Lenzing Backs 120 Million Euro Savings Drive With 2026 Guidance Raise as Net Loss Widens
Published on 11/05/2026 at 17:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Lenzing has raised its earnings outlook for 2026 while reaffirming the cost-cutting program meant to underwrite its restructuring, giving investors two pieces of news to weigh against a nine-month balance sheet still deep in the red. The Austrian fiber maker now expects adjusted EBITDA of EUR 430 Mio. to EUR 460 Mio. for the year, ahead of the prior-year figure of EUR 425,6 Mio. Shares climbed 4,0% following the announcement.
The guidance sits alongside a pledge, reiterated today, to strip out an additional EUR 120 Mio. in costs by the end of 2027, measured against a 2025 cost base. Roughly 600 jobs will go as part of the plan. Production at Heiligenkreuz is slated to stop by the end of the first quarter of 2027, with the Grimsby site scheduled to cease output by the end of 2027.
A Mixed Nine-Month Scorecard
The operational picture for the first nine months of 2026 is one of margins improving even as revenue slipped. Sales came in at EUR 1,926.3 Mio., while adjusted EBITDA held steady at EUR 353 Mio. The adjusted EBITDA margin strengthened to 18,3% over the period. In the third quarter alone, the margin rose to 17,3% from 13,3% a year earlier.
Beneath the adjusted line, the restructuring is taking a visible toll. Restructuring costs of EUR 36,6 Mio. pulled reported EBITDA down to EUR 316,4 Mio., and non-cash impairments of EUR 136,1 Mio. on the Heiligenkreuz and Grimsby sites added further weight. The bottom line showed a net loss of EUR 130,3 Mio., wider than the EUR 105 Mio. loss posted a year earlier.
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Management points to a stabilization of day-to-day business, though media reports noted that revenue declined and the loss grew over the same stretch.
Where the Turnaround Is Headed
Beyond the savings target, Lenzing is reshaping its product mix. The company intends to expand its nonwovens business and sharpen its textile fibers portfolio around premium and specialty products, pulling back from lower-margin standard fibers to lift earnings power. The restructuring weighs on reported results for now, but the medium-term ambitions are explicit: an EBITDA increase of EUR 150 Mio., an EBITDA margin of 20–25%, and a leverage ratio below 2,5. Those are targets, not results already banked — the test will be how the measures feed through to operating performance and cash generation.
Financing and the Shareholder Register
The capital increase that took effect roughly two weeks ago brought in about EUR 300 Mio. and reshaped the share base. Total voting rights rose to 73.374.542, and share capital now stands at EUR 76.204.702,90. A further EUR 300 Mio. in financing arrangements is planned, with about half of that already firmly agreed — a distinction worth keeping in mind between committed and still-pending funding.
On ownership, Lenzing said on 29 October that the syndicate of B&C-Gruppe and Suzano S.A. continues to hold roughly 52,25% of voting rights. Suzano Holding S.A. added a direct stake of about 0,80% through the capital increase.
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Cash flow remains the pressure point. Net financial debt stood at EUR 1.418,9 Mio. at the end of the reporting period, and free cash flow reached EUR 24,7 Mio., down from EUR 110,9 Mio. a year earlier.
Heiligenkreuz Still in Play
The future of the Heiligenkreuz plant remains unresolved. According to media reports from yesterday, a shortlist is to be drawn from 30 interested buyers in mid-November. By year-end, it should be clear whether a purchaser will keep the site running or it will be shut down.
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