Krones reported that its order intake for the first half of 2026 increased 4.5% year over year, reaching €2.85 billion. Second-quarter orders rose about 3.5% compared with the same period last year. The company's book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.05 after six months.

Krones confirmed its full-year financial targets for 2026. CEO Thomas Ricker stated: "We are confirming the full-year financial targets for 2026." He noted that global economic growth was slowing and market uncertainty remained elevated. Ricker attributed the positive first-half performance to Krones' business model and global presence.

Order growth was strongest in North and South America and Eastern Europe, according to Ricker. Order intake remained stable in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The Middle East and China saw lower order intake than a year earlier, but the company expects a catch-up effect in those regions during the second half. Ricker noted that China's first half was affected by the timing of the Chinese New Year.

Krones' order backlog increased to approximately €4.3 billion. Delivery times stabilized at around 30 weeks. Management said the backlog, combined with first-half bookings, largely secures production capacity utilization for the full year.

Ricker stated that customers are taking longer to make investment decisions due to uncertainty tied to conflicts, volatile energy prices and raw-material costs. He added that the company's pipeline remained robust and that July orders supported this assessment.

First-half revenue totaled €2.715 billion, including approximately €60 million of foreign-exchange effects primarily related to the U.S. dollar. Currency-adjusted revenue was €2.775 billion, representing growth of 1.8%. CFO Uta Anders said Krones would need a stronger second half to reach its full-year revenue growth target of 3% to 5%. She told analysts that management was more comfortable toward the lower end of the range.

First-half EBITDA increased to €292.8 million, and the EBITDA margin improved to 10.8% from 10.6% a year earlier. Earnings before taxes declined to €197.7 million. Anders attributed the decline to a negative financial result carried over from the first quarter and higher depreciation.

Material expenses fell to 45.1% of revenue, but Anders said the ratio is expected to normalize somewhat during the year. Personnel expenses rose due to higher average employee numbers and wage-related increases. Management expects the personnel-cost ratio to move toward 30% as revenue accelerates. Employee headcount was broadly stable at 21,249 at the end of June, down 90 from year-end 2025, mainly in Germany.

This report was generated with the assistance of AI.