JOST Werke SE, a leading global manufacturer of safety-critical systems for commercial vehicles, announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, showing strong revenue and profitability growth. The company's revenue increased by 12.7% to EUR 440.2 million from EUR 390.7 million in the same period last year, with organic growth of 8.9%, supported by all regions and business lines. Adjusted EBIT grew by 18.5% to EUR 43.9 million, and the adjusted EBIT margin improved to 10.0% from 9.5%. This performance underscores the effectiveness of JOST's diversified portfolio and its AMBITION 2030 strategy, which focuses on organic growth and synergy realization from the Hyva acquisition.
Joachim Dürr, CEO of JOST Werke SE, highlighted the quality of growth, stating, "All regions and business lines contributed organically, reflecting market share gains driven by new customer wins and cross-selling synergies rather than acquisition effects alone." The company managed to fully offset the challenging market environment in the USA, demonstrating the resilience of its business model. In the first half of 2026, JOST achieved its strongest half-year results ever, with revenue of EUR 857 million and adjusted EBIT of EUR 88 million.
Revenue growth was broad-based across all business lines. The Transport business line grew by 5.6% to EUR 218.7 million, driven by positive developments in EMEA and APAC. The Agriculture business line saw a significant 20.2% increase to EUR 89.8 million, fueled by higher demand in AMERICAS. The Hydraulics business line rose by 20.9% to EUR 131.7 million, benefiting from strong demand in mining and construction as well as cross-selling synergies. Adjusted for currency effects and the Cranes base effect, hydraulic components grew organically by 8.5%.
Regionally, EMEA revenue increased by 9.5% to EUR 205.9 million, but adjusted EBIT margin declined to 4.3% due to structural adjustments and higher input costs. AMERICAS revenue grew by 17.1% to EUR 121.0 million, with organic growth of 14.2%, and adjusted EBIT margin improved significantly to 13.3%. APAC revenue rose by 14.0% to EUR 113.3 million, with organic growth of 14.8%, and adjusted EBIT margin reached 15.7%.
Group earnings after tax more than doubled to EUR 15.9 million, and adjusted earnings after tax rose by 19.1% to EUR 24.6 million. The company's free cash flow improved significantly to EUR +17.3 million, and ROCE increased by 3.5 percentage points to 16.3%. Net debt decreased to EUR 380.2 million, bringing the leverage ratio back to 1.81x, within the target range. CFO Oliver Gantzert commented, "Our disciplined capital allocation is paying off. Just one and a half years after the largest acquisition in our history, we have increased ROCE and brought leverage back into the strategic target range."
JOST confirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2026, expecting single-digit revenue growth and adjusted EBIT growth in the mid-to-upper single-digit range, with an improved adjusted EBIT margin. The company remains cautious about potential disruptions from the military conflict in Iran but currently sees no significant effects on customer demand. The interim report is available at https://ir.jost-world.com/reports. The earnings conference will be held on August 13, 2026, with a recording available on the company's website at https://ir.jost-world.com.
