Q3 sales revenues rose 15.6% to €376.6 million from €325.9 million, entirely on the first-time consolidation of VTT Europe (Sateba); excluding it, group sales were around 5% below the prior year.
Q3 EBITDA was flat at €47.6 million while Q3 EBIT fell 22.8% to €24.2 million from €31.3 million, taking the quarterly EBIT margin to 6.4% from 9.6% and net income to €9.4 million from €17.0 million.
The July-adjusted outlook is confirmed: 2026 sales around the midpoint of €1,510 million to €1,610 million, EBITDA of €195 million to €210 million and EBIT of €100 million to €110 million, both earnings lines in the lower part of their ranges.
Nine-month free cash flow of €(77.5) million against €0.2 million and net financial debt of €674.7 million against €186.5 million a year ago; a clearly positive full-year free cash flow is still expected.
The one thing that matters: purchase-price allocation is the stated reason for the earnings decline but does not cover it. Nine-month EBIT of €56.6 million against €76.2 million carries €13.6 million of Sateba PPA, and Q3 EBIT fell €7.1 million on €4.5 million. The rest is cost and project timing.
Key metrics
Metric
Reported
Prior year
Change
Sales revenues, Q3/2026
376.6
325.9
increased by 15.6 percent
EBITDA, Q3/2026
47.6
47.6
—
EBIT, Q3/2026
24.2
31.3
decreased by 22.8 percent
Net income, Q3/2026
9.4
17.0
—
Free cash flow, 1-9/2026
€(77.5) million
€0.2 million
—
Net financial debt as of 9/30
€674.7 million
€186.5 million
—
Guidance changes
Item
New guidance
Prior guidance
2026 sales revenues
around the midpoint of the range of €1,510 million to €1,610 million
—
2026 EBITDA
€195 million to €210 million, expected in the lower part of the forecast range
—
2026 EBIT
€100 million to €110 million, expected in the lower part of the forecast range
—
2026 value added
lower part of the forecast range of € (50) million to € (35) million
—
2026 free cash flow
positive free cash flow continues to be expected for the full year
—
Quality of earnings
Growth is bought, profitability is not. Nine-month sales of €1,086.8 million against €908.5 million rest on roughly €218 million from VTT Europe (Sateba), while the EBITDA margin fell to 11.8% from 13.4% and the EBIT margin to 5.2% from 8.4% on higher material and logistics prices and M&A advisory expense.
Earnings per share fell far further than EBIT. EPS of €0.35 against €2.12 reflects interest and similar expense of €27.3 million versus €16.6 million, a €9.8 million tax charge on earnings before taxes of €31.7 million, and €10.1 million of the result attributable to hybrid capital investors against €4.5 million.
Two items make the reported figures look better than the underlying run-rate: Core Components EBITDA of €80.3 million includes a €4.4 million book gain from the transitional consolidation of a Lithuanian joint venture, and €0.05 of the €0.35 nine-month EPS comes from discontinued operations.
Gotchas & watch items
EBIT of €56.6 million after nine months against a confirmed full-year range of €100 million to €110 million leaves the final quarter carrying most of the year's profit.
Order backlog up 27.8% to €1,094.0 million includes €120 million from VTT Europe (Sateba), and the company notes the metric has only limited informative value because framework volume is not booked until call-off.
The promised full-year cash turn depends on reversing one quarter's build: working capital rose €106.0 million since the start of the year and closing working capital reached €268.9 million against €229.4 million.
Only the acquired business is growing earnings: Core Components EBIT of €39.2 million against €38.9 million, Customized Modules down to €28.7 million from €42.8 million, Lifecycle Solutions down to €3.5 million from €8.5 million.