CEWE cuts 2026 EBIT forecast to €75.5–81.5 million, including Kodak costs
Key Facts
CEWE cut its 2026 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) forecast range to €75.5–81.5 million, from €85–91 million before deal costs, after putting transaction and pre-closing costs for the acquisition of Kodak Moments’ business during the year at about €9.5 million. In an official announcement published on November 9, the company said its revenue forecast was unchanged and that management still viewed its underlying operating earnings estimate in the revised plan as steady. The revision reflects the inclusion of acquisition-related costs in the fiscal-year forecast, while completion of the deal remains subject to the fulfillment of its conditions. CEWE added that an after-tax gain from the commercial printing business it sold would be added to the group’s net income. The announcement thus distinguishes the deal’s impact on operating profit ranges from the effect of the business sale on net income.
Alongside the cut to its EBIT forecast, CEWE expects profit before tax of €75–81 million, compared with a previous range of €84.5–90.5 million. It also lowered its forecast for net income from continuing operations to €51–56 million, from €57–62 million. These ranges remain separate from the after-tax gain of €25.2 million from the discontinued Commercial Online-Print unit, which the company said would contribute to group net income. Management said the underlying operating earnings forecast on which the revised plan is based had not changed. The published forecasts therefore combine expected acquisition costs in 2026, lower ranges for operating results and continuing operations, and a gain from the sale of a former business.
The revenue forecast is unchanged, with CEWE still targeting growth of up to 4% in 2026, within a range of €780–810 million. The company’s plan for the year was last updated in May 2026, before it signed the agreement to buy Kodak Moments, and therefore did not include the subsequently specified estimate for transaction and pre-closing costs. This context frames the reduction in profit ranges as an update to 2026 estimates following the determination of deal costs, while the revenue range remains unchanged. In March, the company had forecast revenue of €870–900 million and EBIT of €87–93 million, based on 2025 results, when revenue was €864.5 million and EBIT about €88.2 million. The March forecasts came before the plan update in May and before the acquisition agreement announced in July.
CEWE announced in July that it would buy the global instant-photo business of Kodak Alaris, which operates under the Kodak Moments brand. The business has about 500 employees and operates around 37,000 connected photo stations in 16,000 stores, with annual revenue of about €200 million. The deal represents an international expansion of the company’s instant-photo business, with the transfer of the business to CEWE subject to the completion of the relevant procedures and conditions. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the first half of 2027, subject to conditions including regulatory and antitrust approvals. The expected 2026 costs therefore precede completion of the acquisition, according to the timeline provided by CEWE.
Previous second-quarter results show that deal costs had already affected reported operating profit: CEWE said group EBIT for that quarter included €3.7 million in acquisition transaction costs and came to negative €6.8 million. At the same time, second-quarter revenue rose 6% to €143.9 million, while operating EBIT was negative €3.1 million; the company said the result was in line with expectations given the usual seasonal pattern. It also reported that the sale of the Commercial Online-Print unit was completed on July 2, 2026. In August, the company reaffirmed the 2026 plan then in place, before later specifying acquisition and pre-closing costs in its November announcement. CEWE is scheduled to publish its third-quarter interim statement on November 12, 2026.