Q1 2026 results

• Revenue up 5% to EUR 65.2 million (Q1 2025: EUR 62.0 million)
• Revenue growth of 6% at constant exchange rates
• Normalized EBITDA up 21% to EUR 11.0 million (Q1 2025: EUR 9.1 million)
• Normalized EBITDA margin expanded to 16.9% (Q1 2025: 14.7%)
• All business groups contributed to improved profitability; revenue growth was driven by industrial segments
• EUR 10 million share buyback program completed
• Return on invested capital increased to 25.3% (Q1 2025: 13.4%)

Key figures¹

¹Revenue and profit measures reflect continuing operations only, excluding the divested China and Automotive activities, which are presented under “net profit from discontinued operations".
²Results from continuing operations are normalized for costs and benefits outside the ordinary course of operations. Normalized in Q1 2026: EUR 0.2 million restructuring costs (EUR 0.1 million after tax) and for discontinued operations EUR 0.2 million related to the divestment of the Automotive business. Normalized in Q1 2025: EUR 0.2 million restructuring costs (EUR 0.1 million after tax). 
³Invested capital excluding intangibles arising from acquisitions. 2025 is including discontinued operations.
⁴NM: not meaningful

Joep van Beurden, Kendrion CEO:
“We delivered a strong first quarter, with continued growth in both revenue and profitability. Group revenue increased by 5% to EUR 65.2 million, entirely driven by the industrial business groups. Industrial Brakes (IB) grew by 9% and Industrial Actuators & Controls (IAC) by 4% compared to Q1 2025. Profitability improved across all business groups, resulting in normalized EBITDA of EUR 11.0 million, or 16.9% of revenue, up 21% from Q1 2025. Our added value margin remained strong at 56.2%, in line with last year, reflecting the resilience of our business mix and continued pricing discipline. Return on invested capital increased to 25.3%.

Despite the economic uncertainty related to the situation in the Middle East, our industrial business groups continued to perform well. Mobility revenue remained stable, while profitability improved significantly, highlighting the financial benefits of the cooperation with Knorr Bremse at our Sibiu Mobility facility. Continued improvement in revenue and profitability, supported by a healthy order book, underpins our positive long‑term outlook. At the same time, the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with heightened geopolitical tensions, ongoing trade uncertainty, and high energy prices.

We remain focused on what we can control: operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation, and expanding high‑value industrial applications. Our strong project pipeline and continued introduction of innovative solutions—including permanent magnet brakes optimized for robotics, induction heating solutions, and next‑generation industrial locking systems—reinforce our confidence in Kendrion’s ability to deliver sustainable, profitable growth as a focused industrial company.”

Progress on strategy
Kendrion enters 2026 at the forefront of a profound technological shift redefining how industrial machines are designed, built, and operated. Artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the transition toward smarter, faster, and more autonomous systems. Yet while AI can design, compute, and optimize, it cannot generate movement—this is where Kendrion’s opportunity lies. 

Our purpose is to enable industrial machines to operate with safe, precise, and dependable motion. Looking ahead, our ambition is to support the next generation of intelligent machinery through advanced motion control solutions. As customers expand capabilities across robotics and automation, integrated safety systems, healthcare and medical technology, and energy and transmission infrastructure, systems increasingly rely on motion solutions that combine functional safety, accuracy, and long-term reliability.

To meet these evolving needs, we continue to sharpen our strategic focus and align our portfolio with emerging customer demands. We are expanding our range of valves, actuators, brakes, and motion control technologies for modern machine builders. These customers require intelligent actuators capable of dynamic, highly controlled movement; compact, high-precision braking systems that safeguard collaborative robots; and advanced motion control solutions tailored to autonomous and adaptive machines. Through targeted products, customer partnerships, and carefully selected projects, we are building a portfolio serving fast-growing markets where demand for safe and precise motion continues to accelerate.

Disciplined execution remains central to our approach. All investment decisions are guided by a strict framework focused on sustainable value creation. Each opportunity must meet three core criteria: strong financial attractiveness, with expected annual revenue growth above 10% and EBITDA margins above 20%; clear competitive differentiation, supported by intellectual property, regulatory positioning, or proprietary Kendrion expertise; and mission-critical relevance, where our solutions play an essential role in customer applications, carry a high cost of failure, and represent a relatively small share of total system cost—supporting long-term partnerships and resilient customer relationships.

Financial review
Revenue
Q1 2026
Kendrion delivered a solid start to 2026, with Group revenue increasing by 5% to EUR 65.2 million, compared to EUR 62.0 million in Q1 2025. Revenue growth at constant exchange rates was 6%.

Revenue growth was entirely driven by the industrial business groups, supported by strengthening demand in Europe. Revenue in IB increased by 9% to EUR 26.4 million, compared to EUR 24.3 million in Q1 2025, while revenue in IAC rose by 4% to EUR 28.3 million, compared to EUR 27.2 million in the prior year. Revenue in Mobility amounted to EUR 10.5 million, broadly in line with the same period in 2025.

Results
Q1 2026
Normalized EBITDA increased by 21% to EUR 11.0 million, compared to EUR 9.1 million in Q1 2025. The normalized EBITDA margin improved to 16.9%, up 220 basis points from 14.7% in the same period last year. The improvement in profitability was driven by volume growth, disciplined pricing, and strict cost control. The added value margin remained broadly stable at 56.2% (Q1 2025: 56.3%), as favourable pricing effects fully offset the temporary mix impact from higher inventory levels. 

Depreciation charges decreased slightly to EUR 3.0 million, from EUR 3.1 million in the previous year, resulting in EBITA increasing to EUR 8.0 million, up 33% from EUR 6.0 million in Q1 2025. Net finance charges decreased by EUR 0.2 million to EUR 0.8 million, while the effective tax rate on normalized income declined to 25.4%, from 29.9% in Q1 2025. Normalized net profit before amortization amounted to EUR 5.2 million, compared to EUR 3.7 million in Q1 2025. A total of EUR 0.2 million in operating costs were normalized in the first quarter, related to restructuring charges. In Q1 2026, Kendrion settled a final outstanding claim of EUR 0.2 million related to the divestment of the Automotive business, which was recorded under results from discontinued operations.

Financial Position
Free cash flow was negative EUR 3.0 million in Q1 2026 (Q1 2025: negative EUR 2.3 million), driven by typical seasonal effects on working capital and the timing of tax payments. Capital expenditure remained disciplined at EUR 1.1 million, below depreciation of EUR 3.0 million, reflecting timing effects. Capital expenditure is expected to normalize over the remainder of the year while remaining well below depreciation for the full year. 

Net debt increased by EUR 10.6 million to EUR 40.9 million at the end of Q1 2026 due to the share buyback program and seasonal working capital movements. The leverage ratio improved to 1.0 compared to 2.5 at the end of Q1 2025.

Kendrion completed its EUR 10 million share buyback program on 24 March 2026, returning excess capital to shareholders in line with its disciplined capital allocation approach.
 
Number of employees
At the end of Q1 2026, Kendrion employed 1,258 FTE, down from 1,311 FTE at the end of Q1 2025. The decrease reflects the continued optimization of the organization with Kendrion’s focused industrial profile. The number of direct FTE was 700, compared to 718 in Q1 2025, while indirect FTE decreased from 593 in Q1 2025 to 558 in the first quarter of 2026.

Outlook
Despite limited macroeconomic visibility, including uncertainty related to the situation in the Middle East, Kendrion remains cautiously optimistic, supported by a healthy order book and a full project pipeline, with AI-driven investments underpinning demand for Kendrion’s products. 

In the short term, Kendrion will maintain a strong focus on margin expansion, strict cost control, and further improvements in operational performance as a focused industrial company. Over the longer term, the company is well positioned to benefit from powerful structural growth drivers, increasingly reinforced by advances in AI. The shift toward smarter, more autonomous industrial systems is accelerating investment in robotics, industrial automation, integrated safety solutions, and medical technology. These trends are expected to support sustainable, profitable growth in the years ahead.

Kendrion reaffirms its commitment to its strategic financial targets. The company aims to achieve an EBITDA margin of 15-18%, a return on investment (ROI) of 23-27% and intends to distribute annual dividends of at least 50% of normalized net profit. Kendrion anticipates annual revenue growth in the range of 5-8%.

Analysts' meeting and audio webcast
Kendrion CEO Joep van Beurden and CFO Jeroen Hemmen will present the interim results on Tuesday 12 May 2026, at 11:00 a.m. CEST via an analysts' webcast.
 
Profile of Kendrion N.V.
Kendrion develops, manufactures, and markets high-quality electromagnetic systems and components for a broad range of industrial applications. For more than a century, we have engineered precision components for the world's leading innovators in industrial technology. As a leading technology pioneer, Kendrion invents, designs, and manufactures complex components and customized systems, including local solutions on demand.

We are committed to the engineering challenges of tomorrow, with responsibility for how we source, manufacture and conduct business embedded in our culture of innovation. Headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, Kendrion's expertise extends across Europe, to the Americas and Asia. Created with passion and engineered with precision.

Amsterdam, 12 May 2026

The Executive Board
 

For more information, please contact:
Kendrion N.V.
Mr. Joep van Beurden
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +31 6 82 56 85 65
Email: IR@kendrion.com
 

• Press release