Sulzer Ltd

Sulzer did not give a full H1 revenue figure in the call, but management said group sales were about flat to slightly up at plus 1% in the half year. Group order intake was down 3.9% in H1, with Q1 order intake down 8.6% and Q2 quarter-to-date up 1.2%. Group EBITDA margin was 15.5%, up 110 basis points year over year, and management said H1 2023 had been 12.9%. Order intake margin was 35.7%, down 60 basis points, with Chemtech order intake gross margin down from 35.9% to 32.3%. Flow EBITDA margin reached 13.3%, up 100 basis points; Services EBITDA margin also rose by 100 basis points and Services order intake gross margin was 40.6%. Chemtech sales were down 4.9% in H1 and order intake was down 22.7%; management said the core MTCS business was stable and showing signs of bottoming. Free cash flow was hit by higher net working capital, which was about CHF 100 million higher than H1 2025, and Thomas Zickler said the cash flow impact from working capital was around CHF 40 million. For FY 2026, Sulzer reaffirmed guidance for order intake growth of 1% to 5%, sales growth of 2% to 5%, and an EBITDA margin of around 16.5%.

Suzanne Thoma framed the quarter as mixed: operationally strong, but held back by geopolitical disruption and slow customer decisions on large projects. She emphasized that Flow and Services are resilient, that Chemtech is in an accelerated transition, and that the company’s Excellence program is now visibly delivering results. Her tone was confident about the pipeline and the structural demand themes around energy, water, and chemicals, while remaining clear that near-term order timing is still uncertain.

Thomas Zickler focused on the numerical drivers: lower large-order activity, a 5% or roughly CHF 100 million FX impact on orders and sales, and a CHF 40 million free-cash-flow hit from working capital. He said the group’s EBITDA margin improved to 15.5% from 12.9% in H1 2023, Flow reached 13.3%, Services posted a 40.6% order intake gross margin, and Chemtech’s order intake gross margin fell to 32.3% because of the missing PLA order and weaker new technologies. He also said Chemtech restructuring costs in H2 should be low-single-digit and noted an expected CHF 8 million impairment for the R&D center in Singapore, while saying the company still expects net working capital to improve into year-end if larger Q4 orders arrive.

Analysts pressed for detail on delayed service cycles, Middle East pipeline projects, flow subsegments, and whether weak Q3 order intake could force a guidance cut. Management said about 20% of Services is repair work and roughly 20% to 30% of that repair activity is being delayed for weeks or months, that Saudi/Oman/Iran pipeline projects are still in planning with Sulzer close to the customers, and that larger orders are expected mainly in Q4 rather than Q3. On Chemtech, Suzanne Thoma said the MTCS core business is likely at the bottom, but she stressed that sales execution also needs to improve. When asked directly about guidance, she said a weak Q3 alone would not trigger a revision from today’s perspective.