Nel ASA: A 70 Million Kronen Legal Bill Masks a 224% Order Surge
Published on 07/23/2026 at 15:11 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Norwegian hydrogen specialist Nel ASA finds itself caught between two sharply diverging realities. On one hand, its order intake has more than tripled year-on-year. On the other, a costly legal settlement with a Japanese partner has deepened second-quarter losses, while the stock languishes near its 52-week low. The shares changed hands at €0.1986 on Thursday, down 2.17% on the day, extending a 12-month decline of 15.27%.
The Iwatani Settlement: A Painful but Necessary Clean-Up
A major drag on Nel's second-quarter performance was the 70 million Norwegian kroner (approximately €6.44 million) settlement with Iwatani Corporation of America. The dispute, which dated back to early 2024, concerned hydrogen refueling equipment in the United States. The one-off charge pushed quarterly EBITDA to negative 155 million kroner — a figure that would have been significantly smaller without the settlement. Still, the agreement removes a legal overhang that had weighed on the company for more than two years.
Total revenues and other income fell to 182 million kroner from 215 million a year earlier, a decline of more than 15%. Revenue from customer contracts alone dropped 12% to 153 million kroner. The net loss came in at 0.10 kroner per share.
Orders Explode, But Cash Conversion Lags
The headline number that bulls are clinging to is the order intake: 230 million kroner in the second quarter, a 224% jump from the same period last year. Nearly all of that growth — roughly 96% — came from the PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technology segment. The order backlog swelled to 1.213 billion kroner, up 9% from the prior quarter.
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Yet the revenue decline tells a different story. Management attributes the gap to timing: orders are landing, but project deliveries — and therefore invoicing — are lagging behind, particularly in the PEM division. This delay between booking and revenue recognition is fueling uncertainty among investors who question whether Nel can convert its bulging pipeline into actual cash flow.
Two Technologies, One Bet on the Future
Nel is pinning its turnaround hopes on a new platform: pressurized alkaline electrolyzers. The company claims the technology reduces customers' capital costs by 40% to 60% and requires up to 80% less floor space than older systems. The European Union has backed the shift with a €135 million grant for the new "PA-Series" production lines.
Management has laid out specific conditions for reaching breakeven: alkaline production capacity must scale to several hundred megawatts annually, while the PEM division needs utilization rates of at least 20% to 24%. Nel currently holds 1.328 billion kroner in cash, providing a buffer for the expansion. The company aims to ramp up output at its Herøya facility to 500 megawatts by the end of 2026.
Chart Signals and Sector Headwinds
Technically, the stock is testing the psychologically important €0.20 level. The 14-day Relative Strength Index stands at 37.5, approaching oversold territory but not yet flashing a clear reversal signal. The shares trade 14.73% above their 52-week low of €0.1731, but remain 45.66% below the 52-week high of €0.3655 reached in May.
The broader clean-energy sector is adding to the pressure. Kempower, a Finnish charging infrastructure provider, recently cut its growth forecast due to weaker order intake — a sign that the investment slowdown may be industry-wide. For Nel, the risk is that persistent fixed costs from underutilized production capacity will continue to weigh on results until larger contracts are secured.
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Leadership Vacuum Adds Uncertainty
Compounding the financial challenges is an unresolved leadership question. CEO Håkon Volldal has announced his departure, and a successor has yet to be named. Until the board fills that role, the strategic direction — particularly around the alkaline platform ramp-up — remains subject to some uncertainty.
What to Watch in October
The next major catalyst will be the third-quarter results, expected in October. If core revenues fail to stabilize, or if the full-year loss exceeds the analyst consensus of -0.315 kroner per share, the stock could test its 52-week floor. A break above the 100-day moving average at €0.2320 would signal a more constructive outlook, with the 200-day average at €0.2148 as the next target. For now, the tug-of-war between a record order book and persistent operational losses shows no signs of resolution.
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