In the automotive sector, the picture at the turn of the year was mixed. While business expectations brightened slightly, the current situation continued to be considered challenging. At Bertrandt, capacity utilization also remained low due to ongoing delays in project decisions by certain customers. Nevertheless, order intake nicely improved at the end of the quarter. This supports Bertrandt’s assessment that the awarding of development projects will continue to normalize over the course of fiscal year 2025/2026.
“The automotive manufacturers are currently driving both technological diversity and the expansion of their model portfolios. These developments are significantly increasing the demand for engineering services. In addition, our customers’ investments in research and development will continue to grow in the coming years. This is also confirmed by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The fact that R&D budgets remain at a fundamentally high level continues to provide us with attractive opportunities in the engineering market,” says Markus Ruf, Member of the Management Board, Finance.
In the first quarter of 2025/2026, Bertrandt generated total sales of EUR 234.052 million (Q1 2024/2025: EUR 266.451 million), remaining below the prior-year level. However, compared to the two preceding quarters, business performance already showed signs of stabilization. Despite declined revenues EBIT reached a positive EUR 0.238 million in the reporting period (Q1 2024/2025: EUR -2.143 million). This significant improvement reflects the effectiveness of the “Fit for Future” performance improvement program as well as additional cost‑reduction measures. The headcount decreased to 11,932 employees as of December 31, 2025 (prior year: 13,605).
Assuming a gradual increase in capacity utilization over the course of the fiscal year – particularly in the second half of the reporting period – the Management Board maintains the forecasts presented in the 2024/2025 Annual Report (page 152 et seq.). Accordingly, Bertrandt continues to expect a moderate* increase in total sales and a significant* improvement in EBIT to a positive figure.
The most important key figures at a glance
| IFRS-based figures for the Bertrandt Group | 01/10/2025 until 31/12/2025 | 01/10/2024 until 31/12/2024 |
Total revenues (in EUR m) | 234.052 | 266.451 |
EBIT (in EUR m) | 0.238 | -2.143 |
Free cash flow (in EUR m) | 46.658 | 38.238 |
Equity (in EUR m) | 304.493 | 361.460 |
Equity ratio (in percent) | 46.4 | 42.3 |
Employees worldwide | 11,932 | 13,605 |
*moderate: 0-10%, significant: >10%
About Bertrandt
Through our development performance, we accelerate technological progress and make a relevant contribution to a sustainable future. We are an independent and international development service provider with many years of automotive expertise. With cross-industry know-how and a holistic understanding of systems and products, we create technological solutions along the entire value chain. We deal with a focus on trend topics such as digitalization, e-mobility and autonomous systems, mainly for the automotive, aviation and mechanical engineering sectors, and consistently facilitate the development of tailored solutions in these areas. We work on this every day – with around 12,000 employees at over 50 sites worldwide.
