Nel ASA's Q2 Scorecard: A Demand Rebound That Can't Mask the Cash Burn
Published on 08/09/2026 at 14:02 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The arithmetic at Nel ASA is getting harder to ignore. When the Norwegian electrolyser maker published its second-quarter results on July 15, the headline numbers told two conflicting stories: orders are flooding in at a pace not seen in years, yet the losses are widening just as quickly — and the balance sheet that funds the turnaround is thinning quarter by quarter.
Revenue from customer contracts came in at NOK 153 million, down 12 percent year-on-year but still NOK 5 million ahead of the first quarter. The more striking figure, however, was the order intake: NOK 230 million, a 171 percent jump from the preceding quarter and a 224 percent surge compared with the same period last year. Nearly all of that growth was concentrated in the PEM electrolyser division, while the legacy alkaline business continued to lose ground.
That demand momentum, though, has yet to reach the income statement. EBITDA landed at minus NOK 155 million, a sharp deterioration from the NOK 100 million loss in Q1 and the NOK 86 million deficit recorded a year earlier. A NOK 70 million settlement with Japanese partner Iwatani accounted for a substantial slice of that decline — strip out the one-off and the underlying operating picture looks considerably less alarming, if still firmly in the red. The net loss widened to NOK 189 million, up from NOK 131 million in the year-ago quarter.
The Cash Question Looms Larger
The more pressing concern for investors may be the pace at which the company is burning through its reserves. Nel ended the quarter with NOK 1.328 billion in cash, down from NOK 1.928 billion twelve months earlier — a NOK 600 million drawdown in a single year. For a company that openly acknowledges it remains years away from sustainable profitability, the capital cushion is becoming a focal point for anyone holding the stock.
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There are, to be fair, some encouraging signs beneath the surface. The order backlog rose to NOK 1.213 billion, up nine percent quarter-on-quarter and now just three percent below the level of Q2 2025 — a meaningful stabilisation after several quarters of steep declines. Management also reported encouraging results from prototype testing of the new pressurised alkaline platform, the PA-Series, which was commercially launched on May 6 alongside partners and customers. The EU Innovation Fund is backing the project with EUR 135 million, and Nel received its first milestone payment during the quarter.
The company has set clear targets for the path to profitability: alkaline volumes in the triple-digit megawatt range per year, or PEM plant utilisation of 20 to 24 percent. Production capacity is slated to reach 500 megawatts by the end of 2026, with an option to scale to one gigawatt the following year. Containerised PEM systems, deliverable in under twelve months, are expected to help bridge an anticipated utilisation gap in 2027.
Leadership Uncertainty Adds Another Layer
Complicating the operational picture is the question of who will steer the company through this transition. CEO Håkon Volldal announced in June that he would be stepping down to take on an external role. He remains in place during his six-month notice period, with his departure expected around year-end, while the board searches for a successor. The timing is hardly ideal: the company is trying to convert an order surge into revenue growth while simultaneously scaling new production capacity.
Board chairman Arvid Moss had earlier signalled his own confidence in the company's direction. On April 24, he purchased 100,000 shares at an average price of NOK 2.2547, ending the transaction with 100,000 shares and no options. Insider buying of this kind is often read as a vote of confidence, though it does little on its own to alter the fundamental picture.
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Market Remains Unconvinced
The share price reflects the mixed messaging. The stock closed Friday at EUR 0.1994, up 1.63 percent on the day, but that modest bounce leaves it about 9.77 percent below its 50-day moving average of EUR 0.2210. Against the 52-week high of EUR 0.3655, reached in May, the shares are still down roughly 45 percent — a gap that suggests the order momentum has yet to shift the broader market mood.
With no major corporate announcements, personnel changes or analyst actions since July 26, the next catalyst is the third-quarter report, scheduled for October 21. Between now and then, the focus will be on whether the order intake can translate into actual revenue growth — and whether the new electrolyser platform can start converting interest into contracts. For a company burning through cash while searching for a new CEO, those are the numbers that will ultimately decide the story.
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