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| Statement |
|---|
| The reported revenue of $18 million represents an increase of 13% or $2 million compared to the $16 million reported for the full year of 2022 which underlines a robust result in a transition year for LiqTech with a new leadership team and revised strategy |
| We are pleased with the progress on both top and bottom line |
| During 2023, we successfully executed a number of strategic initiatives to drive revenue growth, improve our manufacturing and operational efficiencies and the strength of our balance sheet |
| We grew our revenue by 13% and increased our gross margin by 12 percentage points |
| Meanwhile, we reduced our operating expenses with $2.5 million and improved the bottom line with $5.6 million |
| We are well-positioned with excess production capacity and thus, commercial order intake remains our #1 priority |
| As we pointed out in our press release, we are seeing order flow improving for DPFs with new orders up 11% sequentially compared to first quarter of 2023 |
| From an operational perspective, during the year, we have installed new kilns and revitalized our ceramics facility with new organization further complementing the positive momentum |
| This established business markets provide a strong and stable base of revenue for LiqTech and allowed us to gain manufacturing efficiencies by leveraging our existing production capacity |
| Of course, the DPF area is very much regulatory driven, but we have some very good strengths there, like a black carbon emission for marine type industry |
| Where we have stabilized the business, and brought about operational efficiencies, we are also setting the stage for growth in key markets where our high-performance silicon carbon ceramic membrane can provide customers with strong returns on their investments |
| The positive development compared to 2022 is a direct result of increased activity levels and better revenue mix as we continue to streamline our business, assuming on the markets where we can deliver profitable growth |
| Moving forward, led by our agreement with Razorback Direct who has a strong presence in key oil & gas geographies in the U.S |
| The speed at which this order came is really exciting as we entered into a distribution agreement with Razorback Direct only a month ago |
| This is clearly a significant milestone in our efforts to expand operations in North America, and we are really excited about the future perspectives and the potential it holds |
| In summary, the underlying cash flow profile is improving as we are showing progress on both top line and profitability, combined with a more stable capital structure |
| And finally, increased aftermarket sales with uptick in orders for both marine and acid applications, leveraging our global installed base |
| And finally, Plastics revenue and externally funded R&D projects of $4.1 million, up 6% compared to $3.8 million reported in 2022 underpinned by stable plastics order intake as well as progress on key external R&D projects |
| This ensures financial stability and support strategic investments for sustained profitability |
| It is our firm belief that getting our foot in the door [indiscernible] the capabilities of our systems will allow us to shorten future sales cycle and ultimately [indiscernible] us open a very large attractive addressable market |
| In doing so, it has become evident that there is a broader opportunity for us in what I will call the broader chemical or petrochemical markets where our solutions have a superior value proposition |
| The customers are very satisfied with our membrane filtration efficiency and excellent lifetime |
| So I would say very confidently and the project we made working into 2024 is based on the pipeline and that's why it's much more improved than 2023 |
| As you can hear, I am pleased with the progress we have made to advance our position within our target markets where our core technology can be easily adapted |
| Each of these areas provide us with a large addressable market and opportunity to unlock significant growth for LiqTech as we move forward |
| Going forward, our business will be underpinned by strong recurring revenues within our established businesses and increased foothold in our strategic target markets |
| We're driving improvements in operational efficiency that will move the company to breakeven this year |
| So we really believe it's going to be an increase, quite a nice increase this year |
| As we look to 2024, we are confident in our ability to continue expanding our revenue base across both our established markets and target markets |
| So we definitely expect a very nice growth of DPF this year |
| Statement |
|---|
| As Fei mentioned, we did experience delays in order delivery due to the escalating geopolitical unrest in Israel, Gaza, which did postpone project deliveries and client commitments in our oil & gas projects in the region |
| The full year OpEx of $10.6 million came down 19% or $2.5 million from the comparable full year of 2022 |
| We continue to have excess capacity |
| And then sort of the ethylene glycol market, I think you had some delays there |
| This, however, has again encountered some delays due to the conflicts in the Middle East |
| Where we are certainly frustrated by the delay, we couldn't be more pleased to have moved this program forward |
| This order has been in the works for some time, but encountered some delays towards the end of last year due to the conflict in the Middle East |
| DPF and membrane sales ended at $6.2 million, down 9% compared to $6.8 million last year, reflecting a dedicated focus on improving profitability by carefully managing our revenue mix |
| I think that was down a little bit as you really focused on the margin there |
| The Plastics business continued its stable performance and the Ceramics business experienced a decline, reflecting our focus on profitable deliveries |
| Unfortunately, the adaptation of IMO 2020 was impacted by the pandemic |
| But as I have stated many times since I took over as CEO, I will not put all the company's eggs in one basket, chasing opportunities that have longer sales cycles |
| And that big order actually is not a very good margin for us |
| And then everything was delayed quite longer than what we expected in the beginning |
| How does that look in '24? Should that grow in '24? And I guess what sort of the dynamics there that you see? Fei Chen Yes, the recent 2023 DPF market has gone down is because we got a very huge order from one customer in Asia |
| That's a little untraditional |
| First of all, like on your business development, like if you look at your overall order book, how does it look? Is it getting better? Is it worse than it was, let's say, 6 months ago? Fei Chen I mean this is a very, very relevant question |
| 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 |
| Concluding on the P&L, we reported a net loss of $8.6 million compared to the net loss of $14.2 million reported in 2022 |
| As evidenced, we still need to deliver profitable growth over the coming years to help safeguard our business and restore profitability |
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