Amadeus FiRe ETR: AAD lowered its 2026 outlook after a weaker-than-expected second quarter in its Personnel Services business, citing deteriorating sentiment among German corporate customers and a sharp decline in permanent placement activity.
Chief Executive Officer Robert von Wülfing said the group entered the year positively but faced a worsening economic backdrop in the second quarter. He pointed to subdued investment activity, delayed customer decisions and slower business processes in Germany, where unemployment stood at 6.4% and inflation reached 2.8% in July.
“The macroeconomic environment remained challenging, characterized by increasing uncertainties throughout the second quarter,” von Wülfing said. He added that the conditions were particularly visible in permanent placement revenues, while temporary staffing and interim project management performed broadly in line with management expectations.
Guidance Cut Reflects Weak Staffing Demand
The company now expects 2026 group revenue of between €350 million and €365 million, down from its previous forecast of €362 million to €394 million. The revised range would be broadly in line with the prior year, according to management.
Amadeus FiRe also reduced its forecast for operating earnings. In its outlook discussion, the company said it expects operating EBITA of €17 million to €23 million, compared with prior guidance of €20 million to €31 million. Management said the revised outlook still implies growth versus 2025, when earnings were affected by restructuring measures at Comcave.
The company expects Training to drive revenue and earnings growth for the remainder of the year, while Personnel Services is expected to remain below the prior-year level. Von Wülfing said the forecast assumes that weak business confidence and cautious corporate spending will persist.
First-Half Revenue and Earnings Decline
For the first half of 2026, group revenue fell 8% to €171.7 million. Operating gross profit declined 10.8% to €85.9 million, while operating EBITA fell to €3.5 million from €6.4 million in the prior-year period.
The group reported a net loss of €3.6 million for the first six months, compared with net income of €4.7 million a year earlier. Von Wülfing attributed the decline principally to lower Personnel Services volume, especially in permanent placement, as well as higher financing costs and increased purchase-price-allocation amortization from acquisitions completed in 2025.
In the second quarter, group revenue declined 6.8% to €82.3 million. The operating gross profit margin decreased to 48.7% from 51.2%, and the operating EBITDA margin fell to 0.6% from 2.4% in the comparable quarter of 2025.
Permanent Placement Remains the Main Pressure Point
Personnel Services revenue declined 17.6% to €90.4 million in the first half, while operating gross profit fell 20.9% to slightly more than €40 million. Operating EBITA in the segment declined 78.6% to €1.2 million from €5.7 million a year earlier.
Second-quarter staffing revenue was €42.7 million, down 17.7% year over year. Operating gross profit fell 23.1% to €24.1 million, and operating EBITA moved to a loss of €0.5 million from a profit of €3 million in the prior-year quarter.
Permanent placement revenue declined by more than 30% in the second quarter, as customers postponed hiring decisions and recruitment processes lengthened. Von Wülfing said the conversion of client inquiries into actual hires remained unusually weak.
The company reduced the number of fee earners in its sales and recruiting organization by approximately 19% from a year earlier. Management said it continues to scrutinize costs, capacity utilization and productivity, while seeking to avoid cutting too deeply ahead of a possible market recovery.
Von Wülfing said temporary staffing assignment volumes appeared to have stabilized around the turn of the year, though they had not yet returned to growth. He noted that Amadeus FiRe’s focus on the German market may make its outlook more cautious than peers with exposure to regions showing stronger demand.
Training Segment Returns to Profit
The Training segment delivered a stronger first half, with revenue rising nearly 6% to €81.5 million. Operating gross profit increased to €45.5 million, while operating EBITA improved to €2.3 million from a loss of €0.5 million in the prior-year period.
Second-quarter Training revenue increased 8.6% to nearly €40 million. Operating EBITA improved to €4.9 million from a loss of €0.9 million a year earlier, supported by an adjusted cost structure and a strong performance at Dr. Endriss. Newly acquired Masterplan and eduBITES made a small loss in the quarter.
Management said publicly funded training was modestly above the prior-year level, private customer business grew at a mid-single-digit rate, and corporate training more than doubled from a small base, aided by Masterplan and eduBITES. However, the company said corporate-training conditions remain difficult and B2B activity is slightly behind plan.
Amadeus FiRe expects earnings to improve in the second half, helped by more working days and favorable training-calendar seasonality. Von Wülfing said seven additional workable days in the third quarter compared with the second quarter should support temporary staffing revenue, while Training also benefits from having more available hours to deliver courses.
The company also highlighted its AI-focused training and staffing strategy, including AI learning offerings and corporate AI learning solutions. Von Wülfing said the opportunity remains small currently but is growing as companies increase their use of AI-related skills and agent-based applications.
About Amadeus FiRe (ETR:AAD)
Amadeus FiRe AG provides personnel and training services in Germany. It offers specialized personnel services, such as specialist temporary staffing, permanent placement, and interim and project management for professional and management staff in commercial professions and IT fields. The company provides advanced vocational training and retraining options with a focus on commercial and IT skills; and training for business clients through open or in-house seminars. In addition, it offers courses and degree programs for private individuals, including professional training in the fields of tax, accounting, and controlling; private-sector certification courses for finance and accounting; specialized training in international financial reporting comprising IAS/IFRS and US GAAP; master's degree program in taxation; educational content on IT, multimedia, and commercial subjects; and executive and team training, seminars for trainers, and language courses, as well as publicly funded training services under the Comcave College, GFN, Steuer-Fachschule Dr.
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