VAT Group AG

Reported H1 sales declined 8% year-over-year. H1 gross profit declined 7% year-over-year, but gross margin improved to 66.6% from 65.5% a year ago. H1 EBITDA margin was 29.0% versus 29.6% last year. Q2 orders were a record more than CHF 500 million, up 40% sequentially and up 102% year-over-year; first-half orders rose 75% year-over-year. The order book was up 50% since the last report and more than 120% versus last year. For Q3 2026, VAT guided sales to CHF 355 million-CHF 385 million. Management reiterated a year-end quarterly factory output run rate of more than CHF 450 million and said 2026 should be a record year for orders, sales, free cash flow, EBITDA margin, and net income versus 2025.

Urs Gantner said the demand environment is being driven by AI-related semiconductor manufacturing expansion, not direct data center exposure, and emphasized that more than 140 fabs are being built or expanded. He described the company as moving from a ramp-up phase into a smoother operating mode, with 60 specification wins in H1 and more than 700 hires supporting production. On Atonarp, he stressed the strategic rationale is to extend VAT beyond vacuum solutions into process sensing and real-time analytics for future nodes, especially around two nanometer and below.

Fabian Chiozza highlighted the unusually strong order momentum, including record Q2 orders of more than CHF 500 million, a 1.7x book-to-bill, and an order book over 120% above last year. He said H1 gross margin improved to 66.6% despite lower sales, helped by the reversal of last year’s working-capital effects and continuous-improvement programs, while EBITDA margin was 29.0% because ramp costs were frontloaded in H1. He said the company has already added more than 700 employees, expects only 10%-15% more net additions in the second half, sees no major further margin pressure from inflation, and expects H2 operating leverage to be stronger. On Atonarp, he said VAT will spend about 0.5% of revenue in additional R&D and expects meaningful bottom-line contribution by the end of the decade.

Analysts focused on whether VAT’s order growth implies double ordering, how much of the momentum is due to pricing, and what capacity and demand look like for 2027. Management said the strong orders are mainly customers securing supply during a ramp, not pre-buying ahead of price hikes, and that the order window has opened up because fab and supplier ramps require longer planning. On 2027, management said growth appears likely but it is too early to quantify, though the CHF 450 million run rate by year-end is needed to support 2027. They also said China remains strong, with orders still about one-third of the total, and that adjacencies are growing faster than valves, though still dependent on customer tool configurations.