Welcome to Studsvik Q4 Report 2022. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answer session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing star five on their telephone keypad. I will hand the conference over to the speaker, CEO Camilla Hoflund. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Studsvik Interim Report for the Q4, 2022. Let me introduce myself. My name is Camilla Hoflund, and I'm the CEO of Studsvik. Today, I will present the result of Studsvik Group for the Q4 and full year 2022. As you are probably very aware of, there are strong global drivers within our industries at the moment. Example of key drivers for the nuclear energy are climate change. We continue to hear about the extreme weather situations all around the world, and it's actually getting worse. The negative trend needs to change, and the world need to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, CO2. Nuclear energy supports this mission. The energy needs and shortage.
The debate about a reliable and predictable energy supply is on the agenda for the industries that are dependent on clean energy to meet the climate targets. Also in Sweden, the energy supply, including nuclear power, is very much on the agenda among the politics. We start to hear about shortage of energy in a few years from now, and nuclear in this context is a predictable and reliable source of energy. The geopolitical situation. Due to the unstable geopolitical situation, many countries are aiming to be more self-sufficient or having multiple and independent supply chains. This is also applicable for the nuclear industry, as several nations have their own concepts of SMRs, small modular reactors, and advanced reactors. In this context, also the Swedish government has stated that they would change the environmental law and allow for new build of nuclear at new locations.
They have also stated that they will allow more than 10 nuclear power plants, which open up for the concept of small modular reactors also in Sweden. These initiatives are on the longer term. In the light of the global situation, Studsvik is an independent organization with a vision innovating nuclear sustainability to support the world with safe and efficient solutions. Our customers are power producers, fuel vendors, authorities, and R&D organizations within the nuclear industry, from new reactor build and operational support for existing reactors to decommissioning of nuclear power plants, including radioactive waste solutions for environmental and safe final disposal. 2022 has been a turbulent year due to the geopolitical situation. In the beginning of 2022, we had to reprioritize the order backlog to replace Russian projects within Fuel and Materials Technology.
When closing the year, we managed to deliver on the order backlog on a stable level within Decommissioning and Radiation Protection Services. There was a lower demand for refueling and maintenance services both in Germany and Switzerland. At the end of the year, we signed the first contract for materials testing for small modular reactors, SMR, both within business areas Scandpower and Waste Management Technology, we signed license agreements at the end of the year. We summarized the year with a stable performance in a quite turbulent world. The sales in the quarter were lower compared to last year, when we last year had a large transport of project with irradiated fuel rods from South Korea to Sweden. The operating profit and margin are lower compared to last year, but on a stable level due to new license agreement and stable performance of the order backlog.
Due to the recent statement by the Swedish government, there is an increased interest of building new nuclear power plants also in Sweden. In general, nuclear is now seen as part of the future energy mix in many countries. This creates new business opportunities for Studsvik that can offer services throughout the entire nuclear life cycle. The initiatives are on longer-term base, and in some cases, it will require permits that will be and take time. Looking into the business area Decommissioning and Radiation Protection Services. As expected and earlier communicated, 2022 is a decline compared to 2021 due to the reduction of refueling and maintenance activities in both Switzerland and Germany, which has impacted the sales. The quarter shows an improvement of the margins compared to last year.
The sickness absence increased compared to last year and had a negative impact of the full year operating profit and margin. Looking into the business area Fuel and Materials Technology, there is a slight increase of the sales for the full year. For the quarter, there is a change in service mix that impacts the operating profit and margin. Due to the circumstances, the business area delivered a stable year on the order backlog despite having the replanning during the spring. The business area is also entering into the small modular reactor market and signed the first contract for materials testing with a new customer, which actually follows the strategic pillar. Looking into the business area Scandpower. The business area closes the year by signing license contracts.
The sales, operating profit, and margins are improving compared to last year, both for the quarter and full year. The business area is engaged in the small modular reactor, SMR, space, and by cooperating with vendors to support them with R&D efforts. As reported before, Studsvik has exercised its option to acquire all shares from the minority shareholder at Scandpower. The arbitration process is proceeding. Looking into the Waste Management Technology business area, the long-term agreement with Westinghouse is well in line with the strategic pillars, where we will support the establishment and operation of an important technology for the treatment of contaminated metals in United Kingdom. That will have a positive impact on the environment. This long-term agreement is based on performance and milestones going forward. The service mixes this year compared to last year has been more advisory with sub-suppliers and also slightly lower margins.
We will continue with advisory services as it is supporting the license sale, we will also review the business model. The operating profit and margin for full year 2021 had a positive impact by the profit share of SEK 6 million from the agreement with UK Nuclear Waste Management, LLWR, which expired in 2021. The outlook for the group. Within Decommissioning and Radiation Protection Services, the refueling and maintenance services was lower this year compared to 2021, as expected. Due to the decisions from the German government to continue to operate the nuclear power plants until April 2023, we are supporting the customers right now with smaller parts of refueling and maintenance services.
The focus is still to increase the services in Germany and nearby countries, mainly within the decommissioning area, but the market is struggling with lack of experience, experienced resources. Looking into the business area, Fuel and Materials Technology, they are expected to continue to deliver on the order backlog, focus on broadening customer base on new and existing markets, including the small modular reactor area, and also within decommissioning. For the business area Scandpower, the direction is the same as before. Focus on development of software portfolio, both within internal development efforts, as well as through partnership to gain time and efforts, as well as focusing on new offerings, markets and customers. For the business area Waste Management Technology, the focus is, of course, to continue to close a new license sales in the future, supported by advisory services.
Finally, I come to the end, and thank you very much for listening to the Studsvik Q4 report, and, we are now ready for any questions.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please dial star five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial star five again on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please dial star five on your telephone keypad. There are no more questions at this time, so I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing comments.
We wish everyone a very nice weekend and hope to have you as a listener for the next release of the quarter report in Q1. Thank you.