This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
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Revenue:Q2 2026 revenue increased 20% quarter-over-quarter to almost EUR66 million, an 8% increase year-over-year.
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H1 Revenue:First half 2026 revenue was EUR120 million, roughly flat compared to the first half of 2025.
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Segment Revenue (Material Solutions):H1 revenue was EUR67.6 million, 10% below the first half of 2025.
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Segment Revenue (Metrology):H1 revenue was EUR53 million, 20% above the first half of 2025.
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Order Intake:Increased by more than 80% year-over-year in H1 2026, with EUR89 million in Material Solutions and almost EUR100 million in Metrology.
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Gross Profit Margin:Q2 2026 gross profit margin was 30%, up from 28.5% in Q1; H1 combined margin was 29.3%.
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EBITDA:Q2 2026 EBITDA was EUR3 million, impacted by non-period expenses of nearly EUR4 million, including a provision for potential customer compensation in Material Solutions.
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Guidance:Full-year 2026 guidance confirmed, with EBITDA expected in the lower half of the guidance range.
Release Date: August 06, 2026
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
Positive Points
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Order intake surged over 80% year-over-year in H1 2026, driven by strong demand in both Material Solutions and Metrology segments.
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Metrology segment revenue grew 20% year-over-year in H1, with order intake exceeding the expected run rate, reflecting successful strategic transformation.
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Strong order book provides visibility for coming quarters, with expectations of gradual revenue and earnings improvement in H2 2026.
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Indium phosphide market presents a significant growth opportunity, with an estimated demand of 500-600 furnaces and a strong competitive position to capture a significant share.
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Metrology production capacity for 2027 is already fully booked, with early orders for 2028, indicating sustained demand and increasing visibility.
Negative Points
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H1 2026 EBITDA was significantly impacted by one-off effects, including a provision for potential compensation with a customer in Material Solutions.
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Material Solutions revenue declined 10% year-over-year in H1, with profitability below expectations due to product mix and underutilization.
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EBITDA margin in Q2 2026 was negatively affected by non-period expenses of nearly EUR4 million, including the provision and LTI program costs.
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Guidance for full-year 2026 EBITDA is at the lower half of the range, reflecting weaker-than-expected H1 profitability.
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Material Solutions order intake is lumpy, with Q2 2026 seeing a decline from the exceptionally strong Q1, and the company faces execution risks in delivering H2 revenue acceleration.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you provide more color on the demand for new metrology capacity for 2028, including the geographical mix and the level of the expected backlog for 2027 and 2028? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): The demand is coming from both the North American and Asian markets. We have moved through the qualification phases, giving us more transparency on expected investment volumes, with visibility extending partly into 2029. Order intake is developing gradually rather than through one-off effects. We are focusing our capacity on the most important growth areas, which has shifted our order book from manual and semi-automated systems toward high-volume activities. This year, the volume area has significantly overachieved the more manual system area.
Q: Given the substantial jump required in Q4 to meet the lower end of the EBITDA guidance, what is your visibility and confidence in delivering this, and what are the main risks? A: Markus Grob (CFO): Our guidance for the second half is based on an updated forecast, and most of the revenue is coming from our order book, giving us good visibility. We can assess the expected gross profit margins from these orders, which brings us to the lower half of the EBITDA guidance. The main risks are execution-related, such as a customer delaying a system delivery, which would affect revenue recognition timing. Currently, we are quite confident in our projections.
Q: Can you quantify the market opportunity for indium phosphide furnaces, and over what timeframe do you expect this to materialize? What is the price tag for such a furnace? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): We see the market development from 2027 to 2030, with the first orders already in our books for 2026, though at a very low volume. The market is expected to grow strongly until 2030. We estimate a total demand of 500 to 600 furnaces in a base case scenario. Since competition comes more from internal design, we expect the addressable market to be 20%-30% of the total. The price per system is in the low single-digit million EUR range, depending on the setup and add-ons.
Q: What was the nature of the provision booked in Material Solutions in Q2, and should we expect any similar effects in the future? A: Markus Grob (CFO): The provision is related to an older project with a single customer and represents the best feasible solution for us. It is not a structural issue or a quality problem with our portfolio, but rather a one-off for an individual system. We are currently in negotiations, so I cannot provide more detail. We do not expect similar effects for the rest of the year.
Q: Can you provide an update on the qualification processes with customers for the high-volume metrology business? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): The majority of the qualification processes we previously discussed have been finalized, and we are now in the volume business with these customers. We are working on additional accounts where we are not yet in volume. Half of the big players are already in close contract and final agreements with us, while we are working on the other half. We see limited competition in this field, and while customers typically use dual or triple sourcing strategies, we are making good progress in winning market share.
Q: How should we think about the order intake cadence for Material Solutions and Metrology in Q3 and Q4? A: Markus Grob (CFO): In Material Solutions, based on the projects we are currently discussing, we are confident we will be at a very good level comparable to H1, though the timing of contract closures between Q3 and Q4 is hard to predict. For Metrology, based on forecasts, we expect order intake to gradually increase over the second half of 2026 and reach a substantial level going forward.
Q: Can you quantify the expected cost synergies from the organizational changes in Metrology and Material Solutions, and when will they become visible? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): The financial impacts are coming from areas we announced in Q1, such as closing the Coburg facility and consolidating our team into the PVA Vision center of excellence in Dresden. This is more about focus than restructuring. In Material Solutions, we are redesigning operational processes, including reducing lead times, improving material availability, and implementing more strategic purchasing. The leadership structure has changed, and we have started a pilot at one site. The rollout will begin in 2026, with the majority of the restructuring completed within 2027, contributing gradually to our margin targets.
Q: Are the existing capacities sufficient for the expected development in the indium phosphide business, or is a larger investment program necessary? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): The existing capacities are sufficient as we expected. We have already stepped into the R&D phase and will continue with the projects we started. We are now catching the market with our current capabilities.
Q: How do you differentiate your optical metrology from established players like KLA? A: Jalin Ketter (CEO): We are not in competition with those players. This is an area of the market where none of the big players are active, similar to our ultrasound metrology business. We are focusing on back-end and packaging-related applications with more automated systems, which is a niche we are well-positioned to serve.
Q: Can you provide more color on the one-offs that impacted H1 profitability, and will they reoccur in H2? A: Markus Grob (CFO): The one-offs in Q2 totaled a little less than EUR4 million, with the largest being the provision for a customer in Material Solutions. There were also several smaller items, including additional costs from the LTI program due to share price development and volatility. We have factored everything we know as of today into our guidance, and we do not expect any surprises in the second half. OpEx is expected to be at a lower level in H2 as these non-period expenses will not reoccur.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
