Betolar Plc's Business Review 1­–3/2024: Mining business has opened

Betolar Plc

Company Release

30 April 2024 at 8:30 a.m. EEST

Betolar Plc’s Business Review 1–3/2024 (unaudited)

Betolar Plc's Business Review 1­–3/2024: Mining business has opened

This is a summary of the Q1 Business Review, which is in its entirety attached to this release and can be downloaded from the company’s website at www.betolar.com/investors

January–March 2024 in brief

• Net sales amounted to EUR 68 (43) thousand
• EBITDA amounted to EUR -1,959 (-3,124) thousand
• Cash and cash equivalents and short-term fund investments at the end of the period amounted to EUR 11,665 (22,604) thousand
• Order intake amounted to EUR 369 (46) thousand
• The number of new NRE projects was 2 (-)
• The number of new pilot customers was 1 (5)
• The average number of employees was 52 (66)

Main events in January–March

• Betolar was granted a patent for a method of treating road or foundation base layer with an activator in a mobile apparatus to form a hardeanable geopolymeric or alkali-activated mixture.
• Betolar updated its medium and long-term business and financial targets on 14 February 2024.
• The Annual General Meeting was held on 27 March 2024.

Main events after the period

• The Board appointed COO Tuija Kalpala as Betolar's new CEO to accelerate the company's commercial development. She took up her duties on 22 April 2024.
• CFO and member of the Management Team Riikka Ylikoski announced that she will move to a new position outside the company. Ylikoski will continue in her position until mid-July. 
• As Sales and Operations functions were merged, Chief Commercial Officer, Ville Voipio stepped down from the Management Team.
• The company started change negotiations on 29 April 2024 as it focuses on rapidly developing solutions for the side stream, mining, and metal industries.  

This business review is not an interim report under the IAS 34 standard. The company complies with the half-yearly reporting requirements of the Securities Markets Act and publishes business reviews for the first three and nine months of the year, which present key information and key figures on the company’s strategy and business development. The figures presented in this business review are unaudited. The figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in the previous year, unless otherwise stated.

Key figures

1. Betolar uses certain indicators (EBITDA, cash and cash equivalents and short-term fund investments, order intake, number of new NRE projects and number of new pilot customers) as quarterly indicators of operational profitability and business performance. The definitions and calculation formulas of these indicators can be found in the appendix to the report.
2. The figures for the financial year 2023 have been audited.

CEO Tuija Kalpala

During the first quarter, we focused on our mining business. We are addressing the need for high-volume, low-carbon material solutions in mine construction, and providing avenues for utilizing mining side streams, such as in soil stabilization. At the same time, we continued the development of hollow core slabs, particularly focusing on projects for our existing clients.

The mining industry and untapped side streams offer significant potential for Betolar’s business. Early this year, we secured commercial research service projects from two mining companies with the objective of developing material solutions for low carbon and waste free mining operations. Additionally, in March, we started the development of cement-free shotcrete for Outokumpu’s Kemi chrome mine structures.

We estimate that the mining industry's emission reduction goals accelerate the interest and demand for Betolar’s solutions to replace cement. We see an opportunity for rapid business growth in this high-volume market. The order intake in Europe and Asia further reinforces our strategy. We accelerate the research and commercialization of untapped side streams. In the development of cement alternatives, we are able to leverage existing solutions that have been developed for the concrete product business.   

In early part of the year, we launched an AI-based side stream analysis service for companies generating side streams. The service efficiently and quickly provides customers with a preliminary assessment of the opportunities for utilizing the material generated in their operations. Through this novel approach, Betolar can leverage side streams more extensively than with traditional methods. The service was initially launched for a carefully targeted customer segment but will gradually be extended to a larger customer base.

The revenue for the first quarter was low. However, winning non-recurring engineering (NRE) projects strengthens our expectations for the future and going forward, we will report on new NRE projects as part of our financial reporting. As early-stage consultative NRE projects progress, our aim is to become part of the value chain and commercialize the developed side stream or material solution together with our customer.

Betolar's side stream and technology expertise is very strong and offers significant commercial opportunities. To meet the market demand of the green transition in the side stream, mining, and metals sectors, we need to improve our operational efficiency and strengthen our customer-oriented culture. In April, we launched change negotiations concerning the entire personnel in Finland. Our culture puts customer needs at the center of everything we do, with particular focus on the effective delivery of customer projects.  

Financial reporting

Betolar will publish the following financial reports in 2024:

• 27 August Half-year Review
• 1 November Q3 Business Review

Betolar's financial reports are available on the company's website at www.betolar.com/investors.

Webcast for investors and media

Betolar will host a live webcast in English for investors and media on 30 April 2024 at 10.00 a.m. Finnish time. The webcast can be followed at https://betolar.videosync.fi/q1-2024

In the English-language presentation, CEO Tuija Kalpala and CFO Riikka Ylikoski will present Betolar's business review. A recording of the event and the corresponding presentation will be available on Betolar's investor website later in the day.

More information

Tuija Kalpala, CEO, tuija.kalpala@betolar.com, tel. +358505676608

Certified Adviser:

Aktia Alexander Corporate Finance Oy, +358 50 520 4098

About Betolar

Betolar Plc is a Finnish materials technology company that offers the production of sustainable and low-carbon concrete with the Geoprime solution. The solution converts industrial side streams into a cement substitute. Betolar's artificial intelligence innovation can significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to traditional cement-based concrete production by optimizing existing manufacturing processes, supporting solution development with advanced analytics, and creating global markets for side streams. Betolar's mission is to help reduce CO² emissions and the use of virgin resources.

Betolar was founded in 2016 and is domiciled in Kannonkoski, Finland. Betolar is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market.

Read more: www.betolar.com