Q1 adj. EBITDA of €475 m slightly ahead of expectations thanks to stronger March:
Start into the year facing same weak demand environment as H2 2025; late March supported by volume uptick / pre-buying
Strong cash generation in Q1: FCF of €183 m in-line with prior year despite notably weaker earnings; Good start into the year underpinning FY guidance of ~40% cash conversion
Q2 adj. EBITDA to be at least €550 m: Clear step-up compared to prior year (€509 m) and prior quarter (€475 m); likely strongest quarter in 2026 thanks to both higher volumes and prices; support esp. from methionine
FY 2026 outlook confirmed amid significant uncertainty: Adj. EBITDA between €1.7 and 2.0 bn;
War in Middle East results in changed earnings profile for the year: Opportunities increasing mainly in H1, risks lie in H2
Income Statement (Q1 2026)
-
Sales down by -9% yoy to €3,427 m (Q1 2025: €3,777 m)
Decline mainly due to negative FX (-5%; weak USD)
Organically, -3% sales decline with volumes -2% (mainly Custom Solutions) and prices -1% (mainly Advanced Technologies; Custom Solutions with stable prices)
-
Adj. EBITDA down -15% yoy to €475 m (Q1 2025: €560 m)
Results from optimization programs clearly visible
-410 FTE vs. year-end 2025
Start into the year facing same weak demand environment as in H2 2025
Consequently, both segments with lower earnings yoy
Late March supported by volume uptick; likely pre-buying after start of war in Middle East
e.g. Crosslinkers, High Performance Polymers and lubricant additives with strong volume development and strong order entries for Q2 already
Only limited pricing impact so far due to time delay of price adjustments
- Adj. EBITDA margin decreased to 13.9% (Q1 2025: 14.8%)
- Adj. EBIT of €235 m (Q1 2025: €309 m)
-
Adj. EPS of €0.34 (Q1 2025: €0.59)
Last year benefited from one-off effects in both the financial result and the tax rate; both line items back to normal this year (adj. tax rate 27%)
Cash Flow Statement
-
Q1 2026 FCF of €183 m in-line with prior year's level of €195 m despite notably weaker earnings
Supported by cash inflow from termination of take-or-pay contract last year, customer pre-payments and customer co-financing of investments
NWC outflow (-€100 m) similar to last year
Balance Sheet
- Net financial debt (€3,140 m) slightly down vs. end of year 2025 (€3,311 m) thanks to good cash generation in Q1
- Pension provisions of €1,547 m increased slightly vs. end of year 2025 (€1,490 m) at stable discount rate
-
Leverage of 2.5x vs end of 2025 (2.4x); financial debt leverage stable at 1.6x (2025: 1.6x)
DEVELOPMENT IN THE SEGMENTS
Custom Solutions (CU)
Strong comparables yoy, with FX headwinds and modestly lower volumes, yet stable pricing and product mix
Pick-up in orders at quarter end, however no visible underlying demand improvement given weak Jan and Feb
Additives (adj. EBITDA lower yoy)
Additives (ex. Catalysts), especially lubricant additives, continued stable performance yoy against good base
Catalysts weak start into the year; with Alkoxides awaiting upswing from regulatory changes
Care (adj. EBITDA lower yoy)
Care Solutions still suffering from subdued demand in base ingredients, while specialities develop on track
Health Care with solid demand in oral drug delivery, good pricing and enhanced plant effectiveness
Advanced Technologies (AT)
Inorganics (adj. EBITDA up yoy)
Silica benefits from network optimization
Improved sales momentum for Silica starting in March and into April, especially specialty Silica
Organics (adj. EBITDA up yoy)
High Performance Polymers benefiting from optimization program and strong demand for foams
Crosslinkers yoy below strong Q1 2025, improving from March onwards
Animal Nutrition (adj. EBITDA down yoy)
Tough comparable: last year supported by one-time effect (customer terminated take-or-pay contract)
Higher variable costs and raw material shortages in Singapore (Force Majeure)
Price momentum in methionine market (from April onwards)
Infrastructure (incl. C4) / Other
Infrastructure (adj. EBITDA down yoy)
Oxeno (C4): Q1 performance limited by weak demand and raw material costs rising faster than prices after start of war in Iran
Infrastructure: high level of stability, little impact of Middle east conflict due to hedging of energy costs
Other (adj. EBITDA down yoy)
Less negative yoy, supported by strong cost discipline (mainly Evonik Tailor Made savings)
OUTLOOK FY 2026 (all confirmed)Group Outlook
-
Adj. EBITDA between €1.7 - 2.0 bn (FY 2025: €1.9 bn)
War in Middle East results in changed earnings profile for the year:
Key opportunities - mainly in H1:
Strong price momentum
Higher volumes / pre-buying
Key risks - mainly in H2:
Risk of inflation-led demand slowdown
Potential destocking
At mid-point of guidance range, war-related opportunities and risks balance out
- ROCE: around prior-year level (2025: 6.1%)
-
FCF: targeting ~40% cash conversion rate (FY 2025: 37%; FCF €695 m)
Similar operating result (mid-point of guidance range) as starting point
Disciplined capex approach: yoy stable at ~€750 m
Lower bonus payments in FY 2026 (for 2025)
NWC initially expected to be flat, now a certain headwind possible mainly from cost and price inflation - but too early to predict year-end effect given potential slowdown in H2
Additional Indications for FY 2026
- Sales: between €13.5 and 14.5 bn (2025: €14.1 bn)
- EUR/USD sensitivity: +/-1 USD cent = -/+ ~€5 m adj. EBITDA (FY basis)
- Adj. D&A: around prior-year level (2025: €1,013 m)
- Adj. net financial result: around prior year level (2025: -€162 m)
- Adj. tax rate: around long-term sustainable level of ~30% (2025: 22%)
Please see "Key Financial Data" on our website ("Reporting") for further detailed KPI's and indications,
Key Financials Q1 2026
Evonik Group
Q1 2026
in € million Q1 2025 Q1 2026 yoy Δ% Q4 2025 Q1 2026 qoq Δ% Consensus*
External sales | 3,777 | 3,427 | -9% |
Volumes (%) | -2% | ||
Prices (%) | -1% | ||
Exchange Rates (%) | -5% | ||
Other (incl. M&A; %) | -1% | ||
Adjusted EBITDA | 560 | 475 | -15% |
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) | 14.8% | 13.9% | -0.9 pp |
Adjusted EBIT | 309 | 235 | -24% |
Adjustments | -10 | -6 | |
EBIT | 299 | 229 | -23% |
Adjusted net income | 275 | 158 | -43% |
Adjusted earnings per share in € | 0.59 | 0.34 | |
Capex (cash-out) | 190 | 224 | 18% |
Net financial position | -3,058 | -3,140 | |
Cash flow from operating activities, cont. ops. | 385 | 407 | 6% |
Free cash flow, cont. ops. | 195 | 183 | -6% |
3,403 | 3,427 | 1% |
357 | 475 | 33% |
10.5% | 13.9% | 3.4 pp |
105 | 235 | 124% |
-37 | -6 | |
68 | 229 | 237% |
71 | 158 | 123% |
0.15 | 0.34 | |
201 | 224 | 11% |
-3,311 | -3,140 | |
612 | 407 | >200% |
411 | 183 | >200% |
3,478 |
448 |
12.8% |
0.27 |
Custom Solutions
External sales | 1,427 | 1,334 | -7% |
Volumes (%) | -3% | ||
Prices (%) | 0% | ||
Exchange Rates (%) | -6% | ||
Other (incl. M&A; %) | 2% | ||
Sales Additives | 974 | 920 | -6% |
Sales Care | 453 | 414 | -9% |
Adjusted EBITDA | 256 | 227 | -11% |
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) | 17.9% | 17.0% | -0.9 pp |
1,359 | 1,334 | -2% |
920 414 227 | ||
868 | 6% | |
491 | -16% | |
184 | 23% | |
13.5% | 17.0% | 3.5 pp |
1,333 |
230 |
17.3% |
Advanced Technologies
External sales | 1,601 | 1,450 | -9% |
Volumes (%) | -1% | ||
Prices (%) | -1% | ||
Exchange Rates (%) | -6% | ||
Other (incl. M&A; %) | -1% | ||
Sales Organics | 426 | 390 | -8% |
Sales Inorganics | 621 | 577 | -7% |
Sales Animal Nutrition | 554 | 484 | -13% |
Adjusted EBITDA | 291 | 241 | -17% |
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) | 18.2% | 16.6% | -1.6 pp |
1,415 | 1,450 | 2% |
390 577 484 241 | ||
395 | -1% | |
566 | 2% | |
454 | 7% | |
186 | 30% | |
13.1% | 16.6% | 3.5 pp |
1,465 |
212 |
14.5% |
Infrastructure (incl. C4 business) / Other
External sales | 749 | 643 | -14% |
Adjusted EBITDA | 13 | 7 | -46% |
629 | 643 | 2% | 745 | |
-13 | 7 | >200% | 6 |
* Vara Consensus March 20, 2026