PALFINGER Posts €61.549 Million Loss, Expands Efficiency Program as Profits Decline
Key Facts
PALFINGER swung to a consolidated net loss of €61.549 million in the first nine months of 2026, after posting a profit of €72.380 million in the same period a year earlier. The company said a reassessment of its Russian operations led to a one-off, non-cash provision of about €135 million in the third quarter. It said the provision reduces consolidated earnings but does not affect operating profit or cash flow. Earnings per share fell to -€1.64 from €2.04. The loss comes as market pressures that affected the company’s business continued through the first three quarters.
Operating profit was €120.737 million, compared with €128.174 million a year earlier, while the operating margin fell to 7.5% from 8.2%. The company said weak economic activity in Germany, customers’ reluctance to invest in the United States and geopolitical uncertainty affected business development. In its first-half results published on July 28, PALFINGER reported revenue of €1,165.6 million, operating profit of €84.1 million and consolidated net income of €48.0 million. At the time, it pointed to a structural program targeting sustainable savings of €25 million starting in 2027. The company is now expanding its efficiency plan amid continued pressure on profitability.
Demand varied across regions; it remained resilient in Northern and Southern Europe, while the German market stayed weak. In North America, the company saw the first signs of recovery in the commercial vehicle market, while demand remained lower in key U.S. categories. By contrast, truck-mounted crane activity reached a record level, partly benefiting from investment in data centers. This divergence across markets and activities comes as the group contends with subdued demand in some regions and sources of growth in others. The company did not provide a single figure in its announcement measuring the impact of these regional factors on results.
PALFINGER is targeting sustainable savings of €50 million by 2028, with €25 million of the impact set to begin in 2027. The plan includes simplifying structures, improving its global production and procurement network, and raising productivity through automation and greater use of artificial intelligence. These targets expand the structural program, which had aimed for savings of €25 million starting in 2027, according to the first-half results announcement. The company is linking cost reductions with productivity improvements in response to weakness in some markets. It did not provide further details on how the targeted savings are divided among the different measures.
As part of a portfolio reshaping, the company signed a binding preliminary agreement for the potential sale of its passenger lift and tail lift businesses to a strategic investor. The sale has not been completed; the transaction remains subject to closing conditions and approval by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office. PALFINGER expects it to close at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. The company said the reassessment of its businesses in the Commonwealth of Independent States, alongside its passenger lift and tail lift activities, will affect consolidated earnings. It presents the transaction as part of efforts to refocus its portfolio, with the timing still dependent on meeting the conditions and securing regulatory approval.
PALFINGER announced on September 30 that it had begun implementing a legal structure to strengthen the separation of its Russian units, which will result in their removal from consolidation. At the time, it estimated an additional impact on net income of about €45 million in subsequent quarters, with the estimate linked to currency movements. In its latest results, the company reported a one-off provision of about €135 million following a reassessment of its Russian operations. For fiscal 2026, it expects revenue to be slightly higher than the previous year and operating profit to be slightly lower. It also expects consolidated earnings to be affected by the reassessment of its Commonwealth of Independent States businesses and its passenger lift and tail lift activities.