EQS-News: R. STAHL publishes nine-month figures – demand remains subdued

R. STAHL publishes nine-month figures – demand remains subdued
 

• Following strong order intake in the first quarter of 2025, orders weakened in the second and third quarters. In the first nine months of 2025, order volume amounted to € 238.1 million (previous year: € 255.2 million).
• Sales were down 12.1% to € 229.8 million from January to September as a result of the subdued demand.
• Development of EBITDA pre exceptionals was positive in the third quarter, increasing by 28.8% to € 11.3 million. In the first nine months, this figure fell from € 28.1 million in the previous year to € 20.2 million. The company is systematically implementing the cost-cutting measures introduced in the second quarter.
• The Executive Board continues to expect Group sales of between € 320 million and € 330 million for full-year 2025. For EBITDA pre exceptionals, R. STAHL forecasts a figure of between € 25 million and € 30 million.

 

Waldenburg, 4 November 2025 - The difficult global economic situation combined with ongoing uncertainties related to potential trade conflicts are impacting and delaying investment decisions on the part of customers. This is having a negative impact on R. STAHL’s business. Demand for electrical explosion protection dampened in almost all customer sectors over the course of the year.

Order intake down 6.7% to € 238.1 million after nine months – order backlog stands at € 105.8 million
While order intake remained very high in the first quarter at € 98.8 million, order volume in the second quarter (€ 67.0 million) and third quarter (€ 72.2 million) was lower. From January to September of 2025, order intake decreased by 6.7% year-on-year to € 238.1 million (previous year: € 255.2 million). While the order volume in Asia increased slightly, R. STAHL recorded lower order intake in the other regions – especially in the Central region (Africa, Europe excluding Germany) – in the first three quarters of 2025.

At € 105.8 million, the order backlog as of 30 September 2025 was slightly below the prior year figure of € 107.9 million and € 10.0 million higher than the order backlog at the end of 2024 (€ 95.8 million).

Sales down 12.1% year-on-year after nine months – all sales markets record declines
Although sales in the third quarter of 2025 (€ 78.6 million) exceeded that of the second quarter (€ 77.9 million) and the first quarter (€ 73.3 million), it remained at a low level overall. After nine months, R. STAHL’s sales dipped 12.1% from € 261.4 million in the previous year to € 229.8 million. While revenue in the Central region (- 5.9%) fell at a disproportionately low rate, the decline in Germany was roughly in line with the Group average (- 13.7%). The sales regions Americas (- 16.2%) and Asia/Pacific (- 22.8%) recorded greater sales losses from January to September.

Good profitability in the third quarter – cost-cutting measures take effect
In the second quarter of 2025, the Executive Board initiated measures to adapt cost structures – especially personnel costs – to the decline in demand and to secure R. STAHL’s profitability. The measures are being implemented consistently and are beginning to take effect.

R. STAHL improved its profitability in the third quarter despite declining sales revenues. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) pre exceptionals increased from July to September by € 2.5 million to € 11.3 million as compared to the prior year. This development did not, however, allow the company to make up for the shortfall in earnings from the first half of 2025. EBITDA pre exceptionals fell by a total of € 7.9 million to € 20.2 million in the first nine months of 2025. Profitability, as measured by the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals, fell from 10.7% in the previous year to 8.8%. Lower profitability was mainly due to the decline in sales and higher personnel costs as a result of collective bargaining agreements. Net profit decreased by € 10.1 million to € -2.4 million in the period from January to September. This corresponds to earnings per share of € - 0.38 (previous year: € 1.18).

At € - 12.6 million (previous year: € - 1.0 million), free cash flow declined in the first nine months of 2025 due to the lower net income and the increase in working capital. The equity ratio fell to 25.1% as of 30 September 2025 (31 December 2024: 27.3%).

R. STAHL confirms forecast for financial year 2025
Given the persistently challenging economic environment, R. STAHL also expects business activities to pick up only slightly at best in the fourth quarter of 2025. The Executive Board continues to expect Group sales of between € 320 million and € 330 million for full-year 2025. For EBITDA pre exceptionals, R. STAHL continues to forecast a figure of between € 25 million and € 30 million and expects a balanced free cash flow. A slight year-on-year decline in the equity ratio is expected for full-year 2025.

“Global economic and geopolitical uncertainties have significantly dampened our customers’ willingness to invest. In order to adequately counteract weakness in demand for R. STAHL products and services, we will continue to consistently implement the cost-cutting measures already initiated. We will also continue to work on reducing costs and increasing efficiency in all areas of the company. The Executive Board is confident that R. STAHL will overcome the current challenging situation and continue the profitable growth course of previous years as quickly as possible”, says Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL.

 

Key figures of R. STAHL Group for Q3 and 9M 2025 pursuant to IFRS

€ million			Q3 2025			Q3 2024		Change in %			9M 2025			9M 2024		Change in %
Sales			78.6			87.4		-10.1			229.8			261.4		-12.1
Germany			18.1			21.6		-15.9			53.6			62.1		-13.7
Central region1)			37.9			39.3		-3.5			112.8			119.9		-5.9
Americas			8.9			10.0		-11.4			26.7			31.9		-16.2
Asia/Pacific			13.7			16.5		-17.3			36.6			47.5		-22.8
EBITDA pre exeptionals2)			11.3			8.8		+28.8			20.2			28.1		-28.0
EBITDA margin pre exeptionals2)			14.4%			10.0%					8.8%			10.7%
EBITDA			8.9			8.7		+1.8			16.3			27.7		-41.0
EBIT			4.0			4.1		-4.5			2.1			14.5		-85.2
Net profit			2.6			1.8		+40.2			-2.4			7.7		n/a
Earnings per share (in €)			0.39			0.28		+39.3			-0.38			1.18		n/a
Order income			72.2			74.4		-2.8			238.1			255.2		-6.7
Order backlog as of 30 September											105.8			107.9		-1.9
Cash flow from operating activities			3.8			9.8		-61.0			-2.1			8.9		n/a
Free cash flow			0.5			6.0		-92.0			-12.6			-1.0		n/a
Depreciation and amortization			4.9			4.6		+7.5			14.2			13.2		+7.7
Capital expenditures			3.3			3.8		-11.5			10.4			9.8		+5.8
											30 Sep 2025			31 Dec. 2024		Change in %
Balance sheet total											275.8			265.2		+4.0
Shareholders‘ equity											69.2			72.3		-4.4
Equity ratio											25.1%			27.3%
Net financial liabilities3)											45.5			28.8		+57.7
Net financial liabilities incl. lease liabilites											59.7			45.0		+32.8
Employees4)											1,686			1,743		-3.3

¹⁾ Africa and Europe without Germany
²⁾ Exceptionals: restructuring charges, unscheduled depreciation and amortization, charges for designing and implementing IT projects, M&A costs, gains and losses from deconsolidation transactions as well as profit and loss from the disposal of assets no longer required for business operations
³⁾ excl. pension provisions and without lease liabilities
⁴⁾ excl. apprentices

Percentages and figures in may include rounding differences. The signs used to indicate rates of changes are based on mathematical aspects: Increases are marked with a “+”, decreases with a “-“.  Rates of changes > +100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change <-100% as “n/a” (not applicable)

 

 Note
The quarterly report Q3 2025 is available for download under the following link: https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports

 

Financial calendar 2026
4 February Hamburg Investors Day HIT
24 February  Preliminary Figures for FY 2025
16 April  Annual Report FY 2025
7 May  Quarterly Statement Q1 2026
16 June  33^rd Annual General Meeting
6 August  Interim Report H1 2026
5 November  Quarterly Statement Q3 2026

 

About R. STAHL – www.r-stahl.com
R. STAHL is one of the world's leading suppliers of electrical and electronic products and systems for explosion protection. These products and systems prevent explosions in hazardous areas and contribute to the safety of people, machines and the environment. The portfolio covers the portfolio segments Electrical, Automation as well as Lighting and is completed by the cross-divisional function Customer Solutions. Typical customers are the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the oil & gas industry – including LNG applications – as well as the food and beverage industry. Most of the R. STAHL products are also approved for use with hydrogen. In 2024, global sales amounting to around € 344 million were generated by 1,743 employees. The shares of R. STAHL AG are traded on the Regulated Market/Prime Standard of Deutsche Boerse (ISIN DE000A1PHBB5).

Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of R. STAHL’s management. Although we assume that the expectations of these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee that these expectations will prove to be correct. The assumptions may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include: changes in the macroeconomic and business environment, exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, the roll-out of competing products, a lack of acceptance of new products or services, and changes in business strategy. R. STAHL does not plan to update these forward-looking statements nor does it accept any obligation to do so.

 

__________________________

Investors‘, analysts‘ and press’ conference call of R. STAHL for Q3/2025

 

 

The Executive Board will explain the results of Q3 and 9M 2025, will present an outlook for the rest of the year and will be available for questions afterwards.

 

today, November 4, 2025 at 10:00 CET.

 

The conference call will be held in English language.

To participate (acoustically), please use the link below. After registration, that you may do at any time, you will receive dedicated dial-in details to easily and quickly access the call at the specified time:
https://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=5308030&linkSecurityString=c7158b358

Along with the conference call, we will provide a presentation (visually only) through an online webinar. Please log on as a participant on the following website (no password required); this link is provided to you again with the dial-in details for the conference call:
https://www.webcast-eqs.com/rstahl-q3-2025/no-audio

A replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the conference call has ended on the company’s website in the section corporate > investor relations > IR news and ad hoc news > events and presentations (https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/events-and-presentations)

 

Contact:

R. STAHL AG
Judith Schäuble
Director Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Am Bahnhof 30
74638 Waldenburg (Württ.)
Germany

Tel. +49 7942 943-1396
investornews@r-stahl.com