Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Technotrans webcast on our results for the first nine months of 2026. My name is Frank Dernesch, and I am Head of Investor Relations and Treasury. I am pleased to welcome you today together with our CFO, Natascha Sander. This morning, we will take you through four topics. First, the key messages from the first nine months and our progress in the third quarter. Second, the developments in our focus markets and the strategic orders supporting our growth. Third, our financial performance, cash flow, and balance sheet. Fourth, our strategy, Ready for Growth, and our outlook for the full-year.
Following the presentation, Natascha will be available to answer your questions in the Q&A session. Before we begin, please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements. These reflect the current views of the board of management and are based on corresponding plans, estimates, and expectations. They are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. With that, I am pleased to hand over to Natascha Sander. Natascha, the floor is yours. Thank you.
Thank you, Frank, and good morning from me as well. Before I begin, I would like to mention that Michael Finger is unfortunately unable to join us today due to illness. We wish him a speedy recovery. I will therefore take you through our operational and strategic progress, as well as our financial results and the outlook. Ladies and gentlemen, let me start with the central message. Technotrans is building momentum. We improved our performance quarter-by-quarter with discipline and with a clear focus on profitable growth. Despite the challenging economic environment, our order backlog reached a new all-time high. This is a solid foundation for the execution of our Ready for Growth strategy. Let's look at our performance in the first nine months. Group revenue reached EUR 175.7 million. This was 4.2% below previous year, mainly driven by the weaknesses in Print and Plastics.
Our EBIT margin improved from 7.0% to 7.2%. Despite lower revenue, a higher margin. This clearly demonstrates the structural improvement in our earnings quality. It also underlines the resilience and strength of our business model. Our product portfolio is improving. Our services segment provides stability and high profitability, and our cost structure is efficient. The free cash flow of EUR 5.2 million is impacted by working capital buildup due to growth. Our clear priority now is to turn that positive momentum into sustainable growth, stronger earnings, and cash. At the end of September, our order backlog reached an all-time high with EUR 103 million. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.2. Order intake exceeded revenue by 20%, providing a solid and clear foundation for further growth. Let me highlight the most important developments.
Follow-up orders for CDUs for data center liquid cooling, battery thermal management systems for rail and buses, temperature control units for high-tech application, and signs of stabilization in Plastics and Print. The strong order backlog positions us well for the expected acceleration in top-line growth. Coming to our focus markets now. Energy Management remains our central growth driver. Revenue increased by 7% to EUR 49 million, representing 28% of group revenue. Excluding the standard laser business, growth was even 19%, another quarter of accelerating growth. In particular, liquid cooling for data centers developed strongly. Healthcare & Analytics also continued to grow. Revenue rose by 6% to EUR 25.1 million. Print showed signs of recovery. Nine months revenue was EUR 56.6 million, down by 8%, mainly driven by the tax and tariffs. Revenue development stabilized from quarter-to-quarter. Plastics also moved towards stabilization.
Revenue reached EUR 40.1 million, down by 15%, mainly due to the weak economy. The decline narrowed compared with the first half. The picture is differentiated, but clear. Structural growth in Energy Management and Healthcare & Analytics, gradual stabilization in Print and Plastics. Let's have a look at the highlights of our focus markets, starting with Energy Management. Data center cooling is gaining momentum. in October 2026, we received a follow-up order for coolant distribution units, CDUs, for the Asian market with a value in the mid-single-digit million euro range. This order will be fully recognized in revenue in 2026. Overall, in the data center business, we expect revenue for the full-year to triple compared with 2025. In response to the rising demand, we added a fourth production line for CDUs. Deliveries of battery thermal management systems, BTMS, for rail vehicles and buses also developed positively.
Moving to Healthcare & Analytics. Demand for medical and analytical technology remained robust. At the LAB-SUPPLY in Graz, we presented our new vibration-free Peltier benchtop cooler and systems using natural refrigerants. These solutions address demanding requirements for precision, sustainability, and regulatory compliance, and they create additional growth opportunities. Coming to Plastics now. In July, we have won a long-term, large-scale production order for compact temperature control units for the high-tech industry. This major order is expected to generate recurring revenue of more than EUR 10 million per year. In October, we attended the Fakuma. This exhibition was successful, with many qualified discussions and specific customer inquiries. Strong interest in various thermal temperature control and cooling technology using the natural refrigerant propane. Live applications demonstrated the interaction of connected thermal management solutions in injection molding. Let's have a look at Print now.
As expected, we saw first signs of stabilization in the focus market Print from quarter-to-quarter. Packaging, flexographic, and digital printing remains the key drivers for this development. Let me summarize. Energy Management and Healthcare & Analytics have continued to grow. Major orders in data center and battery cooling for rail are driving further scale in Energy Management, while demand in Healthcare & Analytics remains robust. At the same time, new orders support the recovery in Print and improve the perspective for Plastics. Revenue was lower in the first nine months of 2026, but in line with our expectations. More importantly, the order momentum across all focus markets confirms our strategic progress. The developments in our focus markets show that we are systematically transforming our core competence into profitable, resilient business. I am pleased to inform you that recently, an important recognition of our transformation took place.
In October, Technotrans was honored as one of the winners of the NRW – Wirtschaft im Wandel 2026 Award in the category mid-sized and large companies. A 12-member expert jury recognized our journey from supplier to the printing industry to a global thermal management technology company. North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister for Economic Affairs, Mona Neubaur, presented the award to us. This award is an external endorsement of what our strategy is delivering, relevant technology, a stronger position in future markets, and opportunities in AI, data center, and electric mobility. Our transformation is being recognized, and Ready for Growth is taking it to the next level. Let me now take you through the financial performance in more detail, starting with the top line. After a weak start into the year, revenue gained momentum quarter-by-quarter. This resulted in a particularly strong quarter with EUR 62.4 million.
Respectively, revenue reached EUR 175.7 million in the first nine months compared to EUR 183.5 million in previous year. The strong growth in Energy Management and Healthcare & Analytics did not fully compensate for the lower revenue in Print and Plastics. But again, Energy Management and Healthcare & Analytics maintained their strong growth momentum, confirming their importance to our Ready for Growth strategy. Turning to profitability. Our EBIT margin remains sustainably strong and shows continuous improvement quarter-by-quarter.
In Q3, the EBIT margin rose to 7.4%. In the nine-month period, the EBIT margin was at 7.2%. On the back of a favorable product mix within the technology segment, a higher share of services revenue, and improving cost efficiency, our profitability continued to strengthen. EBIT reached EUR 12.6 million compared to EUR 12.8 million. Our focus on growth markets, efficiency, and execution is paying off, driving higher margin despite lower revenue.
Let's turn to our segments. Technology revenue was EUR 131.1 million compared to EUR 138.6 million in the previous year. The decline of 5.4% mainly reflected the weaknesses in Print and Plastics, whereas Energy Management and Healthcare & Analytics grew strongly. Despite the lower volume, segment EBIT increased from EUR 5.8 million to EUR 6.1 million. The EBIT margin improved from 4.2% to 4.6%. Less revenue, more profit. This is a meaningful improvement in the performance of the business.
The drivers were an improved product mix and efficiency measures. The quarterly development in 2026 also demonstrates a continued improvement in earnings quality. The EBIT margin in Q3 reached 5%. Our technology segment is becoming more resilient, and our initiatives are clearly supporting profitability. Services remained a stabilizing pillar of the group. Revenue of EUR 44.6 million was close to the previous year's EUR 44.9 million. Segment EBIT reached EUR 6.5 million compared to EUR 7 million.
The EBIT margin was 14.7%, down from 15.5%. Besides lower volume, a change in the product mix within the services business was a key factor for this decline. The services segment remains highly valuable to Technotrans. It supports earnings, strengthens customer relationships, and provides stability across the cycle. Let's turn to free cash flow. Free cash flow reached EUR 5.2 million in the first nine months compared to EUR 8 million in the previous year. The development was impacted by seasonal working capital buildup. Inventories increased to support the high order backlog and to be ready for growth. Trade receivables went up due to a strong revenue level in September and timing effects. At the same time, higher contract liabilities and trade payables had a compensating effect. According to our expectations, the free cash flow in Q3 was strong with EUR 5.7 million. Our target is clear.
We remain focused on cash conversion. For the full-year, we continue to expect free cash flow slightly above EUR 10 million. Gross profit reached EUR 52.2 million compared to EUR 53.6 million. The gross margin rose from 29.2% to 29.7% due to the optimized product mix in technology and the higher services revenue share. EBITDA was at EUR 17.4 million compared to EUR 18 million. The EBITDA margin increased from 9.8% to 9.9%. Net profit amounted to EUR 7.7 million compared to EUR 8 million. Earnings per share were EUR 1.12 against EUR 1.15 in the previous year. Our balance sheet gives us a solid and strong foundation for our growth strategy. The equity ratio of 63.1% is still on a high level. Net debt was EUR 9.9 million. Compared to previous year, net debt increased mainly due to the already mentioned buildup of working capital for expected growth.
Net debt/EBITDA ratio decreased to 0.42x, remaining on investment grade level. Our strong balance sheet provides us with the financial flexibility to fund growth and execute our strategy from a position of strength. That brings me to our strategy. In the first nine months, we continued to advance our Ready for Growth strategy as planned. The key priorities remain straightforward: profitable growth, stronger earnings, and the conversion of growth into free cash flow. Our ambitious targets for 2030 are clear. Revenue of more than EUR 350 million, an EBIT margin of 9%-12%, and sustainably improved free cash flow. The opportunities are tangible. We are benefiting from structural trends which require thermal management, AI, electrification, decarbonization, digitalization, and medical progress. At the same time, the short-term environment remains challenging. Geopolitical uncertainty, volatile raw material prices, supply chain constraints, and a weak economy continue to affect our markets.
Nevertheless, we are making good progress with our Ready for Growth strategy. Energy Management continues its strong growth. We are scaling the business and expanding our production capacity. Healthcare & Analytics also maintains its positive momentum, and Plastics and Print show signals for recovery. This is reflected in our order situation. Our order backlog increased to EUR 103 million. Book-to-bill reached 1.2. Most importantly, we continue to win orders. We secured major orders across all four focus markets, including liquid cooling for data centers, battery cooling for rail, and compact temperature control units for Plastics. These orders confirm our strong positioning in attractive growth markets. They provide scale, and they increase the visibility of future revenue. To support this growth, we are expanding our site in Sassenberg. Construction start is planned in 2027. Overall, we are well on track with our strategic priorities.
We are building the foundation for further profitable growth with one clear objective: the creation of sustainable value for our shareholders. Let us turn to the outlook for the remainder of the year. The geopolitical and economic environment remains uncertain. Supply chain disruption might impact our business. Europe and Germany remain challenging markets despite signs of improvement. Against that background, Energy Management remains our main growth driver. We also expect Healthcare & Analytics to develop positively. In Print and Plastics, we see moderate stabilization. However, this is unlikely to offset their year-on-year revenue declines in full. Taking our performance to date and current market conditions into account, we are refining our revenue outlook. We now expect group revenue towards the lower end of the original range of EUR 240 million-EUR 260 million. Our profitability and cash flow guidance remain unchanged.
We continue to expect an EBIT margin of 6.5%-8.5% and free cash flow slightly above EUR 10 million. Ladies and gentlemen, let me close the presentation with three messages. First, the business is becoming more resilient. Our EBIT margin increased despite lower revenue. quarter-by-quarter, profitability improved, reaching an EBIT margin of 7.4% in the third quarter. Second, the growth opportunities are becoming more concrete. Data center orders, expanded CDU capacity, and the large Plastics order are tangible developments with long-term perspective. Third, momentum is improving. Revenue and margins increased sequentially, and the third quarter delivered a strong cash contribution. Our task is to sustain that progress. This is the investment case we are working to strengthen: relevant technology, exposure to structural growth, a resilient earnings base, and a strong balance sheet.
We want to turn opportunity into orders into profitable growth, and profitable growth into cash and shareholder value. This is our commitment under Ready for Growth. Thank you very much. I now look forward to your questions. Frank, please open the lines.
Thank you very much, Natascha. Let's turn to the Q&A right now. If you would like to ask your question via audio line, please click on the raise hand button. If you are dialing in by phone, please press star nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute yourself. Additionally, you are also welcome to ask your questions in our chat, and we will read them out for you. The lines are now open. I see some raised hands. Please, the first one is Mr. Augustin. Please go ahead.
Now, can you hear me?
Yes.
Yes.
Great. Thank you very much. I have actually four questions. The first one is on the expansion in Sassenberg. You said we expect the expansion in 2026. Could you remind us when exactly you will start the production, and currently, how many shifts do you run in the CDU lines?
Yes. In the CDU lines, we have extended our capacities to a fourth production line. Currently, we are running one shift, and if you refer to our construction projects to attend the production and the logistics facility here in Sassenberg, we plan to start the construction in the first half of 2027, and we plan to finalize in 2028, mid of 2028, end of 2028, and then to start the production as well.
2028. Thank you. The next one is on the service and the service margin. You refer to a change in product mix as one of the reason or as a reason for a bit lower margin. Can you be more specific here, or respectively, on the other way, is this a temporary mix shift that you see, or is that something that we should expect a little bit with a longer duration?
Yes. The product mix considers two things. On the one hand, we have a slight shift in the focus markets mix, and on the other hand, we have a change in the mix of our services categories, like spare parts and installation services, and repair. But for the future, we expect to achieve a service EBIT margin of approximately ±15% . It's always depending on the focus markets and the services mix.
All right, thank you for that one. The next one is actually on Energy Management, or respectively, the second part in Energy Management, because one part is actually very nicely growing. The other part should be a bit more in the decline. If I do the math correctly, the standard laser business is actually accelerating a little bit its decline. From a strategic point, what are we going to do with the standard laser business?
Yes. For the standard business, we have the standard laser for which we see increasing competition from the Asian markets. This business is down compared to last year. We already informed on our Capital Markets Day that we reduce this business due to the competition from Asia. For the EUV laser business, we expect a positive trend in the future.
All right. Finally, on the supply chain that you mentioned, where exactly do you expect possible challenges in the fourth quarter?
Yes. We are seeing constraints, especially in heat exchangers, in some kind of electronical components, and also for some kind of pumps.
Do you think those will be transitory? Are there measures that you can take to-
Of course. We are implementing or working on countermeasures to offset those implications.
When will those be in place?
They have already started, and we are continuously working to improve the situation.
All right. Thank you very much.
You are welcome, Mr. Augustin.
Yes, thank you also from my side, Mr. Augustin. The next one I see on the list is Johannes Ries. Mr. Ries, please go ahead.
Yeah. Good morning. First, all the best to Mr. Finger now. As I said, he recovers very fast. First question, coming back to the question of Mr. Augustin, is the standard laser, remind us how big is this business? Maybe how big is maybe the declining business now at the moment, so we have a feeling of the size of it.
We do not disclose the exact numbers.
Roughly, is it below EUR 10 million?
For the standard laser, it is below EUR 10 million, yes.
Okay, that is helpful.
The declining part.
Yeah. Maybe to a more important question, the data center business. First, how big is the pipeline? It seems that you expect a much higher business in the future, given your capacity plans and the new build you will start next year. How has the pipeline developed maybe for future years? Do you see an increase in the pipeline? A little bit in this regard, if I look to the development in the market and other players in the market, which also in the cooling space, you seem a little bit lacking.
If I compare it even to the expectation Mr. Finger maybe told us two years ago, it seems that your partner is maybe developed slower than expected, or maybe the system you created with him is maybe not exploding like the U.S. partner expected. Therefore, first about the pipeline, and secondly, why maybe the business is not even growing faster?
Yes. For the data center business, the market is developing dynamically. You can see it in the development of our order situation we published this year. We are gaining more and more orders. We see that the demand for liquid cooling is increasing continuously, especially driven by the increasing demand from AI and computing. Looking at the next year, we expect additional further growth for data center cooling.
Why maybe you seem a little bit lacking? Other guys in the cooling space were even growing faster. My feeling was that your partner was much more optim- Mr. Finger, two years ago at the equity forum in Frankfurt, said he is I don't believe these figures, and even if it comes less, it will be very great. It seems that the start has been much slower than expected. What are the reasons for this?
Yes, we are in a close relationship and partnership with our partners. We have a view on the market development and the opportunities. Of course, it takes some time to build up a data center due to the high energy demand. The energy support supply needs to be set up, regulatory requirements, and so on. It's more a question of timing. We see the structural increase, and it's rather a question of timing.
Okay. From 2030, this business will be meaningful higher than this year?
Pardon? Can you repeat your question, please?
2030, this business will be meaningfully higher than this year?
Yes, of course.
Yeah.
Until 2030, we expect a significant growth in data center cooling.
Maybe three-digit million figures, maybe?
It depends on the market.
On print and plastics, do you expect a further improvement given the strong orders in the first quarter? Maybe, could this business stabilize to be at least flattish, given maybe your backlog you have next year, from today's view? You have not given a concrete guidance, but only from today's perspective.
Yes. Over the course of this year, the markets, Plastics and Print, they recovered. Print recovered from a quarter-by-quarter, and at the moment, we see a level of stabilization. For the Plastics business, we won the long-term order for temperature control units with a potential of more than EUR 10 million per year. For next year, we expect a stabilization for Print and Plastics.
Okay, super.
We see positive signals at the market.
Great. Finally, only remind us on the margins of the four segments from a range. Maybe what is the most profitable down to the least profitable, and maybe where is the highest upside to bring you to the 2030 targets?
We do not disclose the margins per focus markets. Thanks for your understanding.
But no range? Maybe the plastic is still maybe-
We also do not disclose ranges.
Okay. Thanks a lot.
You are welcome.
Thank you very much, Mr. Ries. Let's turn to the next participant. That's Patrick Speck. Please, Mr. Speck.
Yes, good morning. Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Yes.
Perfect.
Thank you for taking my questions. My first question is on your supply chains as well. To me, your comments sounded a bit like there might have been some delays due to supply chain issues in Q3, and maybe of some deliveries that did not occur. Is this the case?
The constraint for this year are considered in our guidance that we've confirmed.
I mean, within the third quarter, have there been some delays and maybe deliveries that did not occur and were postponed to Q4?
Yeah. So there were some delays in Q3, but no significantly delays as we started working on countermeasures on a very early stage.
Okay. Secondly, on your strong order backlog, could you please tell us what proportion of this order backlog is considered to become revenues in 2026 still, and how much relates to 2027, and maybe already the years after?
Yes. So, of course, a high portion belongs to the year 2026, but also a material portion refers to 2027, and we have a slight portion that refers to years after 2027. Especially our rail projects, they have longer lead times.
Do you share with us the distribution across the focus markets, the distribution of this order backlog?
No, we do not disclose the order backlog on a focus market level.
Lastly, the midterm targets you presented, this is fully organically, right?
Yes. This is organically, but in addition to that, of course, we are working on an M&A roadmap.
Okay. All right. Thanks a lot.
You're welcome.
Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speck. I do not see any more raised hands currently, so let's turn to the written questions we received. The first two ones are by Christoph Gebert. I will read them out for you. The first one is, "When and to which extent do you expect revenue growth in services to pick up?"
Yes. For the future, we expect an increase in services revenues. Yeah, especially at the moment, technology business is increasing. We are increasing our installed base, and after the warranty period ends, we, of course, yeah, see a potential for additional services revenue.
Okay, thank you, Natascha. The second question by Christoph Gebert is, "With the book-to-bill of 1.2, what are your revenue growth expectations for 2027? Already double digit?"
Our revenue guidance for 2027 will be published on March 18th next year with our annual statements for 2026. Based on the current order backlog and the market developments, we expect, of course, growth for the next year. At the moment, I cannot give you or I cannot disclose the exact numbers.
Thank you. Let's turn to the third question we received by Quang Trinh. It's called, "Given the recent cyberattacks on commercial and institutional refrigeration controllers in France, OT and physical infrastructure security are now up top of mind for critical facilities. While your data center CDUs operate in a different environment, could management elaborate on how Technotrans addresses cybersecurity and firmware integrity in its liquid cooling control units? Are hyperscale customers demanding higher compliance standards?"
Of course, the standards are very high in the data center business cooling, and we follow those requirements and those standards. If we take a look at our facilities and our business in Technotrans, of course, we implemented a lot of cybersecurity software and prevention measures.
Yes, thank you very much. I do not see any more questions currently. Let's give it some seconds. Are there any further questions? This seems not to be the case. Please let me hand back to Natascha for the closing remarks.
Okay. Thank you for your questions, we look forward to meeting our investors on the German Equity Forum in Frankfurt on November 23rd and 24th. Our next scheduled reporting date is March 18th, 2027, when we publish our annual statements for 2026. For any further questions in the meantime, please contact our investor relations team. On behalf of Michael, Frank, and the entire Technotrans team, thank you very much for your continued support and your interest in Technotrans. Take care and bye-bye.