Sartorius sales rise 4.9% in nine months as earnings and cash flow improve
Key Facts
Sartorius reported a 4.9% increase in sales for the first nine months of 2026, alongside higher earnings, improved cash flow and lower leverage, according to the group's earnings statement. Sales reached 2,737.2 million euros, compared with 2,610.5 million euros in the same period of 2025. Operational sales grew 8.1% in constant currencies, excluding customer reimbursements for U.S. tariffs. The company had reported operational growth of 7.7% in the first half of the year, also in constant currencies and excluding those reimbursements. The operational growth rate for the period through the end of September thus accelerated compared with the rate the group reported for the first half. Customer reimbursements for tariffs totaled about 31 million euros during the nine months, according to the earnings statement. The company recorded these reimbursements as a reduction in sales and cost of sales, while the operational growth measure excludes their impact and holds exchange rates constant.
In terms of operating profitability, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 827.8 million euros during the nine months, from 774.2 million euros in the corresponding period. Growth in these earnings reached 6.9%, outpacing the group's reported sales growth over the same period. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 30.2%, compared with 29.7% a year earlier, according to the company. In the first half of 2026, the margin had reached 30.3%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points year on year. In the first quarter of the same year, the group recorded a margin of 29.7%, according to its financial report for that period. The nine-month margin was above its first-quarter level and below its first-half level, while remaining above the margin for the corresponding period a year earlier.
The improvement extended to adjusted net profit, which reached 259.8 million euros during the first nine months of 2026, according to Sartorius' statement. That compares with 243.6 million euros in the same period of 2025, an increase of 6.7%. In cash flow, free cash flow rose to 310.0 million euros, compared with 199.7 million euros in the comparison period. Alongside higher earnings and cash flow, the ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA fell to 3.33 times as of 30 September 2026. The ratio had stood at 3.55 times as of 31 December 2025, the comparison date the group cited to measure the change in its leverage.
Sartorius said consumables remained the main driver of growth in the group's business, while Chief Executive Michael Grosse described a continuing recovery in another area of demand. Grosse said in the earnings statement that "demand for bioprocessing equipment and instruments continued to recover." That assessment follows management's description of the equipment and instruments business in the first-quarter results as still weak, with an improvement expected during the year. The group provides solutions to biopharmaceutical companies, according to its corporate fact sheet. Its products include filtration and fluid management technologies, alongside fermentation and cell culture technologies. These products fall within the company's operations for which it reported nine-month financial results, with consumables continuing to drive growth. The company has preference shares trading under the symbol SRT3 and ordinary shares under the symbol SRT, according to the same fact sheet.
For fiscal 2026, management maintained its forecast for operational sales growth in constant currencies, excluding tariff reimbursements, near the midpoint of a range of 5% to 9%. It raised its adjusted EBITDA margin forecast for the Lab Products & Services division. It now expects the division's margin to come in slightly above 21%, compared with its previous estimate of slightly below 21%. The guidance thus combined an unchanged operational sales growth forecast for the group with an improved profitability estimate for the Lab Products & Services division for the same year. Sartorius plans to publish its full-year results and annual report on 23 February 2027.