Haldor Topsoe reported an increase in revenue during first half of the current fiscal where in the sales increased by by 16% YoY to DKK 3,202 million compared to the first half of 2019, while EBIT decreased by 5% to DKK 419 million.
Both the Chemical and Refinery Business Units experienced revenue growth in the first half of 2020. Technology revenue increased by 17% compared to the first half of 2019, mainly due to increased demand for renewable fuel technology. Catalyst revenue increased by 15% compared to the first half of 2019 due to high demand for refinery catalysts used for clean fuels.
EBIT was DKK 419 million in the first half of 2020, which is a decrease of 5% over the same period last year. However, EBIT was positively impacted by special items of DKK 65 million in the first half of 2019, of which DKK 41 million relate to a gain from selling surplus land, while DKK 24 million relate to license revenue originating from a contract based on in-kind contribution of Topsoe license which was suspended. When adjusting for these special items, EBIT was up by 12% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
The order backlog at June 30, 2020, was DKK 5,101 million, an increase of 18% compared to June 30, 2019. However, technology order intake has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on Topsoe’s business due to fewer or postponed technology orders.
“We are very satisfied with the results we have achieved in the first half of 2020. Both revenue and adjusted EBIT have grown significantly, driven primarily by our solutions in clean and renewable fuels. I am proud that our company is rewarded by customers for taking an active role in the green transformation. Our solutions help chemical companies and refineries comply with environmental regulations in a sustainable and financially viable way. This is vital for our customers’ businesses and helps the climate and the environment here and now.”
“While we have reached very satisfactory results in the first half year, we face a more challenging second half year. We see a negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in our order intake, which reflects that many refineries and technology projects are impacted by low demand and decreased economic growth globally. Accordingly, our technology order backlog has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will negatively impact revenue related to technology and catalyst first-fills, mainly from 2021 onwards. We maintain our outlook for the full year 2020, as we expect that the great results achieved in the first six months of 2020 will offset the negative impact of COVID-19 in the second half of 2020. Our business model remains solid, and we have a very strong balance sheet with no net debt,” says Roeland Baan, CEO, Topsoe.
The full-year 2020 revenue outlook range remains unchanged at DKK 5,900-6,300 million. The adjusted EBIT margin outlook for the full year 2020 is also unchanged in the range of 12-14%. However the outlook can be adversely impacted by geopolitical risks and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the company.
