ITM Power's Order Book Is Healthier Than Its Pipeline — and That's the Problem
Published on 10/22/2026 at 15:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
ITM Power has a clearer picture of what its contracted work is worth. What it still lacks is a firm timetable for converting that work into revenue.
The Sheffield-based electrolyser maker's full-year 2026 results, released Monday, show a business tightening its economics while waiting on customers who are taking longer than expected to commit. By the end of the fiscal year, 83% of the company's contract backlog was profitable, up from 60% in April 2025, according to the Financial Times. That backlog stood at £144.0 million, with £215.6 million of cash on hand.
The distinction matters. A healthier order book says something about the margin quality of what has already been signed; it says nothing about when those projects will actually be delivered or booked as revenue. Nor does it prove the company as a whole has turned profitable.
Record revenue, but still in the red
Revenue for the year hit a record £43.6 million, a 68% increase. The adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to £20.2 million from £33.0 million — a 39% improvement, though still a long way from breakeven on an adjusted operating basis.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying ITM Power?
Those two figures tell separate stories. The top line confirms real expansion; the bottom line confirms the company has not yet crossed into profit. A rising share of profitable contracts fits that trajectory without guaranteeing it.
Cash of £215.6 million gives ITM Power room to maneuver, but it is not evidence that the business can operate without burning through more of it. Guidance discussed roughly two weeks ago still points to a further adjusted EBITDA loss and a lower cash balance ahead.
What the next year is meant to look like
For fiscal 2027, management projects revenue of £50 million to £60 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of £17 million to £20 million, with cash expected to land between £170 million and £180 million by year-end.
The forecast leans on continued growth. It also treats loss reduction as a separate objective — higher sales alone won't deliver a positive adjusted operating result.
A refinery blueprint, not yet a contract
A second thread runs alongside the existing business. Hydropulse, an ITM Power subsidiary, has signed a heads of terms agreement with a European oil refinery covering a planned green hydrogen project built on ITM's Alpha platform. The arrangement envisages 150 MW of capacity and a proposed ten-year agreement, and a joint technical feasibility study is already underway.
That is a development milestone, not a final investment decision. The distinction carries weight: between agreed terms and operating plant sit several more project phases. The final investment decision is targeted for 2027, with production expected to begin in 2029.
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The two clocks investors are watching
Two timelines now sit side by side. The existing business needs to keep shrinking its losses; the refinery project needs to clear its next decision points. Cash ties them together — it buys ITM Power the time those growth prospects require.
Monday's 2.6% share price decline sits against the improved order quality, though no direct link between the two has been established. Final investment decisions on green hydrogen projects are taking longer than anticipated, the company said, which could weigh on near-term growth expectations. Operational progress and the pace of new project sign-offs, in other words, have to be judged on separate scorecards.
The more profitable backlog is genuine progress. It is not a schedule.
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