SBF AG (ISIN: DE000A2AAE22; WKN: A2AAE2) published its 2025 half-year report today, demonstrating resilience in a challenging market environment for the manufacturing industry. The company, specializing in rolling stock, lighting, electromechanics, and sensor technology, reported group revenue of EUR 21.9 million for the first half of 2025, slightly down from EUR 22.9 million in the same period last year. The decline was primarily attributed to short-term delays in customer call-off orders, which are expected to impact the second half of the year as well. However, SBF significantly improved its EBITDA to EUR 0.5 million, up from EUR 0.1 million in H1 2024, thanks to restructuring measures and efficiency improvements. Adjusted for a precautionary entry related to a customer insolvency, EBITDA stood at EUR 0.9 million.
In the "Rolling Stock" segment, SBF generated sales of EUR 11 million, a 19% increase from EUR 9 million in H1 2024. Despite expected postponements in the second half, a high order backlog ensures good capacity utilization in the coming months and years, supported by the company's strong position in the rail market. The "Public and Industrial Lighting" segment reported revenue of EUR 4.5 million, below initial expectations and down from EUR 6 million in H1 2024, due to weaker order intake and a sluggish industrial economy in Germany. To counter this, SBF relocated production to its Budweis site, now fully operational with lower rental and personnel costs, and obtained product certifications for projects with Deutsche Bahn and local authorities. The "Sensor Technology and Electromechanics" segment performed solidly, generating EUR 7 million in revenue, unchanged from H1 2024, with measures to increase earnings already showing positive effects. The segment's promising order backlog points to a good result by year-end, and increasing synergy effects are expected to strengthen the group's earnings power in the long term.
Robert Stöcklinger, member of the Management Board of SBF AG, commented: "We are operating in an extremely challenging market environment. Consumer reluctance, supply chain problems, and structural adjustments are shaping the business. In this demanding phase, we have once again demonstrated our resilience. We are well on track to achieve our annual targets. For the coming years, we see new opportunities arising from extensive investments in infrastructure, mobility and defense. We intend to actively pursue these opportunities."
SBF confirmed its 2025 outlook, expecting group revenue between EUR 43.0 and 46.0 million (2024: EUR 47.2 million) and consolidated EBITDA in the range of EUR 1.5 to 2.5 million (2024: EUR 0.6 million). The company aims for a significant improvement in profitability from 2025 onwards. The half-year report is available on the company's website at https://www.sbf-ag.com/investor-relations/finanzpublikationen.
