Thermal Energy International Inc. (TMG-X), an Ottawa-based company that designs and makes heat recovery equipment, says it has booked a new record for orders in 2024.

In its reporting for the fiscal year ending May 31, Thermal Energy says it has seen its orders increase nine per cent year-over-year and 151 per cent over the past two years to $29.7 million.

Those orders include a $3.7-million heat recovery system for a food and drink producer in Europe and the first order for its Hybrid Flu-Ace that combines a heat recovery unit and a direct-fired water heater.

“As a result, we are starting our new fiscal year with an unprecedented order backlog, up approximately 40 per cent compared to a year earlier and up more than 200 per cent over the past two years,” Thermal Energy CEO William Crossland said in a release.

Focusing on energy efficiency

Founded in 1991, Thermal Energy develops and manufactures products that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Products include steam traps, heat recovery systems and a biomass dryer.

Most of its sales are from North America and Europe, including Fortune 500 companies, Thermal Energy states in its most recent management discussion and analysis.

Its products have helped offset almost 4.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions and saved over $430 million in energy costs, the company reports.

Case studies published by Thermal Energy report its equipment has achieved:

• savings of over $1 million per year in energy costs and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by over 7,500 tonnes per year in a paper and pulp facility; and
• reduced boiler natural gas consumption by 30 per cent in a hospital.

Revenue and profitability

In its latest financial report covering nine months ended Feb. 29, Thermal Energy reports earning $18.4 million in revenue and a gross profit of $9.3 million, ending with a net income of $691,820 for the nine-month period.

That compares to the nine months ended Feb. 28, 2023, when it earned $12.9 million in revenue and a gross profit of $5.7 million, with a net loss of $250,953.

For the three months ended Feb. 29, Thermal Energy brought in $6.06 million in revenue and a gross profit of $3.06 million, with a net income of $44,451. During the same period a year prior, revenue was $5.6 million, gross profit $2.6 million and net income $523,799, largely due to higher operating income compared to 2024.

Thermal Energy held $7.5 million in cash as of Feb. 29, compared to $3 million on Feb. 28, 2023.

Heating up its investments

The company’s next steps are expanding its team, moving staff to a larger U.K. facility and investments in its technology.

Nine hires were made in the first nine months of 2024, with two hires in France that sets the company up for expansion into the country’s market.

The larger U.K. facility will enable the company to double its production capability, it says.

On the technology side, Thermal Energy is developing the Carbon Reduction and Efficiency Scoping Tool (CREST), a mobile app that collects site data to calculate energy savings and carbon reduction. CREST will help the company increase its sales and engineering efficiency and identify more sales opportunities, Crossland said.

The sales backlog for 2025 set a new record for the start of a fiscal year, he continued, and has traditionally been one of its best leading indicators for revenue on a 12-month basis.