Scanway's backlog at PLN 16.45 mln, company focuses on defence sector

The backlog, this is contracts signed and in progress to be settled in future periods, increased to PLN 16.45 million (EUR 3.8 mln) as of November 12 this year against PLN 2.9 million (EUR 665,600) as of December 31, 2023. This compares to PLN 16.16 million (EUR 3.7 mln) in space sector and PLN 290,000 (EUR 66,600) in industry sector.

"The backlog is definitely large when it comes to the space business, in the industry business it is smaller. It is worth noting that the increase in the backlog is a result of what we achieved in 2023, namely the success of the STAR VIBE mission and the achievement of flight heritage for our key products, which resulted in significant international exposure for the company and the confirmation of competence in the theme of imaging systems operating in space. This was supported by intensive sales activities and presence at various trade fairs and industry events," CEO Jedrzej Kowalewski told the press conference on Tuesday.

"Regarding the company's transition to the main floor of the WSE, we expect it more in the second half of 2025. I don't think we will be able to do it before the holidays, we are aiming more for the autumn," he added.

The CEO pointed out that currently the four strategic directions for Scanway - in terms of the space branch - are larger instruments, constellation projects, the defence sector, and large public programmes.

For the development direction of larger instruments, the presentation indicated that the company wants to achieve higher optical capabilities to overcome the resolution barrier of less than 1 metre per pixel. This will allow for an increase in possible applications, creating the potential to participate in more projects and higher margins per optical instrument with similar R&D effort and time.

It was pointed out that, building on the competencies built up over the last eight years in the development of observation technologies for the space industry and quality control systems for the manufacturing industry, Scanway has decided to enter the promising defence sector.

In November, Scanway signed an executive agreement with Flytronic (WB Group), a Polish player in the unmanned platform manufacturing market. Scanway will develop a prototype of the optoelectronic component of the observation head for unmanned systems.

It has been indicated that once a solution using Scanway's competencies has been designed, delivered and tested, Flytronic declares its willingness to start discussions and business negotiations to implement the product in the solutions it offers.

In September, Scanway signed a cooperation agreement with the Polish-Finnish company ICEYE for the design of high-resolution satellites for Polish users, and potentially for global customers in the future. The new satellites are intended to serve defence purposes by achieving an optical resolution of 50 centimetres per pixel and will join ICEYE's existing SAR systems used, among others, during the war in Ukraine.

"We intend to use our unique competences built in the space and industrial areas to strengthen the competitiveness of the Polish defence sector on the international stage. Products developed by Scanway will be able to support indigenous and allied militaries," COO Mikolaj Podgorski said.

"In the face of numerous tensions and armed conflicts, having our own know-how in the form of a Polish company located in our country is significant from the perspective of national security, and we are ready to deliver this value," he added.

The company has embarked on the HYDRA project in the industrial line, which aims to adapt the company's solutions to a higher level of automation and, as a result, the scaling potential of the Industry branch in the domestic and European market.

"Hydra is the working name of our modular vision system, which integrates the technologies we have developed so far during dozens of industrial deployments recently. At the heart of the system will be far-reaching automation, including the use of image processing algorithms and machine learning and hyperspectral scanners," the company's CSO Radoslaw Charytoniuk said.

"We are aiming for a solution that enables deployments in many areas of the economy, and in the future, we also intend to use it for satellite image analysis. The industry is cyclical, and many investments are currently on hold - when we recover, we want to be ready with a new product that will allow us to increase not only revenue, but also our margin. We will gradually move towards a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model in the Industry business line," he added.

The company's revenues in the three quarters of 2024, calculated as the sum of net revenues from sales and grants received, mainly for the PIAST project and EagleEye space business, amounted to PLN 8.43 million (EUR 1.9 mln) after three quarters of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 73 percent. Space solutions were responsible for 77 percent of revenue, and modular vision systems in the Industry line accounted for 23 percent of revenue.

EBITDA in the three quarters of 2024 was positive at PLN 0.3 million (EUR 68,900), and the net loss amounted to PLN 0.5 million (EUR 114,800).

Cash flow from operating activities stood at PLN -0.2 million (EUR -45,900) and the cash level at the end of September 2024 was PLN 0.4 million (EUR 91,800). After the balance sheet date in October this year, Scanway conducted a public offering which raised gross proceeds of PLN 3.5 million (EUR 803,300) to accelerate key investments. The cash from the IPO will be visible in the company's cash position in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In the third quarter of this year alone, Scanway generated PLN 3.1 million (EUR 711,500) in total revenue, an increase of 23 percent year on year. Space activities were responsible for 91 percent of the revenue generated, while projects for industry accounted for 9 percent. EBITDA amounted to PLN -0.2 million (EUR -45,900) and net loss to PLN -0.5 million (EUR -114,800).

"Total revenue generated by Scanway after three quarters of 2024 is at a record high, and lately we have concluded a number of key contracts that are an investment in further sales growth over the horizon of the next few years," Kowalewski said.

"In addition to completing constellation projects with Nara Space and Marble Imaging with a total value of EUR 4.9 million, which can be expanded with further orders even before the launch of the demonstration satellites, we have decided to enter the promising defence sector and have acquired the best possible partners," he added.

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