Oslo-listed Tomra has reported a 9.7% year-on-year rise in group revenue for the 12 months to the end of December, 2021, after fourth-quarter sales climbed 11% yoy to NOK3050m. The sensor-based sorting equipment and technology specialist’s recycling mining business saw the biggest rise in December quarter revenues with a 51% yoy jump to NOK631m (US$71m).
Tomra said it saw a 39% rise in December-quarter orders for the division, which contributed NOK1881m (US$211m) revenue to the full-year group total, up from NOK1694m in 2020.
Mining and metals alone accounted for about 2% of Tomra’s 2021 NOK10,909m (US$1226m) group revenue, or circa-US$25m.
The company says sensor-based sorting equipment “is still a technology to be accepted” in mining, where “growth is conditional on new applications and technologies being developed”.
Ore sorting after primary crushing of ore can reduce 15-50% of the waste rock typically fed into milling or rock comminution circuits that are among the least efficient users of energy in industry.
The company said there were 190 ore sorting machines installed at mine sites globally in 2021, up from 177 the previous year. Its mining business currently employees 84 of the 4610 across the company.
Tomra claims to be a leader in the ore sorting market, which it thinks is growing at about 15% a year.
The company’s 2021 full-year EBITA of NOK1769m compared with NOK1522m the previous year, with the EBITA margin for the latest year at 16%. Tove Andersen, Tomra president and CEO, said fourth-quarter EBITA was “an all-time high” NOK535m, up from NOK505m in the same period last year.
“The order intake on a full-year basis reached record highs in 2021,” she said. “There is good momentum in all markets, and we see positive demand signals. Shortages in the supply chain, logistical challenges and inflation continue to be pressure points.
“The teams have responded with remarkable resilience, but the visibility remains low. We ended 2021 with a solid order backlog and we continue to advance our strategic initiatives and focus on opportunities for future growth.”