JOST Werke SE, a global leader in safety-critical systems for commercial vehicles, announced strong financial results for the second quarter of 2026, demonstrating broad-based growth and improved profitability. The company's revenue increased by 12.7% to EUR 440.2 million, 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%, aligning with the company's strategic corridor.
Group earnings after tax more than doubled to EUR 15.9 million, while adjusted earnings after tax rose by 19.1% to EUR 24.6 million. The company also reported significant improvement in free cash flow, which surged to EUR +17.3 million from EUR +0.6 million in the prior-year quarter. ROCE increased by 3.5 percentage points to 16.3%, and the leverage ratio improved to 1.81x, returning to the target range of 1.0x to 2.0x.
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."
Revenue growth was driven by all business lines: Transport revenue rose by 5.6% to EUR 218.7 million, Agriculture increased by 20.2% to EUR 89.8 million, and Hydraulics grew by 20.9% to EUR 131.7 million. The Hydraulics growth was boosted by rising demand from mining and construction industries and cross-selling synergies. Adjusted for currency effects and the Cranes base effect, organic growth in hydraulic components was 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 adjusted EBIT up 42.3% and margin improving to 13.3%. APAC revenue rose by 14.0% to EUR 113.3 million, with adjusted EBIT up 30.6% and margin at 15.7%.
The company's balance sheet strengthened significantly. Equity increased by EUR 105.7 million to EUR 433.9 million, driven by a capital increase in February 2026 and strong earnings. The equity ratio improved to 26.9%. Net debt decreased to EUR 380.2 million, and the leverage ratio improved to 1.81x. CFO Oliver Gantzert noted, "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 2026, expecting group revenue to grow in the single-digit percentage range and adjusted EBIT to grow faster, with an improved margin. The company remains vigilant about geopolitical risks but currently sees no significant effects from the military conflict in Iran on customer demand. The interim report is available at https://ir.jost-world.com/reports, and a virtual earnings conference will be held on August 13, 2026.
