Vow's revenues for the full year 2023 were NOK 918.5 million, a 17 per cent increase from the year before. EBITDA before non-recurring items was negative NOK 23.4 million for the full year. In addition, the company recorded non-recurring items of negative NOK 31.3 million, mainly related to non-cash balance sheet clean-up in contract accruals. This resulted in a negative EBITDA for the year of NOK 54.7 million versus a positive NOK 85.5 million in 2022.
“The year 2023 was a year of high activity and revenue. A large number of projects were successfully delivered. Activity in aftersales was increasing. We also secured important new contracts and moved into position for new projects in new industry verticals,” said Henrik Badin, CEO of Vow ASA.
At the end of 2023, the order backlog was NOK 1 034 million and another NOK 921 million in options. The backlog and options are providing visibility for revenues and good margins well into 2025/26.
“We have also spent much time on clean-up and reassessments of project accounts and balance sheet items, which we had hoped to conclude in the third quarter, but which unfortunately continued for the rest of the year. The underlying reasons are the same as reported before, adjustments in the project portfolio, increased cost, and reduced revenue in the reporting period. This resulted in a negative operating result and bottom line for the reporting period and for the year,” Badin added.
A comprehensive cost savings programme for 2024 is being executed. Work processes, operational setup and delivery model is being streamlined to improve efficiency and mitigate operational risks, and capacity is being aligned with actual demand. In the fourth quarter, Vow also sold the subsidiary Ascodero, to further free up management capacity and financial and other resources.
Outlook
During the past year, significant new signals have been heard and seen from leading industrial players, which confirm the rationale behind the decisions and investments made to position Vow for the future. Large players in the metals industry, such as Outokumpu and Elkem, have committed to extensive use of biocarbon for replacing fossil carbon in their production processes.
With high energy costs and increasing climate gas emission costs, heat-intensive industries are intensifying the search for low-carbon solutions, which in most cases mean electrification of their heating processes. As a result, demand for C.H. Evensen technology has grown substantially and is likely to continue growing.
Leading cruise companies, widely recognized for having adopted pioneering clean ship solutions, have already taken further steps to valorise waste and generate renewable energy – by introducing advanced technology from Vow on board their ships.
In other industry verticals, leading companies are forging ahead with plans to roll out multiple end-of-life tire plants for recovery of carbon black, large- scale carbon refineries and sophisticated plants for safe treatment of sewage sludge and contagious PFAS components therein. Pyrolysis technology from Vow plays a key role in all the above, and concrete projects are being lined up.
“Our company is well positioned for these and other opportunities. We have identified a pipeline of some 80 large projects, with total investments exceeding NOK 25 billion in the coming years. 2023 and 2024 will be years of transition, as the company gears up for our “15 from 25″ goal: achieving an EBITDA margin of 15 per cent from the end of 2024,” Henrik Badin concluded.
