KION with positive start into 2026 – strong order intake

KION GROUP AG / DE000KGX8881

KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement
(news with additional features)

30.04.2026 / 06:53 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

---

Order intake significantly increases to € 2.985 billion (Q1 2025: € 2.706 billion) Revenue with € 2.771 billion close to previous year’s level (Q1 2025: € 2.788 billion) Adj. EBIT increases to € 205.2 million (Q1 2025: € 195.5 million) Adj. EBIT margin improves to 7.4 percent (Q1 2025: 7.0 percent) Positive free cash flow of € 47 million (Q1 2025: € 30 million) Strategic investment in ZIKOO Robotics, a leading provider of warehouse robotics Outlook 2026 confirmed
Frankfurt am Main, April 30, 2026 – KION had a positive start into the financial year 2026, in line with its expectations. Order intake rose significantly in an environment of major geopolitical uncertainties. Adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBIT margin increased noticeably year-on-year. Revenue in Q1 2026 was close to previous year’s level. “KION had a positive start in 2026, with order intake and profitability increasing in both operating segments. In an environment of rising geopolitical uncertainties, KION proves resilience: We confirm our outlook for 2026,” says Rob Smith, CEO of KION. “In the first quarter, we drove our ecosystem partnerships forward with Siemens, NVIDIA and Accenture and achieved significant progress in developing innovative, physical AI solutions for our customers.” Financial Results At € 2.985 billion (Q1 2025: € 2.706 billion), order intake on Group level grew significantly year-on-year and remained broadly unaffected by the Iran war. Order intake at Industrial Trucks & Services rose by 4.2 percent to € 2.041 billion (Q1 2025: € 1.958 billion). The number of industrial trucks ordered rose by 11.3 percent to 72,600, benefiting from significant growth in counterbalance trucks and warehouse equipment. The increase in new business contained pull-forward effects related to the price increases announced for early April 2026 intended to offset rising costs resulting from the Iran war. The service business declined slightly year-on-year. Order intake in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment increased significantly by 25.9 percent to € 951.2 million (Q1 2025: € 755.7 million). Project business (Business Solutions) recorded a significant upturn compared to the first quarter of 2025 driven by improved market dynamics and achieved a strong increase in orders among pure-play e-commerce and other customer segments. The service business continued to perform robustly. Group revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was € 2.771 billion, roughly on par with the prior-year period (Q1 2025: € 2.788 billion). In the Industrial Trucks & Services segment, revenue fell by 4.9 percent to € 2.012 billion (Q1 2025: € 2.116 billion). New business noticeably declined in revenue due to the lower order backlog from the previous year. Service business was slightly down year-on-year. Revenue in the Intelligent Automation Solutions segment increased by 11.7 percent in the first quarter to € 768.1 million (Q1 2025: € 687.7 million). Project business (Business Solutions) achieved a significant increase driven by the improved order book. Adjusted EBIT on Group level increased to € 205.2 million (Q1 2025: € 195.5 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.4 percent (Q1 2025: 7.0 percent). Adjusted EBIT in the Industrial Trucks & Services segment declined slightly to € 182.9 million (Q1 2025: € 185.5 million), with an improved adjusted EBIT margin of 9.1 percent (Q1 2025: 8.8 percent). The lower revenue volume was compensated by cost savings from last year’s efficiency program. At € 46.2 million, Intelligent Automation Solutions significantly increased adjusted EBIT year-on-year (Q1 2025: € 36.4 million) and achieved an adjusted EBIT margin of 6.0 percent (Q1 2025: 5.3 percent) driven by the increased earnings contribution from the project business. With € 92.2 million (Q1 2025: € –46.9 million), net income improved significantly – the result of Q1 2025 had been heavily impacted by one-time expenses related to the efficiency program. At € 47 million (Q1 2025: € 30 million), free cash flow was positive despite the variable compensation paid out in the first quarter and payments relating to the efficiency program. Strategic investment in ZIKOO Robotics, a leading provider of warehouse robotics KION today announces a strategic equity investment of 35 percent in ZIKOO Robotics, a leading provider of pallet storage robotics based in China. The company offers a range of solutions, including six-way shuttles and omnidirectional stacker robots, as well as an integrated software platform. The investment marks a significant step in KION’s strategy to build an ecosystem of automation technology partners. With their expanded portfolio of automated warehouse solutions, both companies will deliver warehouse offerings that provide higher efficiency, better space utilization and greater flexibility for their customers. Outlook KION has made a positive start to 2026. Nevertheless, the current geopolitical situation as a result of the war in Iran may take its toll on the global economy, causing energy, transportation, and material costs to rise across global supply chains. KION therefore carried out commercial and operational measures in the reporting period to limit associated cost impact. The Executive Board of KION GROUP AG confirms the outlook for 2026 that was published in February. This assessment of the anticipated performance of the Group and its operating segments is contingent on the current geopolitical situation not giving rise to additional material adverse impacts.   Outlook 2026

	KION Group		Industrial Trucks & Services		Intelligent Automation Solutions
in million €	2025	Outlook 2026	2025	Outlook 2026	2025	Outlook 2026
Revenue1	11,297.2	11,400 – 12,300	8,272.5	8,200 – 8,800	3,071.4	3,200 – 3,500
Adjusted EBIT1	788.6	850 – 1,040	721.8	765 – 885	183.2	200 – 280
Free cash flow2	709.5	430 – 570	–	–	–	–
ROCE	7.7%	8.3% – 9.7%	–	–	–	–
Disclosures for the Industrial Trucks & Services and Intelligent Automation Solutions segments also include intra-group cross-segment revenue and effects on EBIT. The outlook 2026 was prepared in accordance with the definitional adjustment of the key performance indicator free cash flow.

  Key performance indicators for KION and its two operating segments for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026

in mil. €	Q1 2026	Q1 2025	Diff
Revenue	2,771	2,788	-0.6%
Industrial Trucks & Services	2,012	2,116	-4.9%
Intelligent Automation Solutions	768	688	11.7%
Adjusted EBIT1	205	196	5.0%
Industrial Trucks & Services	183	186	-1.4%
Intelligent Automation Solutions	46	36	27.0%
Adjusted EBIT margin1	7.4%	7.0%
Industrial Trucks & Services	9.1%	8.8%
Intelligent Automation Solutions	6.0%	5.3%
Order Intake	2,985	2,706	10.3%
Industrial Trucks & Services	2,041	1,958	4.2%
Intelligent Automation Solutions	951	756	25.9%
Net Income	92	-47	> 100.0%
ROCE2	7.9%	8.4%
Earnings per Share (in €) undiluted3	0.69	-0.36	> 100.0%
Free Cash Flow4	47	30	58.5%
Employees5	41.974	42.175	-0.5%
1 Adjusted for effects of purchase price allocations as well as non-recurring items. 2 ROCE is calculated as the ratio of adjusted EBIT on an annualized basis to the average capital employed for the past five quarterly reporting dates. 3 Net income attributable to shareholders of KION GROUP AG: € 89.9 million (Q1 2025: € -47.8 million). 4 Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities plus cash from investing activities. 5 Number of full-time equivalents incl. apprentices excl. inactive employees as of respective balance sheet date December 31.

  The Company KION is shaping world trade – globally, regionally, locally – empowering its customers to unlock the full potential of their supply chains: efficient, smart, sustainable, and reliable with real-time traceability and high delivery speed. The company’s full spectrum of services includes industrial trucks, integrated automation technologies, AI-based solutions, and software as well as all related services. KION’s supply chain solutions enable the smooth flow of materials and information in our customers’ warehouses, production plants, and distribution centers in over 100 countries worldwide. The MDAX listed group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in the EMEA region based on the number of units sold in 2024. Based on revenue for the year 2024, KION is the leading overseas manufacturer in China, and including domestic manufacturers, the third-largest supplier there. In the warehouse automation market, KION is the world’s leading provider based on 2024 revenue. At the end of 2025, more than 2.0 million industrial trucks of KION were in use by customers from all manner of sectors and of varying sizes on six continents. The group currently has more than 42,000 employees and generated revenue of approx. € 11.3 billion in the 2025 financial year. You can access up-to-date image material for the KION Group via our image database https://kionmediacenter.canto.global/v/MediaCenter/ as well as on our respective brands’ websites. (cs)
Disclaimer This release and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the
United States or in any other jurisdiction. This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ significantly from the results that are currently expected due to various risk factors and uncertainties such as changes in economic or industry-specific conditions, changes in the market environment or political situation, changes in domestic or international legislation, interest rate or exchange rate fluctuations, legal disputes and investigations, and the availability of financial resources. We do not assume any responsibility for updating the forward-looking statements in this release.  

Further information for media representatives   Dr. Christopher Spies Director Group Communications Cell [phone] [e-mail]   Website: www.kiongroup.com/media Follow us on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | WeChat | TikTok | YouTube

Further information for investors   Raj Junginger Director Investor Relations Phone [phone] [e-mail]

 

---

Additional features:

File: 3004_KION GROUP AG_Press Release_Q1 2026
File: KION_Warehouse_PressRelease

---

30.04.2026 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
View original content: EQS News

---

Language:	English
Company:	KION GROUP AG
	Thea-Rasche-Straße 8
	60549 Frankfurt/Main
	Germany
Phone:	[phone]
E-mail:	[e-mail]
Internet:	www.kiongroup.com
ISIN:	DE000KGX8881
WKN:	KGX888
Indices:	MDAX
Listed:	Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate BSX
EQS News ID:	2318496

End of News	EQS News Service

---

2318496  30.04.2026 CET/CEST