Canada’s clean technology sector is falling behind international competition, according to a new report.
In its 2017 report, Ottawa-based firm Analytica Advisors found that Canada’s revenue projections in the clean tech industry are markedly less than what was expected. Back in 2011, when the company released its first annual report, the industry was said to have the potential to become worth upwards of $50 billion by 2022.
However, in this year’s findings, based on financial data provided by 148 clean tech companies, revenues by 2022 are only expected to be close to $18 billion CAD.
In terms of cash flow, the industry is healthy enough, with revenues up eight per cent over the previous year. But overall, the industry hasn’t been profitable and shareholder returns are very low. Retained earnings have also declined every year for each of the past five years, and all but one of the clean-tech sectors have shown years of negative returns on sales.
To remediate this, Analytica says the federal government should invest more money into intellectual properties that offer lower-cost innovative solutions. The report also says to consider where climate policy will impact financial returns. Doing so could generate around $19 billion in exports, the report finds, as well as provide 95,000 Canadians with well-paid jobs.
“With the right federal, provincial and private sector policies, we’ll see ‘Made in Canada’ stickers on clean technologies across China, India, Malaysia, and elsewhere—and that would be a real mark of quality,” said Céline Bak, president of Analytica Advisors.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Analytics Advisors
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