Amadeus Fire AG: Publication of the Interim Report for the first half of 2026 financial year
AFG forecast a stabilised revenue development & an improving earnings level for H2 2026
Frankfurt/Main / Vienna (pta033/03.08.2026/18:35 UTC+2)
Amadeus Fire Group forecast a stabilised revenue development and an improving earnings level for the second half of 2026
Frankfurt/Main, 3rd August 2026
The first half of 2026 was marked by a persistently challenging economic environment for the Amadeus Fire Group (ISIN: DE0005093108, Prime Standard). Following a broadly planned start to the year, uncertainty increased further during the second quarter as a result of the Iran war and the associated economic consequences. This led many companies to adopt a noticeably more cautious approach to personnel decisions. The effects were clearly reflected in demand and, consequently, in revenue, particularly in permanent placement, which fell well short of its expected revenue in the second quarter. By contrast, the flexible services of temporary staffing and interim & project management, as well as the Training segment overall, developed broadly in line with expectations.
The overall economic situation in Germany remains challenging. Accordingly, the business performance of the Amadeus Fire Group continued to be affected by restrained investment and hiring activity, as well as an overall heightened level of uncertainty among customers and within the candidate market. A key factor influencing the Group's performance was the persistently low level of market activity in the personnel services business. The cost and structural measures implemented had a stabilising effect; however, they were only able to partially offset the impact on earnings resulting from the decline in business volume and the lower gross profit generated from operations.
The business volume of the Group remained below the comparable prior-year figure in the second quarter of 2026 as a result of the weaker performance in the Personnel Services segment. The positive revenue performance in the Training segment had an offsetting effect. In addition to the inclusion of Masterplan and eduBITES, the companies acquired in the previous year, this also reflected stable to positive business performance at the established companies.
The Amadeus Fire Group generated Group revenue of € 171.7 million in the first half of 2026, representing a decline of 8.0 percent compared with € 186.6 million in the corresponding prior-year period. The operating gross profit* was at € 85.9 million, compared with € 96.3 million in the previous year, a decrease of 10.8 percent. The operating gross profit margin* declined only slightly to 50.0 percent (H1 2025: 51.6 percent). Lower operating gross profits*, particularly in the Personnel Services segment, combined with forward-looking investments in the digital transformation of the Amadeus Fire Group, resulted in a disproportionate decline in operating EBITA* of 45.8 percent, or € -2.9 million. The Group generated an operating EBITA* of € 3.5 million in the first half of 2026 (H1 2025: € 6.4 million). This corresponds to an operating EBITA margin* of 2.0 percent for the first half of 2026 (H1 2025: 3.4 percent). Following a decline of € 1.3 million in the first quarter of this year, the operating EBITA* in the second quarter of 2026 decreased by a further € 1.7 million compared with the same quarter of the previous year. EBITA-related special expenses increased from € 1.4 million to € 2.9 million compared with the first half of the previous year, mainly due to purchase price allocation (PPA) amortisation related to Masterplan com GmbH and eduBITES GmbH.
The Amadeus Fire Group generated an operating result after income taxes of € -0.4 million in the first half of the 2026 financial year (H1 2025: € 3.3 million). The share of the profit/loss for the period attributable to shareholders of Amadeus Fire AG was at € -3.7 million in H1 2026 (H1 2025: € 0.7 million), resulting in basic earnings per share of € -0.69 after € 0.12 in the comparable prior-year half-year period.
The equity of the Group was at € 127.3 million as of 30 June 2026, slightly below the level of € 130.9 million reported as of 31 December 2025 by around 2.8 percent. This decrease was solely attributable to the net loss of € 3.6 million generated in the period ended 30 June 2026. As the balance sheet total was around 1.0 percent lower than at year-end 2025, this resulted in a slightly lower equity ratio of 35.8 percent (31 December 2025: 36.5 percent).
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, revenue development is expected to stabilise quarter by quarter, supported by a significantly higher number of working days and improving profitability compared with the first half of 2026. Across the Amadeus Fire Group, all employees are working intensively to overcome the current earnings crisis as quickly as possible. An improvement in business sentiment among German companies should provide attractive opportunities for the Group in the short term.
The Management Board has consequently set the revised guidance range at the lower end of the forecast published in the Annual Report 2025 for the financial year 2026. The Amadeus Fire Group now expects revenue of between € 350 million and € 365 million, broadly in line with the previous year. This forecast continues to assume that the challenging situation among corporate customers will persist. Against this backdrop, expected growth is anticipated to be driven primarily by the Training segment, while revenue in the Personnel Services segment is still expected to decline. Operating EBITA for the financial year 2026 is forecast in a range of € 17 million to € 23 million, representing growth of approximately 24 to 68 percent.
Personnel Services segment
As forecast, market conditions in the Personnel Services segment remained challenging during the second quarter of 2026. The Federal Employment Agency and the ifo Institute pointed to growing pressures stemming from the Iran war and the associated increase in energy prices. Ongoing uncertainty continued to be reflected in cautious demand and a low willingness among candidates to change jobs. Companies remained reluctant to make hiring decisions, recruitment processes lengthened, and personnel requirements were increasingly managed on a case-by-case and short-term basis.
Structural shortages continue to exist in certain occupational groups, particularly where qualification requirements are high or labour markets remain tight. However, these structural bottlenecks did not lead to a broad-based increase in demand during the first half of 2026. Companies have once again begun planning workforce reductions. According to the ifo Institute, conditions remained particularly difficult for temporary staffing providers. Although demographic trends continue to make the shortage of skilled workers a structural growth driver, this effect was clearly overshadowed during the reporting period by cyclical economic weakness.
The segment revenue of € 90.4 million was 17.6 percent below the previous year's figure of € 109.7 million, as expected. The operating segment gross profit declined by -20.9 percent to € 40.5 million (H1 2025: € 51.1 million). Consequently, the operating gross profit margin decreased to 44.8 percent (H1 2025: 46.6 percent).
The operational management continued to be adapted to demand trends throughout the reporting period. Staffing levels within the sales and recruitment organisation were continuously reviewed on the basis of performance indicators, and vacant positions were only selectively refilled. Costs, capacities and productivity remained under close management, while investments in systems and processes continued to be prioritised.
The operating segment EBITA was at € 1.2 million, significantly below both the prior-year figure of € 5.7 million and expectations, resulting in an operating EBITA margin of 1.4 percent (H1 2025: 5.2 percent).
Training segment
Market conditions in the Training segment continued to be characterised by contrasting trends during the first half of 2026. On the one hand, structural demand for qualification and skills development continued to increase. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, changing skill requirements and the demographic decline in the workforce are creating sustained demand for professional training. On the other hand, weak economic conditions, constrained corporate budgets and challenging implementation conditions in the publicly funded training market continued to weigh on short-term market momentum.
The Training segment recorded an overall robust performance in the first half of 2026 and generated revenue above the prior-year level. However, the individual business areas developed differently. Performance continued to be shaped by the respective market, demand and funding conditions: while the private customer business (B2C) with Steuer-Fachschule Dr. Endriss developed positively, publicly funded training (B2G) returned to the prior-year level. While Comcave remained below prior-year revenue following the significant downward momentum in 2025, GFN developed slightly positively and the corporate customer business (B2B) recorded clearly positive momentum. The revenue contributions from Masterplan and eduBITES, the companies acquired in 2025, also had a positive effect here.
Within the publicly funded and funding-related training market, there was an increasing shift towards transformation-related qualification programmes during the first half of 2026. In addition to traditional retraining and labour-market-oriented upskilling measures, employee qualification, digital competencies, AI applications and practical corporate training formats gained strategic importance.
The segment revenue increased by 5.9 percent to € 81.5 million, compared with € 76.9 million in the corresponding prior-half-year period. The operating segment gross profit rose only slightly, by 0.7 percent, to € 45.5 million (H1 2025: € 45.2 million). Consequently, the operating gross profit margin remained solid at 55.9 percent (H1 2025: 58.8 percent).
The operating EBITA of € 2.3 million (H1 2025: € 0.7 million) was generated primarily by the B2C- and parts of the B2G-business. The resulting operating EBITA margin of 2.8 percent was therefore also significantly above the comparable prior-year level (H1 2025: 0.9 percent).
The Amadeus Fire Group is working intensively on AI skills, meaning qualifications and capacities relating to artificial intelligence and agent-based capabilities, for example to support companies with onboarding and offboarding. The combination of Personnel Services and Training is particularly well suited to providing companies with holistic support: recruiting the skills they need, qualifying employees, identifying requirements and highlighting suitable options for action. Momentum in this market will continue to increase and open up additional opportunities. Direct access to candidates, extensive corporate client contacts throughout Germany, a strong corporate AI learning-offering and a growing network of AI-oriented partner companies position the Amadeus Fire Group very well in this regard.
* For the definition of operating gross profit and operating EBITA of the Amadeus Fire Group, please refer to the first footnote on page 2 of the Q2/6M 2026 Interim Report.
You will receive the dial-in details for the conference call on 4th August 2026 at 08:30 CEST in a separate invitation.
The full Q2/6M 2026 Interim Report is available on the Group's website: https://group.amadeus-fire.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/
Contact:
Jörg Peters
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 69 96 87 61 80
e-mail: jpeters@amadeus-fire.de
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| Emitter: |
Amadeus Fire AG Hanauer Landstraße 160 60314 Frankfurt am Main Germany |
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|---|---|---|
| Contact Person: | Investor Relations | |
| Phone: | +49 69 96876 180 | |
| E-Mail: | IR@amadeus-fire.de | |
| Website: | www.group.amadeus-fire.de/en | |
| ISIN(s): | DE0005093108 (Share) | |
| Stock Exchange(s): | Regulated Market in Frankfurt; Free Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate BSX |