Corporate | 30 April 2026 06:53
KION with positive start into 2026 – strong order intake
|
KION GROUP AG
/ Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement
KION with positive start into 2026 – strong order intake
“KION had a positive start in 2026, with order intake and profitability increasing in both operating segments. In an environment of rising geopolitical uncertainties, KION proves resilience: We confirm our outlook for 2026,” says Rob Smith, CEO of KION. “In the first quarter, we drove our ecosystem partnerships forward with Siemens, NVIDIA and Accenture and achieved significant progress in developing innovative, physical AI solutions for our customers.” Financial Results At € 2.985 billion (Q1 2025: € 2.706 billion), order intake on Group level grew significantly year-on-year and remained broadly unaffected by the Iran war. Order intake at Industrial Trucks & Services rose by 4.2 percent to € 2.041 billion (Q1 2025: € 1.958 billion). The number of industrial trucks ordered rose by 11.3 percent to 72,600, benefiting from significant growth in counterbalance trucks and warehouse equipment. The increase in new business contained pull-forward effects related to the price increases announced for early April 2026 intended to offset rising costs resulting from the Iran war. The service business declined slightly year-on-year. Order intake in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment increased significantly by 25.9 percent to € 951.2 million (Q1 2025: € 755.7 million). Project business (Business Solutions) recorded a significant upturn compared to the first quarter of 2025 driven by improved market dynamics and achieved a strong increase in orders among pure-play e-commerce and other customer segments. The service business continued to perform robustly. Group revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was € 2.771 billion, roughly on par with the prior-year period (Q1 2025: € 2.788 billion). In the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, revenue fell by 4.9 percent to € 2.012 billion (Q1 2025: € 2.116 billion). New business noticeably declined in revenue due to the lower order backlog from the previous year. Service business was slightly down year-on-year. Revenue in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment increased by 11.7 percent in the first quarter to € 768.1 million (Q1 2025: € 687.7 million). Project business (Business Solutions) achieved a significant increase driven by the improved order book. Adjusted EBIT on Group level increased to € 205.2 million (Q1 2025: € 195.5 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.4 percent (Q1 2025: 7.0 percent). Adjusted EBIT in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment declined slightly to € 182.9 million (Q1 2025: € 185.5 million), with an improved adjusted EBIT margin of 9.1 percent (Q1 2025: 8.8 percent). The lower revenue volume was compensated by cost savings from last year’s efficiency program. At € 46.2 million, Intelligent Automation Solutions significantly increased adjusted EBIT year-on-year (Q1 2025: € 36.4 million) and achieved an adjusted EBIT margin of 6.0 percent (Q1 2025: 5.3 percent) driven by the increased earnings contribution from the project business. With € 92.2 million (Q1 2025: € –46.9 million), net income improved significantly – the result of Q1 2025 had been heavily impacted by one-time expenses related to the efficiency program. At € 47 million (Q1 2025: € 30 million), free cash flow was positive despite the variable compensation paid out in the first quarter and payments relating to the efficiency program. Strategic investment in ZIKOO Robotics, a leading provider of warehouse robotics KION today announces a strategic equity investment of 35 percent in ZIKOO Robotics, a leading provider of pallet storage robotics based in China. The company offers a range of solutions, including six-way shuttles and omnidirectional stacker robots, as well as an integrated software platform. The investment marks a significant step in KION’s strategy to build an ecosystem of automation technology partners. With their expanded portfolio of automated warehouse solutions, both companies will deliver warehouse offerings that provide higher efficiency, better space utilization and greater flexibility for their customers. Outlook KION has made a positive start to 2026. Nevertheless, the current geopolitical situation as a result of the war in Iran may take its toll on the global economy, causing energy, transportation, and material costs to rise across global supply chains. KION therefore carried out commercial and operational measures in the reporting period to limit associated cost impact. The Executive Board of KION GROUP AG confirms the outlook for 2026 that was published in February. This assessment of the anticipated performance of the Group and its operating segments is contingent on the current geopolitical situation not giving rise to additional material adverse impacts.
Outlook 2026
Key performance indicators for KION and its two operating segments for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026
The Company KION is shaping world trade – globally, regionally, locally – empowering its customers to unlock the full potential of their supply chains: efficient, smart, sustainable, and reliable with real-time traceability and high delivery speed. The company’s full spectrum of services includes industrial trucks, integrated automation technologies, AI-based solutions, and software as well as all related services. KION’s supply chain solutions enable the smooth flow of materials and information in our customers’ warehouses, production plants, and distribution centers in over 100 countries worldwide. The MDAX listed group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in the EMEA region based on the number of units sold in 2024. Based on revenue for the year 2024, KION is the leading overseas manufacturer in China, and including domestic manufacturers, the third-largest supplier there. In the warehouse automation market, KION is the world’s leading provider based on 2024 revenue. At the end of 2025, more than 2.0 million industrial trucks of KION were in use by customers from all manner of sectors and of varying sizes on six continents. The group currently has more than 42,000 employees and generated revenue of approx. € 11.3 billion in the 2025 financial year. You can access up-to-date image material for the KION Group via our image database https://kionmediacenter.canto.global/v/MediaCenter/ as well as on our respective brands’ websites. (cs)
This release and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the
Additional features: File: 3004_KION GROUP AG_Press Release_Q1 2026 File: KION_Warehouse_PressRelease
30.04.2026 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by
EQS News
– a service of
EQS Group
.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language: | English |
| Company: | KION GROUP AG |
| Thea-Rasche-Straße 8 | |
| 60549 Frankfurt/Main | |
| Germany | |
| Phone: | +49 69 20110-0 |
| E-mail: | info@kiongroup.com |
| Internet: | www.kiongroup.com |
| ISIN: | DE000KGX8881 |
| WKN: | KGX888 |
| Indices: | MDAX |
| Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate BSX |
| EQS News ID: | 2318496 |
| End of News | EQS News Service |
|
|
2318496 30.04.2026 CET/CEST