Nel ASA Reports Strong Order Momentum Amid Revenue Transition

Nel's 2025 results show a 31% revenue drop offset by a 364% Q4 order surge, pushing backlog to NOK 1.3B. Strategic expansion continues despite non-cash impairments.

Nel ASA's full-year 2025 financial results present a narrative of contrasting dynamics: a significant decline in revenue was offset by a powerful surge in new orders as the year closed. Substantial non-cash impairments further weighed on the bottom line. The central question for the hydrogen technology company now is the pace at which its expanding order backlog can be converted into recognized sales.

A Surge in New Business

The most striking development came in the final quarter, where new order intake skyrocketed by 364% to 686 million Norwegian kroner (NOK), compared to 148 million NOK in the same period of 2024. This momentum propelled the total order backlog to 1.319 billion NOK by year-end, representing a 34% increase from the close of the third quarter.

Key customer wins underpinned this growth. Samsung Engineering & Construction (Samsung E&A) designated Nel as its preferred global hydrogen partner. Additional orders were secured from HYDS and Collins Aerospace. Notably, in Q4, Nel received a 40-megawatt PEM electrolyzer order from HYDS for two Norwegian sites—described by the company as the largest PEM contract in its history by capacity and the second-largest by value.

Revenue Declines and Segment Performance

Against this promising order backdrop, annual revenue told a different story. Total revenue for 2025 fell to 963 million NOK, a 31% decrease from the 1.390 billion NOK reported in 2024. Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 20% year-over-year to 330 million NOK, down from 416 million NOK.

Management attributed these fluctuations primarily to irregular delivery schedules for large-scale electrolyzer projects, which are dependent on customer-side construction and development progress.

A segment breakdown reveals varied performance:
* Alkaline Electrolyzer: Quarterly revenue here declined 33% to 177 million NOK. However, segment EBITDA improved to 36 million NOK (up from 19 million NOK a year prior), supported by completed deliveries and realized compensation claims.
* PEM Electrolyzer: Revenue remained stable at 153 million NOK. The segment's EBITDA loss, however, widened to -35 million NOK from -22 million NOK. Nel cited significantly higher research and development expenditures, which nearly doubled to 60 million NOK in the quarter, as the main driver. This segment also holds the company's largest order backlog at 878 million NOK.

Strategic Expansion and Impairment Charges

Strategically, December 2025 saw Nel commit to industrializing its "Next Generation Pressurized Alkaline" platform at the Herøya facility. The technology, in development since 2018, has completed its prototype phase. The first expansion phase to 1 GW of capacity is estimated to cost approximately 300 million NOK (before grants). The EU Innovation Fund is supporting the project with up to 135 million euros, covering roughly 60% of the eligible costs. Market launch is planned for the first half of 2026, with larger-scale deliveries commencing from 2027.

The company's annual result was significantly impacted by total impairment charges of 799 million NOK, which are non-cash items. These comprised 361 million NOK related to production assets for atmospheric alkaline electrolysis and 439 million NOK for goodwill and intangible technology values.

Liquidity reserves stood at 1.617 billion NOK at quarter-end, compared to 1.876 billion NOK a year earlier.

Looking Ahead

Investors can anticipate several key dates: the Annual General Meeting is scheduled for April 10, followed by the Q1 2026 report on April 22 and the half-year report on July 15. The market will be closely monitoring the translation of the robust order book into future revenue streams.