PyroGenesis Inc. (PYR-T) is “well-positioned for continued improvement” after four consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth in 2024, vice-president of corporate affairs Steve McCormick said in a call this week with investors and analysts.

Revenue in Q4 was $4.2 million, a 40 per cent increase from the year prior, the company reports in its 2024 Q4 and year-end financial report. For 2024 as a whole, the company generated $15.7 million in revenue, up 27 per cent from financial year (FY) 2023.

Gross profit for Q4 was $1.7 million, over 240 per cent higher year-over-year. Gross profit in FY 2024 was $5.3 million, a 54 per cent increase from FY 2023.

The company earned net income of $145,320 in Q4, compared to a loss of $9.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. Though still operating at a loss for the year, PyroGenesis reduced its loss from $28.5 million in FY 2023 to $6.7 million in FY 2024.

Though there is “much work still to do,” PyroGenesis reversed a revenue downturn and attracted larger heavy industry clients in 2024, McCormick said, which bodes well for 2025.

The Montreal-based plasma technology company provides electricity-powered plasma torches which replace gas-powered technology in heavy industries, remediates waste and recovers critical minerals. It supports companies in the energy transition by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

PyroGenesis’ Q4 and FY 2024 results

The revenue increase in Q4 was driven primarily by sales of its aluminum and zinc dross recovery service and sales related to biogas upgrading and pollution controls. For FY 2024, increases in the aluminum and zinc dross recovery service and plasma torch-related products and services played key roles in the revenue increase from the year prior.

The company inked a $27-million, three-year contract to provide a 20-megawatt plasma torch to an undisclosed U.S. customer as a highlight in 2024. McCormick described it as one of the most powerful commercial plasma torches in the world.

With a contract backlog of $54.4 million as of March 31, McCormick said PyroGenesis’ management concluded the figure indicates improvements in sales efforts, the strength of existing customer relationships and the variety of contracts it has been able to secure.

Decreases in selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) were the main reasons for the improvements in net results for Q4 and FY 2024. PyroGenesis recorded a $20-million decrease in SG&A from FY 2023 to FY 2024.

By the end of 2024, PyroGenesis reported approximately $32.7 million in liabilities with almost $3 million in cash and $9.6 million in accounts receivable.

PyroGenesis did not take questions during the call, and did not outline a specific revenue or net income guidance for 2025.

What is upcoming for PyroGenesis

In its financial reporting, PyroGenesis attached an overview of its strategy. Expanding from energy transition applications to other verticals such as metals recovery and waste destruction and valorization are expected as opportunities for the company. Industries such as aluminum, steelmaking, cement, chemicals, defense and aeronautics are examples PyroGenesis provided.

In the near-term of the present to the next three months, the company expects milestones like:

• continuing tests with a large producer of metal products for a plasma-based solution of improving manufacturing with increasingly larger torches;
• plasma-based glass recycling and aluminum remelting furnaces;
• trials of its plasma torch systems for use in iron ore pelletization furnaces;
• moving forward as an approved supplier for Boeing with its titanium metal powder; 
• next steps for the possible purchase of its aluminum and zinc dross recovery system called Drosrite; and
• negotiations for the sale of its waste remediation technology for refrigerant waste.

In the medium- to long-term, PyroGenesis is anticipating:

• the lab results of fumed silica samples made by HPQ Polvere, a close collaborator;
• a potential contract for a pilot plant that will make a low-carbon cement additive material produced by PyroGenesis on behalf of its client Progressive Planet;
• producing silicon, nano-silicon and silica; and
• deals in various stages for its plasma torches in waste remediation and tunnel boring.