Hello everyone, and welcome to Tekna's presentation of the Q4 results. I'm Luc Dionne, the CEO of Tekna. I'm joined by Espen Schie, our CFO, and Arina van Oost, Vice President, Investor Relations. As usual, if you have any questions, you can post them in the chat during the presentation. Slide three, please. I'll take a few minutes to introduce you to Tekna, and then we will go into details of the presentation. Next slide. Tekna is a world-leading provider of advanced materials and plasma system solutions. The company was founded in 1990. The headquarters of the company is in Canada, and we are listed on the main board of the Oslo Stock Exchange since July 2022. Tekna has just over 200 employees globally.
We have three production facilities, two in Canada, one in France, as well as sales offices and distributors located in Canada, USA, France, China, Korea, India, and Japan. In 2023, close to 50% of our sales were generated in North America, 30% from sales in Europe, and the balance, 15%, in Asia and other countries. 39% of our customers are in the aerospace industry, 12% are 3D printer manufacturers, 7% of them manufacture medical implants and devices, and the balance, 37%, are in various segments, such as academic and industrial research, or are distributors of Tekna powders. You can see here on the right that we are serving quite a large base of high-quality customers, most of them OEMs, who are themselves leaders in their respective markets. Next slide, please.
We are engaged in four industries, one of which is related to our systems business, and the three others to our materials business. As we see on the left, the growth of this segment is driven by megatrends having significant impact on consumer behavior globally: space exploration and space tourism, de-globalization and climate change, digitalization and connectivity, as well as demography and healthcare. Our sales today are generated from two of these four industries, R&D Plasma Systems and PlasmaSonic, which accounts for 37% of our revenue in 2023, and additive materials at 67%. Now, let's review the Q4 highlight. Next slide, please. Next slide again. We are very excited to report the results we have achieved in the Q4 last year with a record top-line growth and a significant bottom-line improvement.
We have delivered on what we said with consistent operational and financial improvement through the year. We concluded Q4 with total revenues of CAD 11.4 million, an increase of 60% over Q4 2022. The revenue performance was driven by both of our businesses, the systems growing 125% and advanced materials growing by 40%. The adjusted EBITDA was short of breakeven by CAD 300,000. This is a significant improvement over the same period in 2023, 2022, sorry, that was closed at -CAD 2.9 million. The improvement achieved on EBITDA is consistent with the revenue growth we have experienced during the period, the improved contribution margins, as well as the reduction in control over our cost structure that we have implemented throughout the year.
The order backlog at end of the year was CAD 24 million, essentially at the same level as the same date last year. The order intake was CAD 11.2 million, up from CAD 10.4 million, and I'll say a few words on the order intake later in our presentation. Now, let's turn to the next slide. Reviewing 2023's quarterly results on the trailing twelve months graphs here, with revenues on the left and adjusted EBITDA on the right. Both graphs exhibit consistent operational and financial improvement, aligning with the initial guidance set at the beginning of 2023. And when we projected the revenues and margins then, it was quite ambitious. It's a nice achievement for the team, given this was accomplished with a reduced staff base.
Closing the year, we achieved a remarkable 52% revenue increase to CAD 40.9 million. The system business revenue raised an impressive 90%, while materials revenue surged by 36%. We delivered an adjusted EBITDA for the year of -CAD 3.9 million, improving by CAD 8.9 million from 2022. This performance underscores Tekna's consistent organizational efforts and determination to improve margin and cash availability. We have implemented a meticulous crafted strategy and have executed on the plan right from the outset in January 2023. With the dedication of our team members, we have delivered on the guidance we had provided, so congratulations to all for a well-deserved results.
Now let's take a first, a closer look to our top-line growth and what we set out to do in terms of increasing capacity to meet the growing demand. Next slide. In 2023, one of our top priority was to build capacity to meet the growing demand. I think it's fair to say here, mission accomplished. Our systems business saw an impressive 90% year-on-year top-line growth, driven by sales of PlasmaSonic and R&D scale plasma units. Materials revenue was also surged by 36%. This is attributable to a successful capacity upgrade and the commissioning of a new atomizer, both improving material availability and reducing delivery times. Our go-to-market strategy to sell the smaller fractions of titanium powders for industrial scale manufacturing of mobile phone and smartwatch frames has shown to be successful.
We have expanded our market presence and boosted revenues for smaller titanium particle sizes. This is all good so far, but we have, you know, we have further improvements on the way that you will be able to appreciate this year. Now, let's take a closer look at another top priority for 2023, which is improving profitability and cash generation. Next slide. Here, too, we are quite pleased with the results. The adjusted EBITDA improvement for 2023 from 2022 resulted from the emphasis we have given to organizational efficiency and on chasing operational excellence. We have implemented many cost-saving initiatives, improved plasma system manufacturing productivity, enhanced powder atomizer output, managed inflationary costs, especially on the raw materials, and have recovered government subsidies after extending the Canadian Strategic Innovation Fund until 2027.
These effort have led to improving our adjusted EBITDA by CAD 8.9 million, closing the year, as mentioned earlier, at -CAD 3.9 million. We have literally turned the business around on a very short period of time. I will now move over to our systems business, which, as you remember, has two distinct product lines. Next slide, please. These two product lines are shown here, plasma machines and PlasmaSonic. They are the result of decades of research and aligns with the latest technological advances to meet both current and future needs in high-end materials development. The first product line consists of compact and industrial-scale plasma systems, addressing the development of novel materials for energy, space exploration, and small-scale production of high-value material. The second application here on the right is the PlasmaSonic product line.
This product line utilizes Tekna's unique plasma technology to simulate, measure, and characterize spacecraft thermal protection materials for atmospheric reentry conditions, serving OEMs and research centers. Let me share the highlights of Tekna's system business performance for this quarter. Next slide, please. In Q4, our system segment saw a robust growth with a CAD 3.9 million order intake, leading to a year-end backlog of CAD 9.4 million. Throughout 2023, we have secured orders with global, industrial, and academic clients for 12 new plasma machines, which totaled CAD 12.8 million. December saw four new orders, including the first sale of Tekna's innovative PlasmaSonic ICP T-15 system, designed for material testing and hypersonic program development. The contribution margins for the system segment remained strong at 63% for the year, showcasing a significant improvement from last year's 45%.
We're seeing continued and strong growth in systems orders and revenues, and this is good news following two years of COVID drop. Next slide, please. Now, looking at additive materials. The order intake rose by 32% year-over-year, with Q4 order intake of CAD 7.4 million. This is consistent with the previous quarter, and demand for our product remains quite high. The order backlog steadily increased from Q2 2023, leading to an order book of CAD 14.6 million going into 2024. Deliveries are expected to accelerate throughout the year, and this will be helped by the commissioning of a new atomizer in Q4, and another one expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2024. about that first atomizer, it was commissioned in Q4 2023, of course.
We are maintaining a strong opportunity pipeline with a number of potential new orders expected to be captured in the first half of this year, including new sales in the consumer electronics industry... So this time, I'd like to share with you some more insight on how we book our order intake and backlog for additive materials. Next slide, please. The table here shows two types of orders that can trigger sales: spot orders and call-off orders. Spot orders is that approximately 50% of our sales come from spot orders, sourced from both small and large customers, including industrial OEMs. These spot orders, often received and delivered within the same period, most of the time will not appear in the backlog. And if you monitor the book-to-bill ratio, 50% of the revenues have quite a weight on that, on that ratio.
Of course, we keep a very close communication with these customers, and we do extensive follow-up with them, many of whom seek to secure their supply chain with frame agreements over time. Other half of our sales comprise of call-off orders. These sales arise either from standard purchase orders, with multiple deliveries recorded in the backlog, or from frame agreements. Tekna holds long-term frame agreements with some major customers. Call-off from frame agreements contribute to the order intake in the backlog, while the volume defined in the frame agreement itself is not booked. A frame agreement will provide good visibility for upcoming orders, combining a binding near-term forecast with deliveries that are typically executed between three-to-nine months, with a non-binding long-term forecast.
I wanted to highlight this point to you because, as you can see, the backlog alone is not telling the full story of the sales outlook of Tekna. Now, before I hand over to you, Espen, for the more detailed review of the key financial parameters for Q4, let me comment briefly on recent developments in the MLCC market. Next slide, please. As we had highlighted in earlier presentations, the expansion of the MLCC industry continues, with OEMs investing in new production facilities and capacity relocation. As many of you know by now, we have regular contacts with the MLCC OEMs. In the recent months, our focus has increased on the two industry leaders who are showing the most promising outcome in the near term.
As it is from the beginning, these interactions allow us and the OEMs to adjust the product and the MLCC manufacturing process through design iterations. One OEM has recently introduced us to their MLCC manufacturing division, with whom we are about to share new samples. While we had exclusively worked with the OEM central R&D group before this change, we see this as a possible intention by the customer to accelerate the development towards high-end MLCC production. On the other hand, a tier two MLCC manufacturer, with whom we have worked in the past, informed us it would, for now, concentrate its effort in the low-end segment of the market, as the demand in that sector continues to expand. So with this, I hand the microphone to you, Espen.
Next slide, please. Good morning, everyone. Let's look at the Q4 2023 financial results. Our sales revenue increased 66% year-over-year to CAD 11.4 million. This is a record quarter and year for Tekna, an excellent achievement by the Tekna crew and our partners. The materials revenue was CAD 6.6 million, a 40% increase from the previous year. Our systems revenue was CAD 4.8 million, a 125% increase year-over-year. This reflects execution on our strong order backlog. Adjusted EBITDA was minus CAD 0.3 million, a significant improvement by CAD 2.6 million from this same quarter previous year. We experienced quarterly variations, yet significant improvements over time.
We continue our focus on profitability and cash, having at year-end CAD 10.1 million in cash and an additional CAD 5 million unused loan facility. Next slide, please. When comparing this quarter to Q4 last year, I'm pleased to report that we have achieved several improvements. First of all, our revenues have improved from both systems and materials, which had a positive effect on our overall financial results. Secondly, our margins have shown a strong improvements, particularly within materials business when compared to the same quarter previous year. Thirdly, we have increased productivity and organizational efficiency as we grow. Operating expense included an FX gain in the previous year and a loss in Q4. We continue our efforts on controlling costs by optimizing the operations, managing inflationary cost, all while scaling the revenue.
In Q4, we took a bad debt provision of CAD 4 million on receivables due to our joint venture. This is excluded from adjusted EBITDA. This is a non-cash and non-recurring effect, and we expect that contemplated changes will have a positive effect on cash flow going forward. To summarize the Q4 financial results, we have record revenues, improved margins and productivity, and strong focus on efforts on profitability and cash.... Thank you. I will now hand back to Luc. Next slide, please.
Thank you, Espen. So now, let's move on to the concluding remarks, starting with how Tekna is positioned to thrive on exciting megatrends along the different themes, systems, advanced materials, and microelectronics. Next slide, please. The long-term outlook of Tekna is very exciting, with demand driven by global megatrends. Over the years, we have introduced unique plasma system intellectual property in the market, which positions Tekna as a leader in the field of advanced materials. We anticipate sustained demand for research scale plasma units in segments which are not competing in Tekna's current material markets, and we foresee growth in larger PlasmaSonic units, aligning with the expanding hypersonic and space industry. The additive materials industry is poised for substantial growth in the coming years.
We have built a strong reputation as a trusted supplier of high-quality materials, and our goal is to at least match the industry growth while ensuring we maintain our market share. Our business model is resilient. It is characterized by high-end, high entry barriers, and 80% of our revenues are recurring, which adds to our global stability. The long-term outlook for microelectronics remains an important upside for Tekna. The company is well-positioned, with ongoing development with the major MLCC players, who foresee significant growth in demands towards 2030. Now, let's have a look at the short- and medium-term business opportunities on the next slide. In, on the short term, for systems, we finished 2023 with a strong backlog of CAD 9.4 million, putting us on a solid pace for 2024.
We have a strong pipeline going into the year, with additional orders anticipated from industrial and academic customers in Europe, Asia, and North America. The new orders could include a large-scale plasma unit in the second half of the year. For materials, the backlog on December 31 was CAD 14.6 million. As I have pointed out in a previous slide, we expect call-offs from framework agreements to generate new orders later in the year. The material industry remains very dynamic. In light of the ongoing dialogue, we expect that sales of materials for the consumer electronics to remain strong throughout the year and likely gain traction and better margin at the turn of the first half this year.
Well, before we move on to the Q&A session, I'd like to take a moment and share again the highlights of the strong revenues and improved profitability we have seen in 2023. Next slide, please. In Q4, and for the full year, Tekna delivered a strong top-line growth and significant bottom-line improvement, with a remarkable 66% revenue growth in Q4, totaling CAD 40.9 million for 2023, a surge of 52% from 2022. The adjusted EBITDA improved to -CAD 0.3 million, a CAD 2.6 million gain from Q4 2022. The full year adjusted EBITDA stands at -CAD 3.9 million, reflecting an impressive CAD 8.9 million improvement over the previous year. In the quarter, order intake reached CAD 11.2 million, with notable wins, especially in systems.
A solid order backlog positioned us for continued revenue growth into 2024. Our focus for this year includes sustained margin improvement, leveraging increased revenue, and ongoing efforts to enhance organizational productivity. While some quality variations are anticipated, our trajectory for the year remains positive. Going forward, we will have a stronger focus on cash flow. After investment-intensive years, we plan to ease on CapEx for a period. We have a good install-based machine and available machines to be installed and commissioned. We have R&D capability to further increase the output of the machines, and we have high ambitions for sales of smaller and larger size powder fractions that we expect. This will improve cash conversion of stocks. Finally, let me reiterate Espen's message that our cash position remains satisfactory.
We have available on-demand facility from our supportive main shareholder, AFK, and we are following a plan to carefully manage our cash position going forward. With that, I'll hand over to you, Arina, to take us through the Q&A session. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Luc, and welcome to all of you to the Tekna Q&A session. I'm here with Luc, of course, and Espen. So, my name is Arina van Oost. I'm the Vice President responsible for Investor Relations. So Luc, the first question is for you, related to additive manufacturing. You mentioned about easing out on capital investment. How is this going to affect your powder production capacity going forward?
... Thank you. Thank you for the question. Well, since 2021, we have commissioned two new powder machines, and another one will be commissioned by the end of Q2 this year. So along with these machines, we have also added, as you know, capacity with peripheral equipment are what we refer to as post-processing for powders. So, you know, based on the projected machine loading and additional improvements that we intend to implement on these machines, we believe that we will have the available capacity to follow the industry market growth. And this is the reason why we say that the intensive capital investment right now, as we see it, is behind us, you know?
So of course, if we are in a position where we need to scale up for the microelectronic segment, well, you know, new investments will be required then.
Okay, very clear. Espen, then maybe for you, more in terms of numbers, what is expected for CapEx going forward?
Yeah. 2024, we expect in the area of CAD 5-6 million, including R&D. CapEx is expected to gradually decrease from the level that we have seen, as we see in the last few years, as Luc mentioned, and we do expect to reach a level of about CAD 2 million in 2025 to maintain current operations, including R&D. And, as well, the timing of further growth CapEx will then depend on demand and capacity, and as well as a breakthrough in MLCC.
Thank you, Espen. Let's continue with you, because there's a question about the provision that we announced yesterday. Can you elaborate a little bit on this and what it means for us?
Yeah. Although it's not the outcome that we had hoped for, for this business when we started it, it has been a loss-making venture since the beginning and cost significant cash flow. We are working on solving this part, and as such, expected changes will improve cash flow going forward. And it's important to mention that this does not affect our reputation in the market. We have a strong position in titanium and aluminum, and this strategy strengthens our focus on profitable business and support the growth potential for Tekna. The provision as such for bad debt is a non-cash accounting expense and also non-recurring. So going forward, there is not expected any cost of material value for this.
Thank you. Luc, a question for you on microelectronics. So the difference between the MLCC manufacturing and R&D division is not entirely clear. Can you re-explain and comment why you think this can accelerate the development?
Okay. So if I understand, the question is we want to better understand the difference between the R&D and microelectronics. Okay. So basically, with this very specific customer, which we have been working on for many years already, all our efforts were conducted with an R&D division inside that big organization. And that R&D division is located in one city in Asia. And recently, well, actually, this last quarter, this same customer decided that they now want us to work, in addition to the R&D work, that that continues, they now want us to work with the MLCC manufacturing group, which is a separate organization in a separate city.
So now what we see is that our development efforts are getting closer to the manufacturing operations, which is, in our view, quite a good news here. And of course, you know, as I mentioned many times already, these customers are very prudent with the information they share, so they did not, you know, explain to us directly what is the idea behind this change. But, you know, ourselves, we see that as an opportunity or a desire from the customer to accelerate the development. And, you know, maybe from a more practical perspective, when we work with the MLCC manufacturing organization, these guys have actual production targets, which sometimes are more, I would say, practical and close to reality than theoretical targets that the R&D division could have.
So, for us, we see that as a very positive sign, coming out from this specific customer. I hope that answers the question.
Yes. Thank you, Luc. One last question for you, Luc, as well. Any view on the next PlasmaSonic order?
Well, what can I say on this? Again, it's an important customer that we have been working with for a number of years. And in this developing PlasmaSonic solution for customers, there's like a long, I would say, design phase, where you have to understand what are the customer requirements, what exactly he wants to accomplish with this big PlasmaSonic machine. And then we enter a part where the customer reaches his budget available phase. And with this specific customer, we have reached this budget available, and the customer has communicated to us that they are looking for an order sometime in the second half of 2024. So that's the... I hope I did answer.
Yes, that sounds like very good news.
Absolutely.
Okay, I haven't received any further questions. That concludes the Q&A session for today. We will be in Oslo next week, so the thirteenth and fourteenth of February. Please reach out to investors@tekna.com if you wish to meet us. That's it. Thank you so much from all of us.