JOST Werke SE, a leading manufacturer of safety-critical systems for the commercial vehicle industry, reported a strong second quarter of 2026, with revenue rising 12.7% to EUR 440.2 million, up from EUR 390.7 million in the same period last year. Organic growth, adjusted for acquisition and currency effects, was 8.9%, supported by all regions and business lines. The company's profitability also improved, with adjusted EBIT increasing 18.5% to EUR 43.9 million, and the adjusted EBIT margin rising to 10.0% from 9.5%.
Group earnings after tax more than doubled, surging 132% to EUR 15.9 million, while adjusted earnings after tax grew 19% to EUR 24.6 million. Earnings per share more than doubled to EUR 0.95. The strong performance was driven by market share gains, new customer wins, and cross-selling synergies from the Hyva integration, particularly in the off-highway segments of Agriculture and Hydraulics.
Revenue in the Transport business line increased 5.6% to EUR 218.7 million, while Agriculture revenue jumped 20.2% to EUR 89.8 million, and Hydraulics revenue grew 20.9% to EUR 131.7 million. Regionally, EMEA saw a 9.5% revenue increase to EUR 205.9 million, but adjusted EBIT margin declined to 4.3% due to structural adjustments and supply chain issues linked to the military conflict in Iran. In AMERICAS, revenue rose 17.1% to EUR 121.0 million, with adjusted EBIT margin improving to 13.3%. APAC revenue grew 14.0% to EUR 113.3 million, with adjusted EBIT margin up to 15.7%.
Free cash flow turned significantly positive at EUR +17.3 million in Q2 2026, compared to EUR +0.6 million in the prior year. The company also strengthened its balance sheet, with equity increasing by EUR 105.7 million to EUR 433.9 million, partly due to a capital increase in February 2026. Net debt decreased to EUR 380.2 million, and the leverage ratio improved to 1.81x, within the target range of 1.0x to 2.0x. ROCE improved to 16.3% from 12.8%.
Chief Executive Officer Joachim Dürr 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." Chief Financial Officer Oliver Gantzert added: "Our disciplined capital allocation is paying off. Just one and a half years after the largest acquisition in our company’s history, we have increased ROCE by 3.5 percentage points to 16.3% and brought our leverage ratio back into the strategic target range."
Looking ahead, JOST confirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2026, expecting single-digit percentage revenue growth and adjusted EBIT growth in the mid-to-upper single-digit range, with an improved adjusted EBIT margin compared to 2025. The company assumes no significant effects from the military conflict in Iran on customer demand in the second half of the year. The interim report is available at https://ir.jost-world.com/reports, and the earnings conference recording will be posted on the JOST website at https://ir.jost-world.com.
