KION with positive first half of 2026
2026-07-30 Growth 2 min
by
Dennis Lüneburger
KION’s business performance was positive in the first half of financial year 2026. Revenue and profitability increased, whilst order intake was below the extraordinarily high level of H1 2025. Free cash flow was positive despite cash-out for M&A activities and last year’s efficiency program.
Financial Results
At € 5.794 billion (H1 2025: € 6.206 billion), order intake on Group level decreased year-on-year. With € 3.982 billion, order intake at Industrial Trucks & Services was slightly below the previous year’s level (H1 2025: € 4.028 billion). Order intake in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment was strong, though with € 1.824 billion below the extraordinarily high level of the previous year (H1 2025: € 2.201 billion), which had been driven by a record order intake in project business in Q2 2025.
Group revenue in the first half of 2026 increased by 3.5 percent to € 5.687 billion (H1 2025: € 5.496 billion). In the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, revenue decreased slightly to € 4.079 billion (H1 2025: € 4.135 billion). Revenue in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment increased by 18 percent in the first half of 2026 to € 1.629 billion (H1 2025: € 1.386 billion). Project business achieved significant growth driven by the increased order intake of past quarters.
“KION performed well in the first half of financial year 2026 against a backdrop of heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty. We increased profitability in both segments and improved revenue driven by an 18 percent increase in our Intelligent Automation Solutions segment. Customer demand in the segment was again strong with good order intake across multiple industries.”
Rob Smith, CEO of KIONAdjusted EBIT on Group level increased by 12 percent to € 429.6 million (H1 2025: € 385.0 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.6 percent (H1 2025: 7.0 percent). Adjusted EBIT in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment improved to € 365.6 million (H1 2025: € 358.9 million), with an adjusted EBIT margin of 9.0 percent (H1 2025: 8.7 percent). The lower revenue volume was compensated by the higher gross margin and cost savings from last year’s efficiency program.
At € 106.0 million, Intelligent Automation Solutions grew adjusted EBIT by 35 percent year-on-year (H1 2025: € 78.4 million) and reached an adjusted EBIT margin of 6.5 percent (H1 2025: 5.7 percent) driven by the increased earnings contribution from the project business.
With € 207.6 million (H1 2025: € 47.9 million), net income improved significantly – the result of H1 2025 had been impacted heavily by one-time expenses related to the efficiency program. At € 22.2 million (H1 2025: € 161.9 million), free cash flow was positive despite payments relating to M&A activities and the efficiency program.
Investment in next-generation supply chain robotics
KION acquired 70 percent of Belgian retailer Colruyt’s research and development subsidiary Smart Innovation NV to accelerate the development and industrialization of next-generation supply chain robotics. The investment focuses on autonomous pallet trucks which navigate safely in the warehouse with high precision and efficiency, including the ability of autonomous loading and unloading of trucks. These trucks have already been operating in Colruyt’s distribution centers for two years and will be now scaled in multiple industries by KION’s brands.
You can find our business results for the first three months of 2026 at a glance in our
More detailed information on our business performance you can find in the
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