Impact Coatings AB (publ) ($IMPC)

Good morning, and welcome to today's webcast from Impact Coatings. With us today is CEO, Jonas Nilsson; and CFO, Lena Aberg, and they will present the numbers from the first quarter 2026. We'll open up for a Q&A after the presentation [Operator Instructions]. And with that, I leave the audience over to you, Jonas and Lena.

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this first quarter 2026 Interim Report Presentation. Here is the agenda for today's webcast. We will jump directly into Q1 and what the work in Q1 has led to now in April. Our CFO, Lena Aberg, will take us through the financial, then summary and outlook and a Q&A session at the end. So Q1 highlights and highlights after the period. Q1 resulted in a net sales of SEK 12.7 million and EBITDA of minus SEK 8.8 million. From a financial perspective, Q1 was not great. That's just how it is. Business development is hard ongoing work and the outcome can vary a lot from quarter to quarter. But we are clearly starting to see is the work paying off. During Q1, we brought in 2 new customers in coating services, one in security defense and one in medical technology. We also saw continued test orders with electrolysis and fuel cell applications from existing customers. We would, of course, have liked to have more customers during the quarter, but the work we did in Q1 paid off in Q2. In early April, we added 2 more strategic customers, one in PEM electrolysis and one in SOFC. Both are in early stage, but with really big potential. After the quarter, we sold an IC 500 machine to Korea. We received the order on April 10 and the usual initial payment we received on April 14. The delivery of the machine is expected to be done in Q3 this year. We also continued the discussion regarding an INLINECOATER system to our long-time customer, Lindberg, who is in the luxury segment. This is in line with the letter of intent that we announced on December 11 last year. So a few words about the machine order, which we press released on April 10. This is an order within our Electronics segment. The application is metallization of plastic waveguide antennas for automotive radar. The customer is HJWAVE, a Korean supplier of waveguide antennas for automotive radar sensors. And Korea is an important market with this large automotive industry. In addition to delivering the INLINECOATER, we intend to work together with HJWAVE to develop new cost-efficient metal coatings for waveguide antennas to support their customers. Automotive radar is already a multibillion-dollar market, and it's expected to see double-digit growth. Many new innovations in the automotive business come from Asia, especially when it comes to electronics and also intelligent software. In a news program, [indiscernible] last week, they talked about the Beijing Auto Show. Maybe some of you also listened. They said that Beijing Auto Show is the biggest auto show in the world. The show is running until 3rd of May, so you still have time to go there. Anyway, what came out was pretty clear. A lot of intelligent self-driving cars are coming. And for that to work, cars need radars, LiDARs and cameras to understand their surroundings. People are talking about at least 5 radar units per car, one in each corner and one in the front. And all of those radars need antennas. So this is what an injection molded waveguide antenna looks like. It's made from molded plastic because you need a complex structure to guide the radar signal correctly, but the plastic doesn't conduct electricity, so it needs to be metallized. Most automotive radar antennas come in 2 halves that are soldered together. And then the finished antenna sits in a bumper. So it's a pretty tough environment for the antenna. Therefore, you need a coating that can handle adhesion and solderability. It has to provide good antenna performance and provide corrosion resistance. This is a very good fit for us. We like advanced multilayer coatings on flat surfaces and antennas, they are basically flat even if they have some 3D features. If you look at the market, around 100 million vehicles are produced every year. If you multiply that by 5 radars per car and then by 2 for the antenna halves, it's a big number. We're not there yet, but this is our first machine to HJWAVE, who has a strong position in the Korean automotive value chain and good connections to the Korean car brands. I mentioned that in April, we took 2 strategic orders, in SOFC and one in PEM electrolysis. These are test orders, but from 2 very important players who are now paying customers to us. The orders are a direct result of the work we did during Q1. And now we're continuing that work, taking them from initial sampling to real volumes. SOFC stands for solid oxide fuel cells. One of the application area for them is to power data center. We have talked a lot about SOFC as our strategic focus, but that doesn't mean that we have left PEM. In our coating service center here in Linkoping, we have volume production to several electrolyzer manufacturers. And in PEM electrolysis, we see a clear consolidation in the market. Some are pulling out. That means fewer players, but stronger ones. That means bigger volumes and a more stable market. That creates good opportunities for us to grow our market share. The geopolitical tension affects the short-term investment willingness, but long term, it highlights that there's a vulnerability in the energy system, and we need to work on energy independence and energy resilience. This interest in reduced fossil fuel dependence is something good for us who work with technologies that enable flexible and local energy production. In '25, we did a strategy pivot towards natural gas-powered solid oxide fuel cells. We talked about powering data centers, and we also talked about energy resilience. SOFC can convert multiple fuels to electricity. So if there's a shortage of natural gas, you can run them on, for example, locally produced hydrogen. That hydrogen must be produced either in the same SOFC system that is running the other direction or more likely by PEM electrolyzers. The PEM fuel cell market remains in a transitional phase with China as the driving force. But also here, we expect the drive for energy resilience globally and particularly in China to speed up the deployment. So all in all, although geopolitical tensions are bad in the short term, they are creating future opportunities for us. So going back to China. As usual, Chinese New Year's falls in Q1, which leads to reduced activity in our coating service center in China. But this year, it was not just that. We also had a transition between 5-year plans, which basically put the fuel cell market in a bit of a vacuum. The old subsidies expired, and it wasn't until mid-March this year that things started to become clear again regarding the new subsidy program. The details are not fully defined, but the overall direction and size are. So if you're interested, you can look at the China Comprehensive Hydrogen Pilot Program. I recommend to Google on that. We believe that this program will continue to be the market driver in the Chinese fuel cell market. So let's have a look at the financials. And as I said before, the numbers for the quarter could have been better, but we are clearly seeing that the work we have put in is starting to pay off, both in terms of system orders and new customers. At the same time, we have taken actions on the cost side, so we are in a better position as volume starts to come back. So with that, I turn to Lena.

Thank you, Jonas. So let's start with the Q1 summary. Total net sales amounted to SEK 12.7 million and Coating Services was the main contributor with SEK 11.7 million, of which SEK 4.8 million relates to sale of metals in inventory, part of the transition to the new metals management agreement. The order backlog at the end of the quarter was SEK 4.5 million compared to SEK 2.6 million in Q1 2025. Aftermarket has been slow, reflecting the lower activity at many of our system customers. So SEK 1.0 million compared to SEK 3.9 million in Q1 2025. Operational costs, but excluding raw materials and supply, was SEK 19.8 million compared to SEK 23.6 million, clearly reflecting the effects of the cost-saving measures implemented. And the number of FTE in the parent company has now, after the quarter, decreased approximately 42% since December 2024. So EBITDA improved to minus SEK 8.8 million compared to minus SEK 12.4 million, and EBIT improved to minus SEK 11.3 million compared to minus SEK 14.2 million. Closing cash balance was SEK 18.3 million, and we will come back to details in the cash flow statement. If we take a little closer look at the income statement, all the amounts will be in million and compared to Q1 2025. Even though net sales for the quarter increased to SEK 12 million, total revenue decreased to SEK 12.6 million compared to SEK 19.7 million. And this was mainly due to almost no change in work in progress this year, while in Q1 2025, it was SEK 8.1 million. Gross margin though increased to 62% compared to 52% and the work with further reductions in cost of goods sold continued. As I already mentioned, operational expenditures decreased and other external costs decreased to minus SEK 4.9 million compared to minus SEK 6.0 million, mainly due to reduced consultancy fees, travel expenses and costs for consumables. And personnel costs decreased to minus SEK 12.6 million compared to minus SEK 15.8 million. And the number of FTE for the group by the end of the quarter was 47 compared to 61 in Q1 2025. Then depreciations increased to minus SEK 2.3 million compared to minus SEK 1.8 million following investments from previous years. We had a currency gain of SEK 0.9 million compared to a currency loss of minus SEK 0.8 million last year. And operating loss for the quarter was minus SEK 11.1 million compared to minus SEK 14.2 million. And we move to the balance sheet. Now compared to the year-end 2025. So low level of investments, so total fixed assets decreased from SEK 68.6 million to SEK 68.2 million due to depreciation. Inventory and raw materials decreased from SEK 54.7 million to SEK 51.0 million and mainly in metal inventories. Receivable decreased by SEK 1.2 million to SEK 22.3 million compared to SEK 23.5 million at the year end. And outgoing cash balance by the end of the quarter was, as mentioned, NOK 18.3 million. Equity decreased from SEK 154 million at the year end to SEK 145.1 million due to the loss for the quarter. Then prepayments from the customers have decreased SEK 4 million to SEK 3.9 million due to invoiced sales in Q1. And short-term liabilities decreased SEK 9.5 million to SEK 33.4 million, mainly due to repayment of the SEK 5 million short-term loan in the parent company, but also due to decreased accounts payables. Looking at the cash flow statement with the comparison with Q1 2025. Cash flow from operations before change in working capital was minus SEK 9.1 million compared to minus SEK 11.7 million. And cash flow from change in working capital was minus SEK 5.3 million compared to plus SEK 8.5 million. And the negative cash flow effect from this year is mainly from payments of short-term liabilities, including payments of the costs connected to the rights issue of approximately SEK 3 million and also the decrease in customer prepayments of SEK 4 million. So cash flow from operations was minus SEK 14.4 million compared to minus SEK 3.2 million in Q1 2025. Cash flow from investing activities were only SEK 0.1 million compared to minus SEK 2.4 million. And cash flow from financing activities was minus SEK 5 million this year due to the repayment of a short-term loan. In total, this resulted in a negative cash flow of minus SEK 19.3 million compared to minus SEK 5.6 million and a closing balance of SEK 18.3 million compared to SEK 26.3 million in Q1 2025. That was the financial update. So we go to summary and outlook.

Thank you, Lena. So Q1 was not a strong quarter from a financial perspective. That's clear. But what we are seeing now is that the work we have been doing is starting to convert into business. We are adding new customers. We are getting test orders, and we are starting to see system orders coming through. And that's the key. Our business is built step by step from test orders to coating services to volumes and finally, to systems. And with the sampling orders we have got, we can confirm that SOFC is the right long-term strategy. But with that said, we don't stop working with PEM, with antennas and with our other segments. At the same time, we have continued to adjust the cost base, so we are in a better position as volumes are coming back. So while the numbers in this quarter are not where we want them to be, we do see a clearer path forward now than we did a few quarters ago. And with that, we open up for questions.Thank you for this presentation, Jonas and Linda. We open up for Laura from ABG. [Operator Instructions]

Laura from ABG. Just a couple of questions from my end. Firstly, in your report and also in your presentation, you mentioned that coating services orders have been delayed a bit. Was this customer specific? Or would you just say it was broader? And would you say that activity has normalized now in Q2 so far?

No, this was customer-specific, and it's not due to lack of need of coatings. It's due to delays in the supply in the plates and PTLs to coat. So there has been some delays in the supply chain. So we have not yet got the raw material in time, which means that some of the orders have been delayed. You can also see that we do have an order backlog for Coating Services when we go out of quarter 1. So it's not due to lack of interest.

Okay. Very clear. And another one on your metals agreement that you press released in December. You announced that the new metal agreement would reduce working capital needs by around SEK 30 million. And in Q1, you wrote that the positive one-off of the SEK 4.8 million was flagged as accelerating that transition. So basically, my question is how much of this SEK 30 million has been realized so far? And what's the expected timeline for the remainder?

Yes. You can regard the SEK 30 million like a frame that can be used. And with the transition now, with the expedited transition from the old agreement to the new agreement, we have better -- we can apply that new agreement more rapidly. So what we have is we have a supplier that keeps metal in a stock for us. And we also have 90 days invoice of metals from that supplier, which we can use if we want to. Of course, everything comes with a cost. So there's no free lunch. So this is something that we can use when we want to use it, but we don't have to use it and we don't have to take the cost. So it's basically a month-to-month decision how much of that we are using.

Very clear. And then you -- obviously, you highlight from the oxide as a key long-term opportunity. But as you know, the development cycles are long. So what's sort of a realistic timeline for the first system order here? Do you have any customers that have come quite a long way along the line? Or what should we expect?

Yes. We do have several paying customers in the area of SOFC. And as reported now after the quarter, we took one very important strategic customer in this area. And we can also say that the collaboration we have with Ceres Power is good in this respect. If you look at Ceres Power, they publicly announced who are the licensees. And this collaboration, it gives us access to their licensees. So we are making progress. But at the same time, it's very hard to say exactly when will be the first system order.

Yes. Very clear. Also, you mentioned the Chinese Hydrogen Pilot Program that was announced in March. Have you seen any sort of tangible pickup here in customer dialogues or maybe in the pipeline this announcement? Or is it still too early, would you say?

We have seen -- in the customer dialogues, we have seen a clear difference. So before it was announced, everyone was waiting and everyone thought that, well, China is going to continue in the same way as before. But without this pilot program, our customers didn't really know. Now they know that, okay, it will continue. We haven't really seen that in production volumes. We have seen it in some smaller orders, and we have definitely seen it in the customer dialogues.

Okay. And just the last one from me. Aftermarket seems to have dropped quite a bit this quarter. And of course, this reflects customer activity. But do you think with maybe the machine order you announced after Q1 and the broader installed base, do you sort of think the aftermarket will recover? And what can we see? Would you say that the current run rate is maybe the new normal or should we expect in this segment?

I expect it to recover. And there's a correlation between aftermarket services and how much our customers are producing. If we look at China, for example, we saw that in Q1, we had lower activity in our coating service center. It was not only the Chinese New Year. It was also this vacuum between policies. All our machine customers, they experienced the same. They experienced the same Chinese New Year, but they also experienced this vacuum. So the activity was low at our customer sites. And if the customers are not fully utilizing the machines, fully using our machines, then of course, the need for aftermarket services is lower.

Thank you, Laura. We have a couple of questions from the audience as well. First question, how do you get a collaboration with an industrial player?

Once again?

How do you get a collaboration with an industrial player?

Are you referring to the press release in December that we are planning to bring in?

Yes, I think the question. . .

Yes. We are. So we are planning to bring in an industrial investor during this year as we press released in December. Of course, from an operational perspective, the focus is on customers and orders. That's our primary focus. But with that said, yes, we are progressing according to what we press released in December. For example, we have contracted an adviser for bringing in a strategic investor. So yes, that's progressing.

The hydrogen sector is often cited as a growth engine. However, the global adoption of fuel cell technology has faced some headwinds recently. How do Impact Coating navigate this?

Yes. If you look in a broader perspective, some years ago, some 5 years ago, people thought that passenger vehicles would be powered by fuel cells and not by batteries. The battery technology has improved a lot and also the adoption of batteries has improved. So no one really believes that passenger vehicles will be on a sort of big scale powered by hydrogen. But what we see is that trucks, loris, buses, heavy transports, they need other power sources. So we see traction there. We see -- if you look at the short perspective, China is sort of the big market for fuel cells. And last year, we increased a lot in our coating service center. So we doubled -- sorry, in '25, we doubled the production of fuel cell plates in our coating service center in China compared to the year before '24. Now this quarter has been slow. And we believe it's due to this vacuum between policies. So we believe that it will continue to be the driver. The Chinese market will be the driver for fuel cells. But with that said, I mean, we announced our strategy pivot towards SOFC. And the big difference between PEM fuel cells for passenger vehicles and SOFC is that PEM fuel cells, that's mainly driven at the moment by subsidies. Now we know that the subsidies will continue. But the SOFC market, it has a commercial driving force. So the strategy pivot was from a subsidy-driven market to more commercially driven market. But with that said, we don't stop our activities in the PEM fuel cell market. We continue to do that, but we believe that the growth will be in SOFC. Long answer, but I think it's -- your question.

Yes. Thank you, Jonas. One last question here from Finwire. What specific operational milestones must be hit to reach a breakeven point without requiring further external financing or capital injections?

Yes, sell machine. It's simple. We need to sell machines. Coating services is not enough. So we need to sell machines. And the machine order we took now in April is a good start. We do have the letter of intent with Lindberg also. So that's also good. But we believe that we will sell machines in all our segments during the year.

Thank you, both Jonas and Lena. And I leave now the final words for you from Impact Coatings. So I would like to thank you for listening to this quarterly presentation. And especially, I would like to thank our shareholders who participated in the rights issue in December. So thank you.