EQS-News: Rational remains on track for success with organic growth of 8 percent in the first half of 2026

Press release

Rational remains on track for success with organic growth of 8 percent in the first half of 2026

• Sales revenues of 324 million euros in the second quarter – 642 million euros after six months
• Organic growth of 8 percent in the first half of 2026 – 6 percent increase in sales revenues
• 29.0 percent EBIT margin in the second quarter thanks to tariff refund – 26.5 percent after six months
• Forecast confirmed

Landsberg am Lech, 6 August 2026 “Despite exceptionally high levels of political and economic uncertainty, our business is performing well. Top-level performance does not happen overnight, but rather through clear goals, systematic further development, and the drive to become better every day,” says Dr Peter Stadelmann, summing up the recipe for success. On the morning of 6 August 2026, the company, whose head office is in Landsberg am Lech (Germany), published its business figures for the first six months of 2026.

Organic growth of 8 percent in the first half of 2026 – 6 percent increase in sales revenues

After a strong start to the year, RATIONAL generated sales revenues in the second quarter of 2026 of 324 million euros, 4 percent above the prior-year figure of 310.9 million euros. Currency effects played only a minor role in that. As a result, consolidated sales revenues in the first half of 2026 increased by 6 percent to 641.5 million euros (2025: 606.2 million euros) and were even around 8 percent more than in the prior-year period after exchange rate adjustments.

The first quarter was shaped by pull-forward effects in connection with the price increase in the United States. “After a very strong start to the year, we continued our positive business performance in the second quarter. Sustained high demand in many markets confirms the attractiveness of our solutions and the strength of our business model,” says CEO Dr Peter Stadelmann.

Growth drivers in the first half of the year were primarily the European markets. In Europe (outside Germany), sales revenues rose by 9 percent, attributable in particular to the markets in Scandinavia, Austria, Spain, and France. Rational’s home market of Germany also grew by 9 percent. Despite the weak US dollar, sales revenues in North America went up slightly by 1 percent. After exchange rate adjustments, growth in this region was just over 10 percent. In contrast, performance in Asia continued to be challenging with a decline in sales revenues of 2 percent. After exchange rate adjustments, sales revenues in the region rose by 4 percent. The decline in sales revenues was attributable in particular to the Chinese market, while the region’s largest individual market, Japan, continued to perform well.

Sales revenues in the iVario product group rose in the first half of the year by 14 percent to 79.4 million euros (2025: 69.6 million euros). The iCombi product group also performed well and increased its sales revenues by 5 percent to 562.2 million euros. Both product groups thus contributed to the successful business performance in the first half of 2026.

29.0 percent EBIT margin in the second quarter thanks to tariff refund – 26.5 percent after six months

Cost of sales rose more slowly in the first half of the year, up 4 percent to 258.1 million euros (2025: 248.5 million euros), bringing the gross margin to 59.8 percent (2025: 59.0 percent). The reason for the unexpectedly high gross margin is the reimbursement of US IEEPA tariffs totalling around 14 million euros in the second quarter of 2026. “This reimbursement had a significant positive effect on our gross margin. Without this special effect, cost of sales would have risen faster than sales revenues due to higher tariffs and logistics costs,” says CFO Jörg Walter.

EBIT (profit before financial result and taxes) rose by around 11 percent in the first half of the year to 169.9 million euros (2025: 153.4 million euros). The full impact of the tariff refund is visible here as well. Operating costs amounted to 215.3 million euros (2025: 205.6 million euros) in the first six months, which equates to a slightly slower increase in costs of 5 percent. The EBIT margin rose to 26.5 percent, up from 25.3 percent in the prior-year period. “Even without the tariff refunds, the EBIT margin would have been within our expectations at 24.3 percent,” adds CFO Jörg Walter.

Number of employees rises to more than 2,900 worldwide

Rational’s success is the result of the high level of commitment and hard work of all its employees, the “entrepreneurs in the company”. At the end of June 2026, the Rational Group employed 2,913 people worldwide, including 1,581 in Germany. We added approximately 120 new employees in the past 12 months. “Further investment was made in particular in strengthening the sales organisations, what is also underscored by the increase in customer-oriented sales functions by 8 percent,” adds CEO Dr. Peter Stadelmann.  

Forecast of growth confirmed

With the successful first six months and a tangible recovery in demand at the end of the second quarter, the company is confident about the coming months. The high level of new orders and the rise in orders on hand provide a solid foundation for further business development and confirm the expectation of sustainable growth in the second half of the year. “This starting point gives us tailwind for the second half of the year. We are therefore confident and expect our growth trend to continue, and that we will reach our targets for the full year,” says CEO Dr. Peter Stadelmann.

For fiscal year 2026, the company confirms the forecast of an EBIT margin in the range of 25 to 26 percent. “The tariff refund has a positive effect on our earnings performance and provides additional scope for cushioning current negative impacts from higher material, logistics, and tariff costs,” stresses CFO Jörg Walter.

Contact:

Rational Aktiengesellschaft

Stefan Arnold / Head of Investor Relations
Tel. +49 (0)8191 327-2209
Fax +49 (0)8191 327-72 2209

E-mail: ir@rational-online.com
rational-online.com

Editorial note:

Rational is the global market and technology leader for innovative cooking systems in commercial food preparation. Its customer base ranges from restaurants and hotels to company canteens, hospitals, schools, universities, military facilities, prisons and retirement homes, fast food restaurants, party catering, supermarkets, bakeries and snack outlets, butchers’ shops, service stations, and delivery services, including ghost kitchens.

According to company estimates, the potential global market for combi ovens is around 4.8 million professional kitchens, around 75 percent of which still use traditional cooking equipment. All these appliances can be replaced with intelligent cooking systems – the iCombi, the iVario and the iHexagon. In this way customers can improve the quality of their food and save money. In addition, Rational offers a large variety of services for customers, such as accessories, care products, service parts, training, and technical services.

The results of the unique customer benefit philosophy include market leadership, growth, profitability and stability, as reflected in the following key figures from 2025: global market share of 50 percent, sales revenues of 1,260 million euros, EBIT of 333 million euros, EBIT margin of 26 percent, equity ratio of 80 percent.