Nel ASA's NOK 253 Million Order Haul Meets a NOK 112 Million Revenue Line
Published on 11/01/2026 at 16:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA has given investors a rare split-screen quarter: orders surging, sales retreating. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist booked NOK 253 million in new orders in the third quarter of 2026 — a 339 percent leap on the prior year — while revenue from customer contracts collapsed 63 percent to NOK 112 million. The figures, published roughly a fortnight ago, frame the central question hanging over the stock: when does demand on paper become cash on the income statement?
The order backlog stood at NOK 1,314 million at quarter-end, a cushion that points to future work but does nothing for the current top line. Management pinned the revenue slide on lower activity in the alkaline segment, where sales shrank to NOK 23 million. PEM revenue moved the other way, climbing 65 percent to NOK 89 million — not enough to plug the alkaline hole. The two technologies are clearly travelling in opposite directions, and no uniform recovery across the portfolio is visible yet.
Profitability remains under water. EBITDA for the reported quarter came in at minus NOK 93 million, and Nel closed the period with NOK 1,078 million in liquid funds. That liquidity buffer sits alongside a still-negative operating result, so the order growth alone offers no grounds for assuming financial relief.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
A US Contract That Pays Out Later
Concrete evidence of the order momentum arrived in the form of a US deal for several containerised PEM electrolysers plus associated services, worth around USD 12 million. The buyer is an unnamed American technology company. Delivery is scheduled for 2027 — which is precisely the point. The contract underpins future utilisation but cannot be counted as proof that the revenue drought has already broken.
Capacity plans stretch beyond the current year as well. Nel is building its first automated production line for pressurised alkaline electrolysers at Herøya, with the first stage targeted to reach 500 MW of annual capacity by the end of 2026. A further expansion to 1 GW is planned for 2027. Manufacturing capability, however, is not the same thing as secured demand; whether the extra output translates into stronger results depends on orders arriving and being executed.
New Hands at the Wheel
The leadership transition lands squarely in this execution phase. Morten Holum is slated to succeed Håkon Volldal as CEO, taking the role no later than 1 May 2027, with a transitional arrangement in the interim. Under the announced timetable, CFO Kjell Christian Bjørnsen steps in as interim CEO, while Torbjørn Berg is lined up as interim CFO.
For shareholders, the yardstick is straightforward. The personnel decision matters less than progress on deliveries, revenue conversion and loss reduction. A tripling of order intake provides something to build on; weak sales and a negative EBITDA show how much of the job is still ahead.
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