Equipment manufacturer Krones has announced it has “continued the positive performance trend in the second quarter of 2026 despite the ongoing and further increasing macroeconomic uncertainties” with orders and profits up during the first half of 2026.
Following strong customer orders in the first quarter, Krones said its customers continued to show robust willingness to invest from April to June 2026.
At €1,340.4 million in the second quarter, order intake exceeded the previous year’s level (€1,294.5 million) by 3.5%. Order intake in the first six months of 2026 thus rose by 4.5% to €2,852.5 million (previous year: €2,730.4 million). The positive trend reflects generally intact customer demand.
Overall economic uncertainties and general cost trends are nevertheless having some impact on orders across Krones’ diverse product and customer portfolio. The company has so far been able to offset this effect thanks to its internationally balanced customer base and extensive product range, they said.
The book-to-bill ratio – the ratio of order intake to revenue – reached 1.05 in the first half of 2026. The order backlog increased by 3.3% from January to June to €4,328.0 million (December 31, 2025: €4,190.4 million).
The current order backlog means that production capacity utilisation in the lines and projects business is largely ensured for the full year 2026.
Despite the ongoing and further increasing macroeconomic challenges, Krones improved revenue in the second quarter of 2026. From April to June, revenue rose by 1.5%, from €1,316.5 million in the previous year to €1,335.8 million. Over the first six months of 2026, revenue amounted to €2,714.9 million (previous year: €2,726.5 million).
It should be noted that currency translation effects negatively impacted revenue by around €60 million in the first half of 2026. Adjusted for these effects, revenue from January to June 2026 rose by 1.8% compared to the previous year. On the basis of the positive trend in order intake, Krones expects growth to accelerate in the second half-year.
