Finnish building materials technology company Betolar saw a significant increase in its sales in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Full-year 2023 sales were worth €515,000 compared to €287,000 in 2022. The company’s gross margin amounted to €340,000 (€121,000). EBITDA stood at -€11,181 (€-9,988). Operating profit (loss) was -€13,260 (-€11,518).
Betolar CEO Riku Kytömäki said the company had succeeded in improving its cement-substituting material technology’s added value and sales to different customer segments, from construction to mining. Demand for Betolar solutions remained stable, with customers helped to reduce their CO2 emissions and use of virgin raw materials.
He continued: “We updated our strategy at the end of March [2023]. Our ever-growing insight into emerging markets and the applicability and potential of our solutions has refined our direction. New priorities have included moving to larger-scale customers, initiating the application development for the mining sector, researching and productising industrial side streams and taking a stronger position in the side stream value chain.”
Kytömäki noted how Betolar’s sales of non-recurring engineering services increased during 2023. Examples from the last quarter of the year included the agreements with Metso and Eesti Energia. “We aim to help find new sustainable uses for the side streams generated either by Eesti Energia’s own operations or by Metso’s own customers. Having customers with companies of this size improves our visibility and strengthens the growth opportunities of our waste upcycling business globally.”
In providing cement-free construction solutions, Kytömäki says Betolar shifted its focus to larger-scale and higher value-added applications. “We aim to move from smaller concrete products to structural concrete products such as hollow-core slabs and other load-bearing concrete products. Toward the end of the year, we successfully tested our updated geopolymer recipe and dosing system, which are key to this goal.”
Kytömäki stressed that innovation is the “foundation of our business” at Betolar. He added: “The expansion of our innovation centre in Kannonkoski, which was used during the year, will help us expand our material handling capabilities and standardise raw material conditions. This creates the basis for developing more demanding structural elements and will strengthen our position and support our long-term development goals.”
To clarify strategic focus and roles, Betolar compressed its management team to six people. At the beginning of October 2023, the company strengthened the team with the appointment of Tuija Kalpala, who has experience in international supply chains, logistics and strategic development management roles.
Kytömäki concluded: “Seamless teamwork and a shared will to do the right thing are key to our journey towards sustainable success. We reinforced our commitment to responsible and ethical business practices by launching our Code of Conduct. We also trained our staff regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. A big thank you to our team members for their commitment – together, we are moving forward in the green transition.”
