LiqTech International, Inc. (LIQT) Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the LiqTech International Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Robert Blum with Lytham. Please go ahead.

All right. Thank you very much, Drew, and good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us on today's conference call to discuss LiqTech International's fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results. Joining us on today's call from the company are Fei Chen, Chief Executive Officer; and David Kowalczyk, the company's Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer. Before I turn the call over to management, let me remind listeners that there will be a Q&A session at the end of the call. [Operator Instructions] Before we begin with prepared remarks, we submit for the record the following statements. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements reflect the good faith and judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed during the conference call. The company, therefore, urges all listeners to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect the company's business, financial condition, operations and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the company's actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. The company, therefore, encourages all listeners not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which pertain only as of this date and the date of the release and conference call. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect any events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release and conference call. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Fei Chen, CEO of LiqTech International. Fei, please proceed.

Thank you, Robert, and good day to everyone on the call. 2025 represented a meaningful step forward for LiqTech. For the whole year, revenue increased 13%, driven by a 49% increase in total systems and aftermarket revenue. And we made improvements to drive efficiencies across much of our business. That shift towards higher value system sales is central to our long-term strategy and reflects growing adoption of our silicon carbide membrane technology across multiple end markets. While we fell short of our original revenue guidance, this was primarily due to continued delays with a large oil and gas order that remains active in our pipeline. The project is still under discussion, but as we have constantly communicated, the timing of large oil and gas project is difficult to predict. That said, we understand that we cannot -- unpredictable... [Audio Gap] Our focus needs to be and is on building... [Audio Gap] And diversified systems portfolio with stronger visibility and improved margin profile going forward. In many ways, this has been consistent with our approach since I took over as CEO. To focus on more predictable parts of our business, such as swimming pools, which will be a key driver going forward, we are certainly amplifying this approach going forward in terms of how we allocate our resources. Our commercial pool business was a standout performer in 2025 and delivered the strongest year in the company's history. We sold 34 pool systems during the year, a new record for LiqTech. Of those, 24 systems were delivered in 2025 with the remaining 10 scheduled for delivery in early 2026. Pool system revenue totaled $2.6 million for the year and represented a drive of growth within our Systems segment. All systems sold during the year were based on our proprietary QlariFlow commercial pool filtration platform. QlariFlow is designed to meet the increasingly complex operational, regulatory and space requirements facing modern aquatic facilities. Compared to conventional media filtration, our system delivers stable and reliable water quality while enabling greater automation and operational efficiency. Its compact and modern design makes it particularly well suited for retrofit installations where equipment room space is limited, an increasingly important consideration for operators upgrading aging infrastructure. The record number of system sales reflect growing customer acceptance and increasing confidence among both operators and distribution partners. We see clear momentum as facilities prioritizing water quality, automation and space efficiency, and QlariFlow is emerging as a compelling alternative to traditional filtration measures. We have also made structural improvements to the pool system itself. Our new and modular design is standardized and cost efficient with improved gross margins and simplifies installation. Unlike oil and gas systems, which oftentimes are highly customized to specific customer needs, pool systems are increasingly becoming repeatable off-the-shelf solutions. This makes the market segment both more scalable and profitable. From a distribution standpoint, we recently expanded our relationship with Barr + Wray in the U.K. into an exclusive distribution agreement subject to minimum annual system volumes. In addition, we are seeing interest from U.S.-based swimming pool companies. In these days, we are working on the final details for the first U.S. swimming pool project. We see potential opening of a very attractive growth market. All told, we have sold pool system in 6 different countries in 2025 and look to expand that this year. Based on the guidance we have provided, we expect pool revenue of approximately $5 million to $6 million in 2026, which compares to $2.6 million in 2025, reflecting continued market adoption and delivery of systems already in backlog. Turning to water for energy. Oil and gas remains an opportunity, but it continues to create timing challenge. We are engaged with multiple providers, both large and small, and the delayed order that impacted 2025 guidance remains under discussion. As mentioned, these systems are typically highly customized, which not only make timing unpredictable, but also impacts our margin profile. Where we continue to pursue this segment and see potential opportunities with partner companies such as NESR in Middle East and ongoing trials through Razorback Direct in North America. We are going to be disciplined in how we allocate resources, and we are no longer basing our operating plan on difficult to predict customer timing no matter how promised they may be, where we are seeing encouraging and increasing tangible traction within broader water for industry applications. The successful delivery and commissioning of our advanced member-based filtration system for oily wastewater at NorthStar BlueScope Steel has been a key proof point. The system was designed to resolve recurring filtration disruptions of polymer membrane caused by high oil content and variability in wastewater quality, which has given our customer costly and difficult experiences. Our system has demonstrated strong performance. This project has reinforced our belief that industrial wastewater treatment can become a larger and more stable contributor to our business. Industrial systems tend to be more standardized than oil gas projects, which supports better margin and shorter sales cycles. We are seeing increased interest across multiple industry verticals and to support this growth, we added dedicated service resource to expanding our industry presence in the U.S. In further support of our U.S. growth strategy, we also opened a dedicated service center in Texas in partnership with Halldor Systems this past November. This facility enhances our ability to support customers in the water for energy and water for industry segment, and providing certified technicians, spare parts availability, remote and on-site technician support and system maintenance and repairs. Localized service is critical to scaling in the U.S. market. The service center not only strengthens customer support but has already begun to contribute to new business development by increasing customer confidence in our long-term commitments to the region. Going ahead, we believe we will see strong contribution from industrial side of broader energy segment with upside opportunities from the more specific oil and gas market. In total, we are expecting water, water for energy, water for industry related revenue of $5 million to $8 million. This compares to $4.3 million for this market segment in 2025. We are happy to see that our Marine segment is building momentum, particularly through our joint venture in China. During 2025, we broke ground on a new marine-focused R&D center and the localization facility in Haimen, Nantong, and completed a regional spare parts warehouse to strengthen service capabilities for our growing marine customer base. These investments are designed to support the development and localization of marine silicon carbide membrane water treatment units for dual-fuel engine vessels and for wastewater purification and reuse. By increasing local assembly and sourcing within China, we are improving supply chain resilience and cost competitiveness in the market. We strongly believe that silicon carbide membrane technology will continue gaining adoption in new marine vessels equipped with dual-fuel engine, driven by its durability, chemical resistance and energy efficiency. We ended the year with 3 marine orders for 8 commercial vessels in backlog scheduled for delivery throughout 2026. Marine revenue, including service sales was approximately $1.5 million in 2025. And we are targeting approximately $4 million in 2026, reflecting a good market adaptation of our membrane filtration technology. Look at the broader Systems business, including pool, water for energy, water for industry and the marine side. Our expectation is that we will generate revenue of $14 million to $18 million. This would be up from $8.2 million in systems revenue in 2025, showing growth of about 70% to 120%. This is a key reason why we are so excited about the future. Beyond our Systems business, we also have our legacy DPF and membrane business and the plastic business, which remains a stable contributor to our operations. Combined, this segment represented approximately $8 million in revenue in 2025. We expect this part of our business to remain reasonably stable in 2026, and in a cautious outlook anticipating total revenue from the 2 groups combined to be slightly increased to $9 million in revenue. Looking at 2026, we expect revenue in the range of $23 million to $27 million, a positive full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA in the middle to high range of the revenue guidance, assuming constant currency. Growth is expected to be driven primarily by continued expansion in pool systems, industrial applications and marine. The range in our revenue guidance largely reflects the continued unpredictability of oil and gas project timing. Our strategic focus remains clear, scale standardized higher-margin system platforms. We are maintaining disciplined cost control and operational efficiency with the goal of near-term profitability. Let me now turn the call over to David to review the financials in more detail. I will then make a few closing comments and look to open the call for your questions. David?

Thank you, Fei, and good day, everyone. Let me take some time diving into the financial results in a bit more detail and add some color to what was in the press release. Please note that I will keep my remarks focused primarily on the year-over-year changes. Let's start with revenue. So revenue for the year came in slightly above $16.5 million, up from $14.6 million a year ago. Broken down by verticals. Sales for the year were as follows. Systems and aftermarket sales of $8.2 million compared to $5.5 million in the prior year. DPF and ceramic membrane sales were $4 million, down from $5.6 million in the prior year. And finally, plastic components revenue came in at $4.1 million compared to $3.4 million last year. The increase was mainly due to increased deliveries of systems to pool energy industry and marine water treatment and components and plastics, partly offset by decreased sales of filters. The increase in deliveries of systems was mainly driven by increased deliveries within pool filtration and industry systems. The increase in components, mainly within machine building for food industry. The decrease in sales of filters was primarily driven by a refocusing of our strategy to capitalize on subsegments where we see increased due to demand for DPF outside automotives. As Fei mentioned, the delta between our recent expectations for '25 and actual result is primarily due to the delay in a larger oil and gas system, which remains in our pipeline, but we have not yet received the purchase order for. Turning to gross margins. Margins for the year were 7.6% compared to 1.7% in 2024. As we continue to be below our optimal revenue level, we continue to have fixed production costs that are not being fully absorbed and those lower than normalized gross margins. A couple of key notes is that part of the increase in gross margins was due to the higher level of overall revenue as our contribution margins are typically on average in the 40% area, where we do have some fluctuations between market segments, as you know. However, this was offset by the investment of resources into deliveries of containerized oil and gas systems to the U.S., which contributed to lower than usual margin, reflecting a strategic decision aimed at demonstrating the validation of our value proposition associated with our technology and seeding the market for future growth. As we move forward, a key focus will be on leveraging our standardized systems, which inherently are higher margin. This means more focus on pools, industrial applications, marine applications and membrane sales. Turning to OpEx. Total operating expenditures for the year were $9.6 million compared to $9.7 million last year. Breaking it down, selling expenses for the year were $2.7 million compared to $2.7 million last year. This development was partly driven by full year effects of savings made in 2024 and lower accounts receivable write-offs and provision needs. These effects were partly offset by costs associated with our newly formed joint venture in China, costs for outbound distribution, including tariffs to the U.S. and expenditures related to external sales consultancy services, which also increased in 2025. General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 2025 were $5.7 million compared to $5.7 million in '24. The underlying development in local currencies, Danish kroner was a 4% improvement compared to '24. This development was due to savings made in '24, partly balanced by filling the CFO position and other open positions. Research and development expenses for the year was $1.2 million compared to $1.4 million in '24. The decrease was primarily due to a more focused R&D strategy with fewer ongoing projects and reduced average number of employees engaged in external research and development activities. For the year, adjusted EBITDA was negative $5 million compared to negative $6.1 million last year. Turning to our guidance. For 2026, we are expecting revenue to be in the range of $23 million to $27 million. As we break this down, we are anticipating that our broader water for energy and water for industry business will be between $5 million and $8 million. We believe our pool business would be in the range of $5 million to $6 million. Our Marine business would be about $4 million, of which 60% will be from new systems and 40% from our recurring service business. And finally, that our legacy DPF and plastics business will be about $9 million. We target a positive full year 2026 EBITDA in the mid- to high range of the revenue guidance, assuming constant currencies. And finally, from a cash perspective, we ended the quarter with $5.1 million in cash. Everything else was pretty much in line with our normal operating procedures from a balance sheet perspective. And with that, let me turn it back to Fei.

Thank you, David. To close things out before I turn over to questions. Our silicon carbon filtration platform is central to how we address increasingly complex global water challenges, built on advanced ceramic membrane technology. Our solutions are designed to operate reliably in some of the harshest and the most demanding treatment environment from produced water in energy application to commercial pool systems and heavy industry wastewater streams. As European customers meet strict environmental regulation while lowering water usage and energy intensity, we provide practical high-performance solutions that support long-term sustainability goals. The momentum we generated in 2025, including record pool system sales, progress in produced water, marine systems deployment and industry installations such as our project with a major steel producer demonstrates the expanding global recognition of our technologies' value. As we look ahead, our direction is well defined. We are prioritizing growth in our most attractive verticals, particularly pool, industrial applications and marine. We are remaining disciplined execution across the organization. At the same time, we remain firmly focused on scaling the business to achieve profitability and position LiqTech for durable profitable growth over the long term. Again, thank you, everyone, for your support of LiqTech. With that, Robert, we would be happy to take any questions.

All right. Thank you very much, Fei and David, for those prepared remarks. [Operator Instructions] There are a few already in the queue here, Fei and David. So the first one here is, when can we expect revenue from the large oil and gas order push out to be booked?

That's a good question. And of course, as we mentioned, it's a bit, you can say, in the hands of the customer. But we definitely would expect, you can say, the oil and gas project to materialize in the coming -- in this year, essentially 2026, with the timing of -- yes, we don't know the precise timing, but Q2 finalization ideally.

Okay, very good. The next question here is, do tariffs affect your U.S. oil and gas business? Are your products competitively priced?

This is a very good question. And because the tariff is a moving target so we really have our focus on that. And up to now, we have been able to kind of have very good discussion with our customers. So we don't really need to take all the tariffs on ourselves alone. And going forward, we're definitely looking at what is the best way for us to handle the tariffs and how we're able to keep our competitiveness. But as we mentioned before, we are working very, very focused on the cost reduction of our product and also the standardization and efficiency, and that will somehow balance also to the tariff impact on our technology.

Okay, very good. [Operator Instructions] A couple of questions here pertaining to your need for capital here in 2026.

And as you have heard today, we actually have laid out a very clear growth plan with a revenue guidance of $23 million to $27 million in 2026. So we are definitely evaluating how we're able to support this strong growth spend, and that means we are looking at different financial options.

Okay, very good. And it looks like this may be the final question, barring any last minute that may come in. And I think you've touched on this a few times, but to reiterate, what are the drivers of your 2026 revenue outlook of $23 million to $27 million?

This is a very good question also as we used some time in our earnings call about this. And what we really have to say to ourselves is we have to make -- we will focus on a broader and diversified perspective and also working on the verticals, which have more visibility and higher predictability. So we're actually working at the growth in basically all our Systems segment. The pool system, we're going to have $5 million to $ 6 million coming this year. And the Marine growth from $1.5 million to $4 million. And we say water for energy and water for industry will be $5 million to $8 million. That's a bigger range there because the oil and gas project are more difficult to predict the timing. And the DPF and plastic plus the membrane area, we expect a slight increase from $8 million to $9 million. So as you can hear now, the driver is from the different verticals, and this gives us much more reliable and predictable revenue growth compared with before.

Okay, very good. I'm showing no further questions in the queue. So with that, I would like to turn the call back over to Fei Chen for closing remarks.

Thank you, Robert. I would like to say thank you to all of you for being with us today. We look forward to communicating with you soon again. Thank you.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.