JOST Werke SE, a leading manufacturer of safety-critical systems for the commercial vehicle industry, reported strong financial results for the second quarter of 2026, with revenue and profitability growth across all regions and business lines. The company also confirmed its outlook for the full fiscal year 2026.
In the second quarter of 2026, JOST's group revenue rose by 12.7% to EUR 440.2 million, compared to EUR 390.7 million in the same period last year. Organic growth, adjusted for acquisition and currency effects, was 8.9%, supported by all three regions (EMEA, AMERICAS, and APAC) and all business lines (Transport, Agriculture, and Hydraulics). This growth was driven by market share gains from new customer wins and cross-selling synergies from the integration of Hyva, particularly in off-highway areas.
Adjusted EBIT grew faster than revenue, up 18.5% to EUR 43.9 million, with the adjusted EBIT margin improving to 10.0% from 9.5% in the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 15.8% to EUR 56.6 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 12.9%. The profitability improvement was attributed to organic growth, the ramp-up of synergies from the Hyva acquisition, operational improvements, and a favorable regional mix.
Group earnings after tax more than doubled, rising by 132.2% to EUR 15.9 million, and earnings per share increased to EUR 0.95 from EUR 0.45. Adjusted earnings after tax rose by 19.1% to EUR 24.6 million, with adjusted earnings per share growing by 7.1% to EUR 1.48.
JOST also demonstrated strong cash generation and efficient capital allocation. Free cash flow improved significantly to EUR +17.3 million in the second quarter, compared to EUR +0.6 million in the prior year quarter. The leverage ratio improved to 1.81x, back within the target range of 1.0x to 2.0x, and ROCE increased by 3.5 percentage points to 16.3%.
In the first half of 2026, JOST achieved record revenue of EUR 857 million and adjusted EBIT of EUR 88 million. The equity ratio improved to 26.9% as of June 30, 2026, up from 21.2% at the end of 2025, following a capital increase in February 2026 that raised gross proceeds of EUR 92.6 million.
Joachim Dürr, CEO of JOST, 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. The strength of our diversified portfolio enabled us to fully offset the challenging market environment in the USA. In the first half of 2026, we combined growth with high profitability. With EUR 857 million in revenue and adjusted EBIT of EUR 88 million, we delivered the strongest first half-year in JOST’s history to date. This confirms the effectiveness of our business model and the potential of our AMBITION 2030 strategy.”
Oliver Gantzert, CFO, 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. This is clear evidence that we are deploying our capital in a value-creating way. We also saw during the second quarter a significant sequential improvement of free cash flow compared with the first quarter of 2026, even though supply chains continue to pose challenges. We expect this positive trend to continue over the remainder of the year. This gives us financial flexibility to seize additional growth opportunities.”
Regionally, EMEA revenue grew by 9.5% to EUR 205.9 million, with organic growth of 3.1%. However, adjusted EBIT in EMEA declined to EUR 8.8 million, with a margin of 4.3%, due to a structural adjustment of the business model and higher input costs related to the military conflict in Iran. In AMERICAS, revenue increased by 17.1% to EUR 121.0 million, with organic growth of 14.2%, and adjusted EBIT rose by 42.3% to EUR 16.2 million, with a margin of 13.3%. In APAC, revenue grew by 14.0% to EUR 113.3 million, with organic growth of 14.8%, and adjusted EBIT increased by 30.6% to EUR 17.8 million, with a margin of 15.7%.
JOST confirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2026, expecting group revenue to increase in the single-digit percentage range and adjusted EBIT to grow at a faster pace, in the mid-to-upper single-digit percentage range. The adjusted EBIT margin is expected to be higher than the prior year's 9.5%, supported by further synergies from the Hyva integration. The forecast assumes no unexpected deterioration in key markets, and JOST currently sees no significant effects from the military conflict in Iran on customer demand.
The interim report for the first half of 2026 is available at https://ir.jost-world.com/reports. The accompanying virtual earnings conference will take place on August 13, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. CEST, with a recording available on the JOST website at https://ir.jost-world.com.
