Dürr publishes preliminary business figures for 2025 - higher profitability
The Dürr Group significantly increased its operating profitability in 2025 despite the difficult macroeconomic environment. Sales and earnings were dampened by economic uncertainty. Further improvement in earnings is targeted for 2026.
According to Dürr's preliminary business figures for 2025, EBIT before extraordinary effects rose by 19% to € 232 million, while the margin of 5.6% was slightly above the target range of 4.5% to 5.5%. The main reasons for this were the earnings strength in the Automotive division's business with the automotive industry and the increased earnings resilience in the woodworking technology business of the Group subsidiary Homag. Consolidated profit after tax doubled to € 206 million. In addition to the improved operating performance, it benefited from a high book profit (€ 227 million after tax) from the sale of the Environmental Technology division in October. At € 162 million, free cash flow also reached a very high level. The mechanical and plant engineering company is aiming to further increase the EBIT margin before special items in 2026. However, this assumes that the war in the Middle East will only have a temporary impact on the global economy. Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr AG: "2025 was challenging. The customs conflicts and global political tensions have dampened many customers' willingness to invest. The fact that we were nevertheless able to significantly increase earnings underlines the resilience of our business model. In view of the ongoing uncertainties, we are continuing to focus on optimizing costs and strengthening our competitiveness. On this basis, we aim to return to profitable growth in the future, provided that the current developments do not lead to sustained market distortions."
Decline in incoming orders and sales at Dürr
At € 3.89 billion, incoming orders were down on the previous year (-18%). This was partly expected, as 2024 was characterized by record order intake in painting technology. In addition, incoming orders in the second and third quarters of 2025 were heavily impacted by the economic uncertainty caused by the customs conflicts. In both quarters, the order volume only reached around € 0.8 billion. The fourth quarter brought a significant improvement to € 1.25 billion, which was driven by two major projects in painting technology in North America and Europe, among other things. In addition, Homag won its largest order to date in the production technology business for climate-friendly timber houses, worth a high double-digit million euro figure. Sales decreased by 3% to € 4.17 billion in 2025. In addition to the general economic weakness, this was also due to delays on the part of customers in the completion of major projects. Paint technology, the largest business area, made a significant contribution to improving operating margins. The Automotive division, which is responsible for this area, increased its EBIT margin before special items from 8.4% to 8.6%. The Industrial Automation division generated a low margin of 3.4%, mainly because battery production technology posted a loss as a result of the weak market in Europe. Dürr recently reorganized this business and reclassified it to the Automotive division at the beginning of 2026. The high consolidated net profit after taxes (€ 206 million) is partly due to the book profit from the sale of Environmental Technology.
Dürr Group reorganization and outlook for 2026
The adjustment of the administration is part of a far-reaching transformation with which Dürr has been making itself leaner and more efficient since mid-2024. As part of the Group's restructuring, the number of divisions has been reduced from five to three. Under the motto "Sustainable.Automation", the Group is now concentrating on its core business relating to automated and sustainable production processes. Businesses outside of the core business, such as environmental technology (sales of around €400 million) and Agramkow filling technology (sales of around €45 million), were sold. In addition, paint systems engineering and the painting robot business were combined in the new Automotive division. The free cash flow of € 162 million marks a ten-year record. However, it includes advance customer payments that were not expected until 2026. Due to the high free cash flow and the proceeds from the sale of Environmental Technology (€ 295 million gross), net financial debt fell by € 331 million to € 66 million. The number of employees fell by 3.9% year-on-year to 17,881 as at December 31, 2025. In Germany, the Group employed 8,552 people compared to 8,884 on the previous year's reporting date. In view of the geopolitical and trade tensions and the recent escalation in the Middle East, a very high level of macroeconomic uncertainty is still to be expected. The outlook assumes that the impact of international conflicts, particularly the war in the Middle East, will remain limited and that there will be no sustained market distortions. Incoming orders are expected to reach a range of € 3.8 to 4.2 billion in 2026 and could therefore increase by up to 8 %. The target for sales is € 3.9 to 4.3 billion and takes into account the decline in incoming orders in the previous year. The forecast for the EBIT margin before special items is 5.0% to 6.5%. The Executive Board is generally aiming for a further improvement in the margin.