Brenntag SE

The company did not state Q2 revenue or EPS on the call, but it said total sales increased by about 11% year over year, with BS up about 6% and inventory up 11.8%. Working capital outflow in Q2 was EUR 353 million, and working-capital turns improved to 7.5x. Thomas Reisten said the second quarter included about EUR 40 million of bonus provisions and other effects, and the cost efficiency program reached a EUR 41 million run-rate. Management reiterated a full-year target of about EUR 150 million from the cost program this calendar year, with EUR 200 million to EUR 250 million expected next year. For the second half, management said gross profit should moderate step by step in Q3 and be at a relatively similar level to the prior year in Q4, with no guidance given for revenue or EPS.

Jens Birgersson sounded constructive but cautious. He said volumes are holding steady, not accelerating, and emphasized that Brenntag’s growth now depends more on market share gains, cross-selling, and better commercial execution than on a strong industrial backdrop. He highlighted progress in material science, beauty & care, pharma, and the use of AI in pricing and customer analytics, while saying the company is less focused on gross profit per tonne and more focused on customers and volumes.

Thomas Reisten framed the Q2 working-capital increase as a temporary technical effect driven mainly by pricing, not by inventory volume build or shortages. He pointed to EUR 353 million of working-capital outflow, 11% sales growth, 11.8% inventory growth, and improved turns of 7.5x, and said the peak was already reached by quarter-end with improvement visible at the start of Q3. He also cited about EUR 40 million of bonus provisions and other items in Q2, a EUR 41 million cost-savings run-rate, a EUR 150 million target for this calendar year, and EUR 200 million to EUR 250 million next year.

Analysts pressed on flattish volumes, the apparent Q2 prebuying effect, working capital, and whether Q3/Q4 guidance implies a sharp step-down in earnings. Management said customer inventories normalized after a 4-6 week build, but they do not see an inventory bubble or demand destruction. They also said the Q2 working-capital build was driven by higher replenishment prices rather than shortages, and that Q3 gross profit should ease sequentially before Q4 normalizes closer to last year. On specialty versus peers, management said Brenntag’s mixed portfolio, especially Nutrition, can weigh on comparisons, but they see improving commercial traction and stronger execution rather than purely price-driven gains.