Sparks

JOST Werke reported that H126 sales were up 12.1% to €857.3m (H125: €764.4m), with organic growth of 8.9%, a €39.1m acquisition effect from the additional month of Hyva consolidation and a 1.9pp fx headwind. Adjusted EBIT rose 20.8% to €87.9m (H125: €72.8m), and the adjusted EBIT margin improved 0.8pp to 10.3% (H125: 9.5%), within the group’s 10–12% strategic target range, with gross margin up 1.0pp to 28.6% on a more favourable regional mix. Adjusted EPS rose 9.6% to €3.29 (H125: €3.00) despite February’s 10% capital increase, and reported EPS rose 51.2% to €2.00 (H125: €1.32) as prior-year purchase price allocation charges eased. Net debt excluding IFRS 16 liabilities fell to €380.2m (31 December 2025: €441.6m) and leverage to 1.81x (31 December 2025: 2.27x), back inside the 1.0–2.0x target range; return on capital employed improved 3.5pp to 16.3%.

All three regions and business lines grew organically. APAC sales rose 19.6% to €223.3m (organic +14.6%) on Chinese export demand and broad-based Indian growth, lifting adjusted EBIT 30.4% to €34.4m at a 15.4% margin (H125: 14.1%). AMERICAS sales rose 11.5% to €224.9m (organic +9.9%) with adjusted EBIT up 243.8% to €27.2m (margin 12.1% vs 10.9%), despite a North America transport market still below the prior year. EMEA sales rose 8.8% to €409.1m (organic +5.6%) and adjusted EBIT rose 9.3% to €24.4m (margin 6.0%), although the Q226 EMEA margin fell to 4.3% (Q225: 5.8%) as high-margin international Hyva sales previously routed via EMEA are now partly invoiced directly in AMERICAS and APAC, and Iran-related input and logistics costs rose; management states pass-through clauses are in place. By business line, agriculture sales revenue grew 23.4% to €172.4m and hydraulics grew 20.3% to €256.0m, against transport growth of 4.1% to €428.9m. Free cash flow fell to €15.7m (H125: €39.4m) on a €50.4m working capital build.

FY26 guidance was confirmed: single-digit sales growth (FY25: €1,534.2m), mid-to-high single-digit adjusted EBIT growth (FY25: €145.2m), a higher adjusted EBIT margin (FY25: 9.5%) and working capital at 17.5–18.5% of sales. Management expects the H1 working capital build to reverse in H2; sales are seasonally H1-weighted, averaging a 0.92x H2/H1 ratio over 2017–25, excluding 2020. Hyva integration one-offs reached €18.0m since the acquisition, the midpoint of the €12–24m envelope set at the deal.