JOST Werke SE, a global leader in safety-critical systems for commercial vehicles, reported strong financial results for the second quarter of 2026, marked by broad-based growth and improved profitability. The company's revenue rose by 12.7% to EUR 440.2 million, up from EUR 390.7 million in the same period last year, driven by organic growth of 8.9% supported by all regions and business lines.
Adjusted EBIT grew faster than revenue, increasing by 18.5% to EUR 43.9 million (Q2 2025: EUR 37.0 million), with the adjusted EBIT margin improving to 10.0% from 9.5%. This performance aligns with the company's strategic profitability corridor of 10% to 12%. Adjusted EBITDA also rose by 15.8% to EUR 56.6 million, with the margin increasing to 12.9%.
Group earnings after tax more than doubled, surging by 132% to EUR 15.9 million (Q2 2025: EUR 6.8 million), and adjusted earnings after tax grew by 19% to EUR 24.6 million. Earnings per share more than doubled to EUR 0.95, while adjusted earnings per share increased by 7.1% to EUR 1.48, despite a higher share count following a capital increase in February 2026.
Joachim Dürr, CEO of JOST Werke SE, commented: “JOST once again achieved strong and broad-based growth in the second quarter of 2026. The quality of this growth matters most to me as all regions and business lines contributed organically. This performance reflects market share gains driven by new customer wins and cross-selling synergies rather than acquisition effects alone. With EUR 857 million in revenue and adjusted EBIT of EUR 88 million in the first half, we delivered the strongest first half-year in JOST’s history.”
Revenue growth was robust across all regions. In EMEA, revenue increased by 9.5% to EUR 205.9 million, with organic growth of 3.1% after adjusting for currency and the Cranes base effect. The AMERICAS region saw revenue rise by 17.1% to EUR 121.0 million, with organic growth of 14.2%, driven by new customer wins and expansion in South America. APAC revenue grew by 14.0% to EUR 113.3 million, with organic growth of 14.8%, supported by strong demand in China and India.
By business line, Transport revenue grew by 5.6% to EUR 218.7 million, Agriculture revenue increased by 20.2% to EUR 89.8 million, and Hydraulics revenue rose by 20.9% to EUR 131.7 million. The Hydraulics growth was boosted by demand from mining and construction industries and cross-selling synergies from the Hyva integration.
Profitability improved significantly in AMERICAS and APAC, with adjusted EBIT margins rising to 13.3% and 15.7%, respectively. In EMEA, adjusted EBIT declined to EUR 8.8 million, with a margin of 4.3%, due to a structural business model adjustment and higher input costs from the military conflict in Iran.
Cash generation strengthened, with free cash flow rising to EUR +17.3 million in Q2 2026 (Q2 2025: EUR +0.6 million). Net debt decreased to EUR 380.2 million, and the leverage ratio improved to 1.81x, back within the target range of 1.0x to 2.0x. ROCE increased to 16.3% from 12.8%.
Oliver Gantzert, CFO, stated: “Our disciplined capital allocation is paying off. Just one and a half years after the largest acquisition in our history, we have increased ROCE by 3.5 percentage points to 16.3% and brought our leverage ratio back into the strategic target range. This gives us financial flexibility to seize additional growth opportunities.”
JOST confirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2026, expecting group revenue to grow in the single-digit percentage range and adjusted EBIT to grow at a faster pace, with the adjusted EBIT margin expected to be higher than the prior year's 9.5%. The company assumes no significant deterioration in key markets and sees no major impact from the Iran conflict on customer demand.
The interim report for the first half of 2026 is available at JOST's investor relations reports page. The earnings conference will be held on August 13, 2026, with a recording available on the JOST investor relations website.
