Nel ASA's Two-Speed Story: PEM Rises 65%, Alkaline Falls 91%, and a CEO Handover Looms
Published on 10/25/2026 at 21:20 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Nel ASA enters its leadership transition with a balance sheet that can absorb losses and an income statement that keeps producing them. Third-quarter 2026 figures, released on 15 October, lay out both sides of that equation: cash of NOK 1,078 million at period end, against an EBITDA of minus NOK 93 million and a net loss of NOK 141 million.
The top line is where the pressure shows most plainly. Revenue from customer contracts fell 63% year on year to NOK 112 million, leaving the liquidity cushion facing a much smaller revenue base. Cash alone, the report makes clear, is no evidence of a business recovery — that would require the sales trend to steady first.
One segment grows while the other collapses
Beneath the headline decline, the two business lines moved in opposite directions. PEM revenue climbed 65% to NOK 89 million, while alkaline revenue dropped 91%. The quarter therefore cannot be read as uniform weakness or as a broadly based turnaround.
PEM's advance was not enough to offset the collapse elsewhere. That distinction matters for how the next set of results should be judged: further PEM progress would be a positive signal, but on its own would not prove the whole company has stabilised.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nel ASA?
Orders are piling up faster than they are being delivered
The demand side tells a different story from the income statement. Order intake reached NOK 253 million, 339% above the year-earlier figure, and the order backlog rose 34% to NOK 1,314 million. That opens a path to future revenue without resolving the current losses.
How long that path can be is illustrated by a contract announced on 13 October. A US technology company, which Nel did not name, ordered several containerised PEM electrolyser units plus associated services through subsidiary Nel Hydrogen US. The order is worth roughly USD 12 million, with delivery expected in 2027 — a firm commercial commitment, but not evidence of an immediate improvement in earnings.
Management's task is to convert that backlog into revenue while containing the losses. Only that will show whether stronger demand becomes a durable recovery.
Rheinmetall talks add an option, not an order
A further prospect comes from an agreement struck about two weeks ago with Rheinmetall. The two companies will examine decentralised plants for producing synthetic fuels, combining Nel's electrolyser technology with Rheinmetall's Giga-PtX concept.
The arrangement is a non-binding declaration of intent. A pilot project or any further steps depend on a feasibility review and mutual agreement, so it does not amount to a confirmed plant order and offers no proof of an operational turning point already achieved.
Nel ASA at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
New faces at the top during the turnaround
The leadership change lands squarely in this phase. Morten Holum has been named to succeed Håkon Volldal as CEO, taking over no later than 1 May 2027. Chief financial officer Kjell Christian Bjørnsen will serve as interim CEO from 1 November 2026, while Torbjørn Berg, previously VP Finance, steps in as interim CFO.
None of that alters the yardstick by which the company will be measured. Liquidity provides a buffer, PEM contributes growth and new projects hold out possibilities — but the business figures must decide the case. A steep revenue decline and heavy losses still define the picture.
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