Business
Krones : Corporate news release – Quarterly statement Q1 2026
Krones : Corporate news release – Quarterly statement Q1
About this update from Krones Ag
8 May 2026 Krones starts financial year with strong order intake and confirms financial targets for 2026 Krones' customers continue to show robust willingness to invest. In the first quarter of 2026, the company increased order intake by 5.3%, from €1,435.9 million in the previous year to €1,512.1 million. This means that the contract value of orders is also higher than in the fourth quarter of 2025 (€1,460.0 million). Adjusted for currency translation effects, revenue increased by 1.4%. Reported revenue was €1,379.1 million (previous year: €1,410.0 million). Based on the book-to-bill ratio of 1.10 in the first quarter, Krones expects revenue growth to accelerate through to the year-end. The EBITDA margin from January to March improved from 10.6% in the previous year to 10.8%, which is within the guidance range for the current financial year. Due to the managed increase in working capital, Krones generated free cash flow before M&A activities of −€9.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 (previous year: €165.2 million). ROCE amounted to 17.6% (previous year: 20.5%). Following the positive first-quarter trend, Krones has confirmed the guidance for the full year 2026. The company expects revenue growth of 3% to 5% adjusted for currency translation effects, an EBITDA margin of 10.7% to 11.1% and ROCE of 19% to 20%. Krones continued its stable business development in the first quarter of 2026 despite the macroeconomic uncertainties. The company's markets are generally less affected by economic fluctuations and Krones' customers continue to show robust willingness to invest. Order intake increased significantly in first quarter, revenue growth on target three months into the year Krones' order intake developed very positively from January to March 2026. At €1,512.1 million, order intake exceeded the €1,435.9 million recorded in the previous year by 5.3% and was also higher than in the fourth quarter of 2025 (€1,460.0 million). The book-to-bill ratio - the ratio of order intake to revenue - was 1.10 in the first quarter of 2026 (previous year: 1.02). The healthy order intake is reflected in the order backlog. Compared to the end of 2025 (€4,190.4 million), this grew by 3.2% to €4,323.4 million. The continued very high order backlog enhances Krones' planning certainty and ensures production capacity utilisation in the lines and project business well into the...