EXEL Industries revenue falls to €855.7 million, down 13.0% year on year
Key Facts
EXEL Industries said revenue for the financial year from October 2025 to September 2026 totaled €855.7 million, down 13.0% from €983.0 million in the previous year. The decline was 12.0% excluding the effects of currency movements and changes in business scope, according to a company statement published via GlobeNewswire on October 28. The drop came amid weak demand across the group's activities, which include agricultural spraying, sugar beet harvesting, leisure and industry. Agricultural spraying was the largest single contributor to the annual decline, with revenue falling by €55.7 million. Fourth-quarter figures, however, showed an improvement in agricultural spraying, while industrial weakness remained a major factor behind the group's revenue decline during the period.
Revenue from agricultural spraying fell 13.8% to €347.6 million, compared with €403.3 million in the previous financial year, making it the largest source of the decline in absolute terms. The company attributed the weak agricultural cycle to falling farm prices and higher input and diesel costs, alongside tighter financing conditions. It said the conflict in the Middle East compounded the rise in input costs, weighing on investment decisions by farms and distribution networks. As a result, industry participants deferred investment as agricultural markets remained weak. The full-year result reflects the continued impact of these pressures, even as agricultural spraying revenue improved in the final three months.
Sugar beet harvesting revenue fell 14.6% to €126.5 million from €148.1 million in the previous year. The company linked weakness in the European market to a decline in planted areas and sugar prices, both of which prompted the sector to defer investment. The activity recorded a €21.6 million decline on reported figures, the second-largest drop among the activities for which the statement provided detailed figures. Leisure revenue also fell 7.4% to €131.9 million, compared with €142.4 million. The company attributed weakness in the European garden market to unfavorable weather and pressure on household purchasing power, which also limited demand in this activity.
In industry, the company said the activity was affected by a slowdown in several markets, particularly the European automotive industry, and by numerous projects being deferred to financial year 2026–2027. Europe recorded the steepest decline among regions, while revenue also fell in Asia, with the exception of India, which maintained steady growth. North America, by contrast, grew, and the Americas accounted for a larger share of the activity's sales. Industrial weakness was clearly reflected in the fourth quarter, when the activity was the main source of the group's revenue decline. These developments make project deferrals to the following financial year one of the factors likely to affect the trajectory of industrial sales in the coming period.
Group revenue in the fourth quarter, from July to September 2026, was about €245.4 million, down 4.7% on a reported basis and 5.0% like for like from the same period a year earlier. Agricultural spraying diverged from the group's trend, with revenue rising 4.8% to €97.8 million from €93.3 million. The company attributed improved demand in Australia to better weather, while sales in North America remained at low levels. The activity's fourth-quarter growth marked a reversal from its 13.8% full-year decline, but was not enough to offset lower revenue from other activities. The quarter, according to Chief Executive Daniel Trajous, showed signs of stability in Australia and North America, while the European agricultural market remained very weak.
Trajous said talk of a cycle reversal was “premature,” despite signs of stability in the fourth quarter. The company continues to work on short-term measures to cut costs and adapt to persistently weak activity, according to its statement. Net financial debt stood at €167.8 million on March 31, 2026, compared with €174.5 million on the same date in 2025, and the company said it had maintained its financing capacity and credit lines despite difficult market conditions. In an earlier disclosure, the company said a return of the European agricultural cycle to favorable conditions was not expected in the short term and might not come before the second half of financial year 2026–2027. The upcoming annual results are expected to allow investors to assess the impact of lower revenue and cost-cutting measures on financial performance.