Lenzing's €600m Rebuild: Profits Double, Yet the Stock Trades 22% Off Its Peak
Published on 08/14/2026 at 16:02 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
There is an uncomfortable tension at the heart of Lenzing's latest half-year report. The Austrian fibre maker has more than doubled its net profit, yet its share price sits roughly a fifth below its June high, and the company is simultaneously closing plants and asking shareholders for hundreds of millions in fresh capital. For anyone trying to read the tea leaves, the message is deliberately mixed.
The headline numbers tell one story. Net profit after tax climbed to €35.6 million in the first half of 2026, up from €15.2 million a year earlier. But strip away that bottom line and a more sobering picture emerges: revenue slipped from €1.34 billion to around €1.27 billion, while EBITDA contracted to €239.2 million from €268.6 million. Management attributes the decline to reduced fibre production and weaker external pulp sales — an admission that the company is shrinking its way toward profitability rather than growing into it.
That shrinkage is deliberate. Lenzing has unveiled a strategic overhaul dubbed "Grow Nonwovens, Reset Textiles," under which it will expand its nonwovens business through 2030 while restructuring its traditional textiles operations. The cost of that pivot is substantial: the company expects up to €150 million in impairments on long-term assets and as much as €40 million in restructuring provisions to weigh on this year's EBITDA. The Austrian plant in Heiligenkreuz is slated for closure by the end of 2026, the UK facility in Grimsby by the end of 2027, and the Indonesian site PT South Pacific Viscose has been put up for sale. Roughly 2,000 jobs are expected to be cut worldwide.
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The Financing Test Arrives August 25
For investors, the more consequential event than the half-year figures is the €600 million capital package set to be approved at an extraordinary general meeting on August 25. Up to €300 million will come from a rights issue, with a further €300 million via refinancing. Core shareholders B&C Gruppe and Suzano have already committed roughly €156.7 million, with Oberbank adding about €11.6 million; international banks are expected to underwrite the remainder.
That the largest owners are writing cheques rather than heading for the exits is a meaningful signal of confidence in the medium-term plan, which targets a €150 million EBITDA improvement, a margin of 20 to 25 percent, and leverage below 2.5 times EBITDA. Yet the rights issue also dilutes existing shareholders — a price the company is evidently willing to pay to fund its restructuring without relying solely on organic improvements.
The market has responded with caution. The stock closed at €23.10 on Thursday, roughly 22 percent below its 52-week high of €29.75 from June. Year-to-date the shares are nearly flat, down just 0.7 percent, though over twelve months they have lost about 13 percent. Trading below all relevant moving averages, the equity reflects lingering uncertainty about whether the transformation will deliver before the costs of executing it mount further.
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A New CEO Carries the Weight
Georg Kasperkovitz, who took over as CEO at the beginning of June while also serving as chief operating officer, holds a mandate running until the end of May 2029 — effectively tying operational leadership to the full duration of the restructuring. It is a demanding brief: the half-year numbers show an operating business not yet on a stable trajectory, and the free cash flow of €45.8 million, while improved, remains modest against the scale of the planned investment.
The stock has gained around 4.5 percent since the strategic reset was confirmed two weeks ago, a move that could be read as investor relief that months of speculation about plant closures and job cuts have finally been resolved. Whether it signals genuine conviction is another matter — the shares remain well below their recent peak, suggesting the market is still weighing the dilution against the promised payoff.
Politics adds another layer of complexity. Burgenland's governor, Hans Peter Doskozil, has indicated willingness to take over the Heiligenkreuz site should the closure materialise, though no agreement is in place.
The question facing shareholders ahead of August 25 is not whether the restructuring was necessary — the declining revenue and margin pressure make that case convincingly — but whether the financing will hold long enough for the new strategy to bear fruit. The doubled profit offers encouragement; the 22 percent drawdown in the share price offers perspective. Both are true, and investors must hold both in mind.
