Nel ASA Counts Down to Q2 Earnings as Leadership Vacancy Complicates Profitability Push

Nel ASA reports Q2 earnings on July 15 amid CEO Håkon Volldal's abrupt resignation, a 40% stock drop, and a search for a successor. Key focus: order backlog, new alkaline platform, and cash cushion.

When Nel ASA publishes its second-quarter results on 15 July, investors will have more than just revenue and order figures to digest. The report will be the first since CEO Håkon Volldal abruptly handed in his notice on 15 June, and the market is watching for any sign of a successor. With the stock already nursing a 40% decline from its late?May peak of €0.37, the leadership void is amplifying scrutiny of the underlying business.

The first quarter did little to reassure. Nel generated 148.1 million Norwegian kroner in revenue from customer contracts, a drop of roughly 5% year?on?year. The EBITDA loss widened to 100 million kroner, and the loss per share reached -0.08 NOK. Analysts currently project a full?year loss of around -0.23 NOK per share, underscoring how far the company still is from turning the corner on profitability.

Volldal’s departure to packaging group Elopak comes at a particularly awkward moment. He will serve out a six?month notice period, but the search for a permanent replacement is already underway. The timing stung all the more because on 22 June, just a week after the announcement, Nel was admitted to the Euronext Tech Leaders Index — a milestone that should have boosted institutional visibility. Instead, the stock continued to slide, closing at €0.22 on Tuesday after a 2.46% drop. Year?to?date, the shares are still up nearly 14%, but the recent 30?day sell?off has wiped out more than 38% of value.

Despite the operational strain, Nel’s balance sheet offers a cushion. The company ended the first quarter with 1.443 billion kroner in cash, giving it room to weather the current headwinds. There are also pockets of progress. In April, Nel secured a $7 million purchase order for PEM electrolysers, and on 7 June it reached a settlement with Iwatani Corporation of America, clearing a long?standing legal liability. More strategically, the group unveiled a new pressurised alkaline electrolyser platform in May, designed to cut customer investment costs. Management still targets 500 megawatts of electrolyser capacity by the end of 2026, with the commercial ramp?up of that platform seen as critical to moving the EBITDA closer to breakeven.

The technical picture, however, remains uneasy. The stock is now trading just above its 200?day moving average of €0.21, a level that served as psychological support during the February lows around €0.17. The relative strength index is hovering at 35.9 on one gauge and 35.4 on another, both deep in oversold territory — yet no sustained bounce has materialised. With 30?day annualised volatility at 87.48%, any fresh news can trigger outsized moves.

All eyes are now on 15 July. Investors will scan the Q2 numbers not only for the order backlog — which stood at 1.113 billion kroner at the start of the quarter — but also for any update on the CEO search. Until the leadership question is resolved, the company’s ability to market its new alkaline platform and narrow its losses will remain under a cloud.