Arcadis Raises Operating EBITA 14% to €124 Million in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Arcadis announced its third-quarter 2026 results in Amsterdam on October 28, for the quarter ended September 30, reporting a 14% year-on-year increase in Operating EBITA to €124 million from €108 million. The margin on this measure was 12.5%, compared with 11.6% a year earlier, an increase of 90 basis points. EBITA, a measure distinct from Operating EBITA, rose 5% to €106 million from €102 million. The figures show that the 14% increase applies to the operating measure, while growth in reported EBITA was lower. Net revenue rose 6% to €991 million from €936 million, as organic growth accelerated to 4.3% from 1.0% in the third quarter of 2025.
Gross revenue was €1,313 million, compared with €1,232 million a year earlier, a 7% year-on-year increase. Operating EBITDA rose to €148 million from €132 million, representing growth of 12%. The company said the improvement in the Operating EBITA margin was linked to higher resource utilization and lower overhead costs. It added that operating leverage and continued cost-control measures also supported the margin. These factors accompanied an improvement in organic net revenue, whose growth accelerated compared with the same period a year earlier.
Arcadis attributed revenue growth to strong demand in energy and water, major transport programs, and improvement in industrial manufacturing and technology. Chief Executive Heather Polinsky said performance reflected "continued strength in energy and water, accelerating momentum in industrial manufacturing and technology, and major transport programs." The Places segment recorded organic growth of 1.2% during the quarter. Segment growth rose to 4.2% excluding architecture, China and non-core activities. The company said all three business areas contributed to growth, while the Resilience and Places segments drove backlog growth.
Free cash flow was €131 million in the third quarter, compared with €80 million in the same period of 2025. Days sales outstanding, a measure of collection days, fell to 65 days from 73 days. The backlog reached €3.9 billion at the end of the quarter, recording annual organic growth of 7.9%. The company said the backlog provides visibility that supports future revenue growth. The backlog had stood at €3.615 billion at the end of 2025, after organic growth of 2.7% during the year, before reaching a record €4.0 billion at the end of the first half of 2026.
In the first half of 2026, organic net revenue growth rose to 2.2% in the second quarter from 0.8% in the first quarter. The Operating EBITA margin was 11.4% in the second quarter, compared with 11.3% in the second quarter of 2025, before reaching 12.5% in the third quarter. For fiscal 2025, the company recorded net revenue of €3.8 billion, with an organic decline of 0.5%. The annual Operating EBITA margin was 11.1%, compared with 11.5% in 2024, while it reached 10.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 12.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company linked the pressure in that quarter to real estate and investment performance within the Places segment.
Arcadis reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, forecasting low-single-digit organic net revenue growth and an Operating EBITA margin of between 11.7% and 12.0%. Its 2027–2029 plan sets a target for mid-single-digit organic net revenue growth. The plan targets a mid-to-high-teens Operating EBITDA margin by 2029, with this measure becoming the key margin indicator from 2027 instead of Operating EBITA. The restructuring includes the sale of the majority of its architecture business and its China operations, and the company expects the exit to increase the Operating EBITDA margin by around 100 basis points. It also targets reducing overhead by around 1,000 jobs in 2027, and set February 18, 2027, for publishing fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results, and April 29, 2027, for its first-quarter 2027 update.