Trust Deficit Deepens at BayWa as Criminal Probes and Restructuring Delays Hit Q1 Revenue

Agribusiness group BayWa reports 35% revenue drop to €2.3B, faces criminal investigations, BaFin reprimand, and shareholder lawsuits as restructuring scares off customers.

BayWa is fighting on multiple fronts — and losing ground on most of them. The Munich-based agribusiness group faces criminal investigations, a formal reprimand from Germany’s financial watchdog, mounting investor lawsuits, and a restructuring that is itself scaring off customers. First-quarter 2026 numbers released this week show just how corrosive the uncertainty has become.

Revenue fell to €2.3 billion from €3.6 billion a year earlier, a decline of 35.3 percent. Some of that drop stems from the sale of RWA, but even stripping that out, comparable revenue slid by €513.4 million, or 18.2 percent. Management attributed the weakness to poor weather, a sluggish construction sector, inventory adjustments, and — critically — a reluctance among clients to commit to long-term projects while the group’s future remains in doubt.

“Investment decisions have been postponed and existing contract volumes reduced,” BayWa said, acknowledging that the public narrative around its restructuring is directly weighing on operations.

Legal Storm Intensifies

The legal front is deteriorating fast. Munich prosecutors are investigating former chief executives Klaus Josef Lutz and Marcus Pöllinger on suspicion of breach of trust and misrepresentation in the 2023 annual accounts. Both men deny the allegations, and the presumption of innocence applies. Police raids were conducted in January. The audit committee is also examining whether PricewaterhouseCoopers was correct to issue an unqualified audit opinion for 2023 without flagging any existential risks; the audit oversight body Apas is conducting its own review.

In parallel, law firm TILP is rounding up aggrieved shareholders for damages claims. The legal basis is a formal BaFin reprimand stating that BayWa omitted material details about a billion-euro loan and refinancing risks attached to a €500 million bond in its 2023 management report. Anyone who bought shares between January 2022 and January 2026 may be eligible to join. BayWa has formally objected to the regulator’s findings and is separately exploring claims against PwC.

Q1 by Segment: A Mixed but Troubling Picture

The agricultural division, BayWa’s core, posted revenue of €499.4 million, down 17.4 percent from a year earlier. Lower grain prices, reduced volumes, a delayed season start, and intermittent wholesale activity all contributed.

The technology unit fared little better. Sales came in at €400.7 million compared with €459.4 million in Q1 2025. New machinery sales actually rose about 10 percent, but that was more than offset by a near-20 percent plunge in the used-equipment business.

Renewable energies, the troubled division that was meant to be sold for around €1.7 billion, saw revenue drop 23.1 percent to €624.8 million. Those anticipated proceeds have since been written out of the restructuring plan after US subsidy cuts cratered project valuations and the planned sale fell through.

Bright spots were scarce. The heat and mobility unit grew revenue to €338.9 million from €309.1 million, driven by crude oil price effects, though volumes for heating oil and fuel were flat. Building materials held steady at €219.7 million. Global produce fell 7.1 percent to €217 million.

A Triple Deadline in Autumn

BayWa’s rescue hinges on three conditions that must all be satisfied by autumn 2026: a fully audited 2025 annual report, the agreement of core lenders DZ Bank and UniCredit/HVB to extend the standstill agreement, and the completed sale of New Zealand fruit distributor T&G Global. Fail any one, and the whole restructuring framework collapses.

The 2025 accounts cannot be prepared until the restructuring concept is revised and an auditor signs off. BayWa now expects to publish the group financial report on October 30, 2026. No date has been set for the half-year report, third-quarter update, or annual general meeting. Until audited statements appear, the share price remains a bet on trust rather than fundamentals.

The stock closed Tuesday at €12.50, down 13.5 percent over the past month and 25.4 percent since the start of the year. Over twelve months the loss is roughly 32 percent.

T&G: The Last Major Asset

Goldman Sachs was mandated in March to sell BayWa’s 74 percent stake in T&G Global. The New Zealand apple marketer is no basket case: it generated US$1.3 billion in revenue in 2024 and swung back to a net profit of US$16 million. Its premium apple brands Envy and Jazz make it a strategic prize. The expected proceeds are about €300 million.

But the process is complicated by minority shareholder Joy Wing Mau Group of Hong Kong, which holds nearly 20 percent of T&G and has pushed back. Of BayWa’s target to raise €4 billion from disposals by 2028, only €1.3 billion has been secured so far.

Debt Write-Downs and Job Cuts

The overhaul is draconian. Creditors are being asked to waive roughly €1 billion of debt. Around 1,300 jobs will go, and revenue is to be halved to €10 billion by 2028. Bavarian cooperative banks have already written down a €220 million promissory note by 60 percent, and their association president Stefan Müller said a total loss is possible.

Notably, the 2026 adjusted EBITDA target of around €140 million now looks a distant ambition. There is no formal guidance for 2026 at all. The new restructuring plan, due by mid-year, will set the final terms — but until the triple deadline is met, every quarter brings more uncertainty than clarity.