Ecoslops: Revenue Grows by 5%, but Gross Margin Declines
In 2025, Ecoslops recorded a 5% increase in revenue, driven by a 16% growth in Port Services activity. However, this commercial progress is accompanied by a decrease in gross margin from 65% to 61%, while EBITDA remains nearly stable at 0.3 million euros. The cleantech company now needs to demonstrate its ability to reconcile growth with a return to profitability in a depressed oil market context.
Revenue and Business Dynamics
The group generated a revenue of 12.0 million euros in 2025, an increase of 534 thousand euros or 5% year-over-year. This growth is based on two divergent dynamics. The Port Services activity experienced a significant boost with a 16% increase, rising from 2.7 million euros to 3.2 million euros. Conversely, Refined Products only grew by 1%, from 8.8 million euros to 8.9 million euros. This limited growth must be contextualized: the average price of Brent crude dropped from 73.8 euros per barrel in 2024 to 60.7 euros per barrel in 2025, a decline of 18%. The Sines unit offset this negative price effect of 13% with a positive volume effect of 14%. Production stood at 25,352 tonnes of refined products compared to 21,448 tonnes the previous year, while sales reached 22,760 tonnes compared to 19,981 tonnes in 2024.
Operational Profitability Challenges
The increase in revenue did not translate into improved operational profitability. The gross margin rate contracted by 4 points, from 65% to 61%, resulting in an absolute decline of 148 thousand euros. The group attributes this erosion to two factors: the continued increase in maritime transport costs and a less favorable mix in slop purchases in 2025. However, personnel expenses decreased by 194 thousand euros, from 3.3 million euros to 3.1 million euros, while external expenses increased by 139 thousand euros. EBITDA thus came out at 0.3 million euros, virtually unchanged from 2024, which recorded 0.4 million euros. This nearly stagnant EBITDA in a context of revenue growth illustrates the operational tensions within the group. Nevertheless, the consolidated net result improved by 690 thousand euros, moving from a loss of 3.1 million euros to a loss of 2.4 million euros, benefiting from an improvement in financial results and a lower restructuring charge.
Structural Challenges and Visibility
The group's visibility largely depends on two structural issues. Regarding Sines, the port sub-concession contract with CLT (a subsidiary of GALP) expires in August 2027. Discussions on its renewal, initiated in 2024, are expected to conclude in the second half of 2026. GALP has three options: re-tendering, a negotiated renewal, or internalizing the activity. Internationally, the Scarabox project in Ivory Coast, supported by Bpifrance, has been postponed from 2025 to 2026 following the Ivorian presidential election and the formation of the new government. A scaled-down version, the Scarabatch with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year, was developed in 2025 to meet other prospects. The cash position stood at 5.2 million euros as of December 31, 2025, while net debt remained stable at 11.9 million euros. The group thus has the resources to meet its short-term commitments but remains dependent on the realization of its commercial prospects to find a sustainable path to profitability.
