This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
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Revenue:EUR 2.2 billion, up 3.2% year-on-year in constant currency.
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Organic Revenue Growth:Stable for the first half of 2026, with 4% organic growth in Q2 reversing the Q1 decline.
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Gross Profit:EUR 524 million, up 4.3% year-on-year, with a margin of 24.2% (up 28 basis points).
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Adjusted EBITA:EUR 233 million, up 2.6% year-on-year, with a stable margin of 10.7%.
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Net Profit:EUR 86 million, a slight increase from the prior year.
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Free Cash Flow:EUR 122 million, with a conversion ratio of 52.3%.
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Net Debt:EUR 1.6 billion, with a leverage ratio of 3.4 times.
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Regional Revenue (EMEA):EUR 990 million, up 1.7% year-on-year, with an organic decline of 4.6% offset by acquisitions.
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Regional Revenue (Americas):EUR 748 million, up 2.3% year-on-year, entirely organic growth.
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Regional Revenue (Asia Pacific):EUR 428 million, up 8.2% year-on-year, entirely organic growth.
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Life Sciences Revenue Growth:3.8% year-on-year.
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Industrial Chemicals Revenue Growth:2.1% year-on-year.
Release Date: July 30, 2026
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
Positive Points
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Azelis Group NV ( AZLGF ) achieved positive group organic revenue growth for the first time in over a year, with 4% growth in Q2 2026.
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The company delivered stable margins in H1 2026, demonstrating disciplined execution amid raw material volatility and supply chain challenges.
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Adjusted EBITA grew 12% year-over-year in Q2 2026 and 23% sequentially, reflecting strong earnings momentum.
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APAC and Americas regions showed robust organic growth, with APAC accelerating from 4% in Q1 to 13% in Q2 2026.
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The company maintained a healthy conversion margin of 44.4% in H1 2026, improving sequentially from 42.4% in Q1 2026.
Negative Points
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EMEA region remained challenging with a 4.6% organic revenue decline in H1 2026, impacted by soft demand and tough comps.
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The flavors and fragrance business in EMEA faced competitive price pressure, negatively affecting performance.
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Azelis Group NV ( AZLGF )'s agri business was adversely affected by exceptionally dry weather conditions.
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The US experienced weak volumes in CASE due to supply constraints from key principles during the period.
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Weak macroeconomic conditions in Brazil and Mexico led to overall weakness in the company's business in those markets.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you provide some color on Q3 trading and whether the gross margin benefit from a favorable inventory position could unwind in Q3? A: Anna Bertona (CEO): We see the order books continuing in a positive way, which supports our positive outlook for positive EBITA growth for the full year, assuming current market conditions continue. On the margin, the benefit from having lower-cost inventory when prices went up will ease out. Currently, we have no indications of large price increases or decreases from our principals to come, so no change is expected on the pricing side.
Q: Given your exposure to the Middle East in EMEA, can you comment on the current conditions and outlook? Also, can you comment on supplier mandate wins and the outsourcing trend? A: Anna Bertona (CEO): The Middle East had a more difficult start in Q1, but performance improved in Q2, and we see this continuing, which will be helpful for EMEA's performance for the rest of the year. Regarding supplier mandates, our net wins are always more than our losses, and we have nice conversations ongoing. The trend in outsourcing continues, with some principals restructuring and moving more to distribution, which is a positive trend for us.
Q: Can you decompose the EMEA organic sales growth of -1% and explain the better gross margins in the region, given the softer Life Sciences performance? A: Anna Bertona (CEO): The EMEA performance was impacted by tough comps, price pressure in our large Flavors & Fragrance business, and exceptionally dry weather negatively impacting our high-margin agro business. These factors, particularly the weakness in higher-margin segments, help explain the dynamic between the organic sales decline and the gross margin improvement.
Q: Can you give a breakdown between volumes and price? And do you expect inventory levels to remain structurally higher? A: Boris Cambon-Lalanne (CFO): There is no single answer across all markets. In Q2, most of the growth in Industrial Chemicals was price-driven, while Life Sciences was more mixed between volume and price. On inventory, we may have to increase inventory if sales go up or if customers start pre-buying. We had to build up inventory to get ready for Q3 and Q4, following the well-oriented order book.
Q: Can you talk about your cost structure and whether EBITA growth can continue to outperform gross profit growth? Also, can you provide more segment-level detail for your guidance of positive EBITA growth in 2026? A: Boris Cambon-Lalanne (CFO): We are always managing costs delicately and investing when the top line picks up. We printed another quarter of savings from our plan announced in April 2025, with EUR11 million in structural savings in H1. We continue to explore optimization in the back office and through digital capabilities. We won't give further details by segment on our guidance, but we are focused on being better than inflation.
Q: CapEx was significantly down in H1. Is this timing, and what level should we assume for the full year? What is the run rate for financing costs after excluding refinancing costs? Has the use of non-recourse factoring changed? A: Boris Cambon-Lalanne (CFO): The lower CapEx is related to timing, not a trend. On financing costs, the refinancing saves us EUR6.5 million in coupon costs annually, so you should expect half of that in the H2 P&L. There is no fundamental change in our use of factoring; we will keep the usage rate at about 25% of our receivables, which is broadly stable.
Q: Did you see any significant pre-buying in Q2? A: Anna Bertona (CEO): No, pre-buying was very limited. We saw a bit in APAC, but for the rest, it was very, very limited.
Q: What is the outlook for the company given the volatile environment? A: Anna Bertona (CEO): We are operating in an environment where volatility is the norm. Given limited visibility on geopolitical developments, we assume current market conditions will broadly continue. Based on our H1 performance and Q2 momentum, our objective is to deliver positive EBITA growth for the full year while continuing to strengthen the long-term foundations of our business.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
