Thanks to its resilient business model, Krones continued the positive performance trend in the second quarter of 2026 despite the ongoing and further increasing macroeconomic uncertainties. After the first six months, the company has confirmed the full-year financial targets for 2026.
Order intake remains strong, rising 4.5% in first half-year
Following strong customer orders in the first quarter, Krones customers continued to show robust willingness to invest from April to June 2026. At €1,340.4 million in the second quarter, order intake exceeded the previous year’s level (€1,294.5 million) by 3.5%. Order intake in the first six months of 2026 thus rose by 4.5% to €2,852.5 million (previous year: €2,730.4 million). The positive trend reflects generally intact customer demand. Overall economic uncertainties and general cost trends are nevertheless having some impact on orders across Krones’ diverse product and customer portfolio. The company has so far been able to offset this effect thanks to its internationally balanced customer base and extensive product range.
The book-to-bill ratio – the ratio of order intake to revenue – reached 1.05 in the first half of 2026. The order backlog increased by 3.3% from January to June to €4,328.0 million (December 31, 2025: €4,190.4 million). The current order backlog means that production capacity utilisation in the lines and projects business is largely ensured for the full year 2026.
Revenue adjusted for currency translation effects grew by 1.8%
Despite the ongoing and further increasing macroeconomic challenges, Krones improved revenue in the second quarter of 2026. From April to June, revenue rose by 1.5%, from €1,316.5 million in the previous year to €1,335.8 million. Over the first six months of 2026, revenue amounted to €2,714.9 million (previous year: €2,726.5 million). It should be noted that currency translation effects negatively impacted revenue by around €60 million in the first half of 2026. Adjusted for these effects, revenue from January to June 2026 rose by 1.8% compared to the previous year. On the basis of the positive trend in order intake, Krones expects growth to accelerate in the second half-year.
Krones improves EBITDA margin to 10.8% in first half-year (previous year: 10.6%)
All of Krones’ key earnings metrics were higher in the second quarter of 2026 than in the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) went up from €139.2 million to €143.9 million. The EBITDA margin consequently improved from 10.6% to 10.8%. For the period April to June 2026, the company reported earnings before taxes of €99.6 million (previous year: €97.6 million) and consolidated net income of €70.4 million (€69.9 million).
EBITDA rose from €288.5 million in the previous year to €292.9 million between January and June 2026. The EBITDA margin improved from 10.6% to 10.8%. Over the 6 months, the EBITDA margin was thus within the target range of 10.7% to 11.1% for the full year 2026.
A key reason for the increase in Krones’ profitability is the implementation of strategic measures to improve the company’s performance and cost structures. Prices for Krones’ machines and lines remained stable in the first six months of 2026.
In total, Krones generated consolidated net income of €138.9 million in the first half of 2026 (previous year: €145.8 million). This equates to earnings per share of €4.39 (previous year: €4.60).
