played out.
Quarter 2 had the headline steady pace through improving waters, really showing that we saw improvement in the market. And now the third quarter, what is describing the headline is the steady growth and solid margins, which actually described the company quite well where we are at the moment. We saw good growth in quarter 3 compared to 2024, up 90% compared to last year. Year-to-date, it is up over 50%, which is quite encouraging.
Gross margin is continued to improve, although not on record levels, but we have talked about this before that we see volatility over the quarters. Also encouraging to see that the rolling 12 months revenue remained over SEK 400 million, which is the top line momentum we want to have in the company. Also encouraging that we protected the EBITDA in a way that we are still positive overall [Technical Difficulty]. Can you hear me?
Yes. Go ahead, please.
I was kicked out for some reason. So continued positive EBITDA on rolling 12 months, also very encouraging. This is one of the focus areas we had for PowerCell. I would say, since the beginning, we need to show a breakeven level also in the early stage of this technology shift. So this is quite interesting. Anders will go more into details on this. We managed to leverage on the fixed cost base and drive growth and then despite having a slightly lower quarterly volume. So we're really happy with this progress that we can now show.
Also some orders in quarter 3, although I would have expected or hoped for more, but it's also quite volatile in this market. What is encouraging is that we are continuing to see more OEM orders in the marine sector, where we now broke into the bulk carrier segment with the first -- world's first bulk carrier to GMI Rederi in Norway. So quite encouraging to see how the quarter was playing out. What we are in is a time of very focused execution where we also see then a quite good tangible process. I would say that the middle section here, where we talk about the operational resilience, is what is most important to me.
We managed to provide a positive EBITDA on rolling 12 months because we are now in delivery mode. We are now actually tomorrow shipping the final shipments to our large Italian marine OEM, which means that we have completed deliveries of all those orders. And now in quarter 4, we are ramping up the final production assembly and will complete delivery to Torghatten up in Northern Norway with a large 2x 6.4 megawatt ferry installation, which means that we have now actually managed to build a company that is industrially stable.
Starting production as we did in April this year is always something that you need to ramp up and industrial stability doesn't come for free. So the fact that the organization has been able to pull this off, deliver high quality on time or even before time, is something that is a very important quality mark for PowerCell. So the focused execution is something that I think that we should talk more about the PowerCell. Quite often, we talk about growth and we talk about the innovation of the company. But being an industrial credible partner is something that is going to win the orders going forward because with the OEMs that are placing the trust in new technology, they also need to place the trust in a very, very stable partner.
So this is something that we're quite happy to be able to provide and also report. We also see, as we said, repeated demand around the Marine System 225 that we introduced last year in June. And that has been a very strong commercial success based on the fact that it is world-leading when it comes to performance, when it comes to energy density and when it comes to the value it creates for the customers that put this into operation. And then for PowerCell, once again, the operational resilience that we were able to start production and work on productivity, efficiency protecting the gross margin, which is extremely important for PowerCell going forward.
So the combination of this is something that I'm quite happy to be able to report. With this, I would like to hand over to Anders on the numbers, and then I will come back and talk more about the outlook and how this connects into the broader context.
Thank you, Richard. I will take the opportunity to just run through the numbers. I think these numbers, after having listened to Richard, are in a way that, of course, the 19% growth is something to notice. I remember us saying in the beginning of this year and even at the quarter 4 report last year that we would find some more stabilization between quarters. And I think the third quarter is another evidence for that the more even, let's say, turnover in each quarter is there to stay for the future.
Gross margin is slightly up. That is -- I mean, to the volumes we have and to the product mix we have when we sell, the variation of 6 percentage in a single quarter is not for us anything that is unexpected. It's more important to look at it when we get to the accumulated numbers and understand why the changes are there. EBITDA, I think, it goes without saying that we are happy with only being at minus SEK 2 million, given that we have taken SEK 5 million in provisions for the reorganization that we have announced. And I think the burning platform, and that what everyone is more concerned about listening to us today, is the operating cash flow.
I think we have been quite explicit in the report describing what has happened in the first 3 quarters this year. I think that having listened also to now Richard saying that we're in final deliveries of immediately one of our larger orders ever and then continuing final deliveries of the second one, everyone can understand what that will do to cash flow as we progress into the future quarters of this year and the beginning of next year. So we go on to the accumulated numbers.
We look at this point basically on the gross margin. Everyone recognized from the second quarter that we had a large deal with Bosch that brought in a lot of gross margin to us, given the fact that we were selling IP. And of course, for the remainder of this year, we will still see, on an accumulated level, a very high gross margin based on that deal. That is a level that, if I would guide anyone on this thing, may not be contained over the near future. We hopefully get back there later on. But short term, in each quarter, that level will not be maintained. I think it's important to also see that if we look at -- Richard mentioned operational leverage, you can claim a lot of things about what different things derives from. But one thing is certain that given the turnover we had last year, given the turnover this year and the change, excluding for all unusual items in the different accumulated book numbers are about SEK 88 million. And that for us feels very strong, acknowledging that at least half of it, when you make comparison, derives from the deal we made in Q2 with Bosch. But still, it's a very impressive for us at least change in how we manage profitability and earnings in the company.
And as I mentioned and as I've highlighted to the right in this picture, background being given and everything that we feel completely comfortable about is that we have passed a lot of what has been described as the reason for building up working capital, and we also come to a stage where we can see that we are delivering and what follows with that. So moving on to the next one. It is basically saying that we feel comfortable having a stable path. We grow 30% plus in our industry. If you went back 5 years, I guess, that would be viewed as very humble. If you flip it around and say that this is an industrial company in an earlier stage of the market, it's a number that I feel that we are very comfortable with.
And also that we have brought on rolling 12 months EBITDA to a positive number of SEK 21 million, and that makes us feel comfortable for the future as well. Having said so, I will leave it back to Richard for the continuation of the presentation.
Then also reminding you on the upcoming reports, quarter 4 report February 4, 2026, and then quarter 1 report in 2026 on April 23. So then if we look at the segment highlights and what is building up the result and the business at the moment, we see good commercial traction in Marine, all subsegments. We saw the order from GMI Rederi, which was quite encouraging because that is, as we said, the first break into the bulk carriers. We need to mention then the IMO decision or postponement of decision last week. It was a disappointment to the industry. Many put their trust in the fact that the IMO would regulate the net zero tariffs on a global scale. However, in Europe, we already have in place even stricter regulations.
So to me, I'm not too surprised that they delayed it because it takes time to change industries in a technology shift. So you will always have resistance. So hopefully, a year from now, they will have a resolution that is signed that is perhaps a bit more easy to adapt for the operators. But in the meantime, we continue to see a strong demand from especially Europe, but a lot of interest globally as well. Power generation, we were quite happy to yesterday report that Zeppelin Power Systems placed an order for 2 different systems implemented in Europe. The fact that they are now exploring to different applications is quite interesting because power generation, as we have pointed out, we believe that power generation will be the largest segment going forward.
The difference from marine is that we have still not seen a trigger where an OEM is putting a stick in the sand and said, now we do this. But we are seeing a more clear commercial landscape emerging for backup power and peak shaving applications. There is a lot of discussion on data centers. Of course, we have a quite close collaboration with parties out there. But as I said, we have not seen the trigger where somebody is really putting a stick in the sand and say, now we do this. So we try to contribute with that. We try to challenge the industry, and I will have later on in the presentation some more news on what we will do in that segment.
In aviation, we continue the certification process with ZeroAvia and other aerospace partners. They're not the only one who are in certification process. What is quite encouraging is that now ZeroAvia actually have delivered their first systems to customers, and they will be put in operation in 2027. So now we have a deadline on that one, which is really, really encouraging. This is the first information we have seen from them on when this will be put into operation. What we also have seen is that we have now industry validation that our strategy with the medium temperature PEM, which is our next-generation fuel cell stack is the good enough step for larger turbo aircraft in the next generation.
So more interest in our collaboration together with Honeywell on the Newborn platform, which is already materialized in the commercial agreement in marine. But for aviation, the fact that we can do with the medium temperature is a technology step that is really valuable to PowerCell because that's where we have invested our position from a technology perspective. Going once back to the operational leverage. One reason why we are able to show this rather good underlying progress when it comes to operational leverage is that we have had for 2025, a strategy to consolidate. And we have consolidated to be able to accelerate.
We have consolidation of product platforms. Previously, it was a bit fragmented, which was a risk for a company like PowerCell because you might end up in doing projects everywhere. Now since the introduction of MS 225, we have seen now a serious delivery, which you see in the bottom there. Start of production in April. We now have more than 100 systems in order and in the pipeline. As we said, we are completing the delivery to our Italian shipyard this week, tomorrow, which, of course, is one of the reasons why we have been tying up working capital to the extent that you have seen in the report.
Now when we move on to delivery to the Norwegian ferries up in Bodo that is just one more proof point on how well the consolidation strategy have worked, which is also seen in the gross margins of PowerCell. But then in quarter 3, we also reported a change in the management group, which is also a consolidation of the organization. When building up a company like PowerCell, we changed more or less everything in the last 4 years, building up technology portfolios, product portfolios, operations, marketing, sales. I wanted to have a large management group to be able to cover all the aspects of PowerCell.
Now we are more mature. We now see a more clear path towards growth. And then we need to have a more streamlined operational management team, which is also why we have consolidated the organization. So this is to increase speed and acceleration and also clear out more accountability now when we actually will speed up everything we do. Anders talked about this before, the fact that we have growth without cost base inflation, I think, is really, really important. Many companies like PowerCell when they grow, they tend to overinvest and always scale up with more and more resources.
We are actually going to run 2026 on a lower overhead cost base than we have had before, which is also one proof point of this consolidation strategy, which is also then, I would say, a mitigation to make sure that we can defend both EBITDA and EBIT breakeven on lower levels than most of our colleagues in the industry. So the strategy is, of course, being profitable and scale through discipline. This is something that is in the DNA of the company, but you always need to be there and protect it, especially when you grow. But we see now that we maintain a breakeven level at around SEK 400 million of top line revenue.
So then looking at the product strategy and next-generation platform. This is now something we have had in the reports a number of times, but it's worth reiterating. We see that the Marine System 225 platform that was introduced in June last year has been very successful. I would say the most dominant product in the marine industry for fuel cells. Now we are complementing it with a CE marking in quarter 4, optimized for power generation segment, which is a very important proof point and a quality stamp for PowerCell.
We continue to see interest in the methanol reformer, both cruise ships, service vessels [indiscernible] and but we also see a growing interest from power generation. The main value there is that you get more energy on a smaller energy storage footprint. So where we have backup power for potential data centers with hydrogen, you need 1/6 of the size, if the energy is stored as methanol. So there is a large interest in this technology from the power generation segment as well. Also availability of methanol is quite good in different regions of the world at a low cost.
So this could be something that is enabling growth in areas where you don't have access to hydrogen. And then power generation. In quarter 4, we will have an enhanced product offering in power generation, more optimized for that segment. It is built on the Bosch collaboration that we communicated in quarter 2, to be able to attract more price-sensitive applications. And this is something that is quite important in a technology shift that willingness to pay between segments are different.
Marine commercial, for instance, have much higher requirements on performance, quality, robustness, et cetera, which makes the product there more expensive. For power generation, we need to have something that is a bit less expensive. It's a bit more price-sensitive segment, and this is where we now will introduce a new product platform in quarter 4. And then as we said before, we have a strong interest in our next-generation fuel cell stack, which is, I would say, our guarantee for future earnings, which is quite valuable to PowerCell.
So reiterating what we said before, the building of the strategic foundations for PowerCell is that we have a platform system and product readiness, the ability to actually have industrialized components because right now, we see growth with a rather short from order to delivery. The demand is a bit volatile, but when we see an order, it's rather short delivery time. And this is really important to us that we are able to meet that. This is also why we have tied up a bit more working capital than perhaps we would have liked, but that is a trade-off that you have to do as both CEO and CFO in a company like PowerCell.
It's also important to have the industrial partnerships because the OEMs will drive growth in the industry. They are the Tier 1 to the end user, and they need to invest and be the guarantee of technology, not just as a delivery but also over the life cycle as a service partner. We support with service to them as the second tier. And then, of course, the fiscal discipline. This is really, really important for PowerCell. And we will protect breakeven at low volumes, more or less regardless of anything.
So if we then look back to what we set out to achieve in 2025, this was part of what we have said as the focus areas for 2025. So one focus was to reach breakeven on rolling 12 months. We can check that one. We also had an ambition to continue to grow with OEM contracts because we believe that, that is what we give the most sustainable growth. Also, those customers put products in operation. So they are proven and tested and actually validated that they generate value to the end customer. That one with the 2 recent OEM contracts that we have signed in quarter 2 and quarter 3 is quite encouraging.
We have said that we need to scale existing product generation. And this is also what has now been generating the growth and also the fact that we reached breakeven. We are doing this, while still investing into the next generation. And I think that the last sentence there is quite important that we are proud of the ability to balance innovation, industrial stability and leverage growth. It's quite easy for a company like PowerCell to optimize on either/or.
But the fact that the company has been able to provide this and also that we have had the support from the Board to pursue this sometimes complex strategy is something I'm really happy about because it is not just giving us the fact that we have breakeven today on low volumes. But with the next-generation products, we are now also well positioned for what will happen in future earnings. So that balanced approach is something that I'm really happy about, and I'm proud that we have had the support from both Board but also the commitment and the, I would say, brilliant performance from our team, both in operation and innovation and technology and sales and marketing.
So really happy with that progress because it's -- we need it. It's difficult to do business in any technology shift, but we have proved that we can do it and we can actually breakeven on very low volumes. So with that, we open up for questions.
[Operator Instructions]
Now I have to admit that I don't see the question. Let me see here. Here we are. Do you have any concrete initiatives in the data center area?
We know that Bloom Energy and the situation in the U.S. is a question from [ Ari ]. Yes, of course, but as always, we cannot talk about things before they have materialized. There is a massive interest from the data center industry. And this is not only for CO2 emissions, but it's also for energy resilience.
In many areas, the grid is full. So getting access to the grid, getting access to stable electricity is quite difficult. So replacing some of the old diesel generators with either fuel cells or something else is quite attractive for the data center operators. And they also have rather high margins on their own business, so they can do this. So we see a lot of commitments from the larger players. We met with some of them in New York during the New York Climate Week. But as I said, it is a combination of getting the whole value chain in position. You need to have supply of fuel, you need to have the grid access, et cetera. So finding the right balance point has been a bit tricky. But in quarter 4, as I said, we will come back with a more clear product offering and hopefully some clarity also in the potential that we see in this industry.
So let me see here if we have more.
[Operator Instructions]
Anders?
Yes.
Yes. We had a question, of course, on the cash position and how we see the end of the year and the beginning of next year, even though we don't make the detailed forecast, do you want to comment on that one?
I think it's without making forecast, which we will try not to do, but we would like to guide everyone reading the report as we understand that this is one of the key questions from a financial standpoint. And I think the efforts we have done in the first 3 quarters this year would -- either way you would have done it, accumulated more working capital. On top of that, we also spent money on those proceeds that we discussed during the share issue last year.
And following what Richard just mentioned in the beginning of the presentation that we are in final delivery stages in 2 large projects. Obviously, those 2 large projects has terms and conditions included in them that indicates that once delivered, we get paid to not giving you any guidance, but with more stating that we feel comfortable about those dynamics. We are comfortable at this point in time.
Very good. And then we had a question from [ Niklas Holmgren ] here. Once again, regarding the data centers, do you think you have the right product offering to make this a significant source of revenue for PowerCell over time? So far, it's been mainly SOFC manufacturers like Bloom Energy has been successful in this space.
That is a very good question, and it requires some explanation. One reason why our technology, the PEM fuel cell complements the SOFC is that SOFC is a very stable installation. It doesn't take dynamic load well. So where we see a potential growing demand is for backup power and peak shaving because that's when you have the fast dynamic load that the PEM fuel cell is very strong with. The solid oxide fuel cell cannot do that because it takes a very long time to ramp up and ramp down. So there are different applications.
So I think that the different technologies complement each other. And we believe that PEM fuel cells and the backup power peak shaving is a very relevant application for data centers because there are today very few areas globally where you can fully rely on grid access. So we believe that our technology will have a strong opportunity for the data center segment. With that said, as we presented here in the report in quarter 4, we will come back with a more clear product offering because we believe that the price point is slightly different from other segments. And we are now preparing an introduction of more targeted products to be able to capture that growth. So it's a very good question, and it gave us an opportunity to also explain the difference between our technology and the one that has been prevailing so far in this segment.
Then also, we have a question on Torghatten. With Torghatten final delivery, can you comment on the service agreement with Torghatten? Yes, I can. Since we are completing delivery, we start delivery now in quarter 4 and will be completed in quarter 1. That means that for 2026, the service contract will be in place. It is a 10- to 15-year service contract that we will sign together with Torghatten. But the details of that contract, we need to come back to when it's signed because it's still under discussion.
But of course, now when we are getting more large installations in operation with customers, the service side of PowerCell will be more interesting because now we will have a service revenue and a service opportunity that has been lacking before. And this is also one positive benefit of moving away from the early stages of project execution to more normal industrial applications and customers that put products into operational service. So it is both an opportunity for revenue, but also an opportunity to learn more and also show the industry how this works. So it's a good question.
We had a question from Rakesh at Chevron Shipping. How do you expect the IMO Net-Zero talk failure to affect future orders?
Well, since we didn't see any effects on the contrary that we had a positive effect because the IMO was not signed yet. This was just a proposal. It's been postponed now for 12 months. I think that the -- what we see now is that certain areas will wait. That is for sure, but I think that they waited anyway. So the segments and geographical areas where we see growth like Europe, that will continue because Europe already, as we said, have a more strict regulatory framework than what the IMO proposal was. So it's more likely that we see a continued hesitation in the U.S. for certain marine applications.
But on the other hand, there are also those who want to accelerate because this is actually making business sense in certain areas already now. So we will continue to follow this and monitor, but we don't see any immediate impact on the order book or on the leads funnel that we are operating.
I think that, that more or less concluded. We are now 1 minute past the deadline. So as always, thank you very much for listening in. We always encourage you to come and visit us in Gothenburg at the factory if you have time, regardless if you are a shareholder or if you are a financial analyst. So look us up, come visit us. And with that, have a nice day, and see you in February.
Bye-bye.
Financial data from PowerCell Sweden
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 265 265 |
37%
37%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 184 184 |
21%
21%
69%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 81 81 |
57%
57%
31%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 109 109 |
5%
5%
41%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | 124 124 |
19%
19%
47%
|
|
| EBITDA | - - |
-
-
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | - - |
-
-
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | -122 -122 |
2,143%
2,143%
-46%
|
|
| Net Profit | -127 -127 |
1,754%
1,754%
-48%
|
|
In millions SEK.
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PowerCell Sweden Stock News
Company Profile
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | Sweden |
| CEO | Mr. Berkling |
| Employees | 144 |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Website | powercellgroup.com |


