Nel ASA's Order Book Triples While Revenue Shrinks 63% — and a New CEO Inherits the Gap
Published on 11/01/2026 at 13:10 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA has given investors two sharply diverging signals in the same quarterly report. Orders are flooding in; customer revenue is collapsing. For anyone holding the stock, that split is the whole story — a fuller order book points to future business, but it does not yet prove the company has turned itself around.
Revenue Falls, Orders Surge
The third-quarter 2026 figures, released roughly two weeks ago, lay out the weakness plainly. Revenue from customer contracts dropped 63% year on year to NOK 112 million.
Order intake told the opposite tale, climbing 339% to NOK 253 million. The backlog stood at NOK 1.314 million.
Those are different quantities, and the distinction matters for how the business is valued. A larger backlog is no evidence that Nel is already growing faster or operating more profitably. Orders still have to be delivered — and converted into revenue — before a durable recovery can be claimed.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
Two Technologies, Two Directions
The divergence runs right through Nel's product lines. Growth in the PEM business was not enough to offset weaker activity in alkaline electrolysers, so a broad-based recovery across both segments cannot be inferred.
The numbers behind that split are stark. PEM revenue rose 65% to NOK 89 million, while the alkaline business fell to NOK 23 million.
Losses and Liquidity Side by Side
The bottom line remains the operational burden. EBITDA came in at NOK -93 million for the quarter, with a net loss of NOK -141 million.
Nel held liquid funds of NOK 1.078 million at the end of the period. That cash position sits alongside a still-negative operating result, and it does not by itself signal any financial easing. Liquidity and earnings power are separate matters for investors: available funds are no substitute for evidence that the underlying business is improving.
Capacity Buildout Raises the Stakes
Running in parallel is Nel's construction of its first automated production line for pressurised alkaline electrolysers at Herøya. The expansion is planned in stages — reaching an annual capacity of 500 MW by the end of 2026, then 1 GW in 2027.
Manufacturing capacity and customer demand are not the same thing. The buildout describes planned production capability, not additional revenue already secured. How orders and utilisation develop together will be what counts.
Nel ASA at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Interim Chiefs Take Over as Holum Waits in the Wings
The announced leadership change sets the organisational frame for these tasks. Today marks the start of the transition arrangement: CFO Kjell Christian Bjørnsen is to take interim charge of the company, with Torbjørn Berg stepping in temporarily to lead finance.
Nel has appointed Morten Holum as its next chief executive. He is to take up the role no later than 1 May 2027, succeeding HĂĄkon Volldal.
For investors, the personnel change itself matters less than its operating scorecard. Nel must convert the higher order intake into business, align its production plans with demand, and contain losses. Only progress on those fronts would turn stronger order figures into a broadly supported recovery — and that is the test awaiting both the interim leadership and the incoming CEO.
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