Stratec ETR: SBS reported higher adjusted operating profit and stronger cash generation for the first nine months of 2026 despite lower revenue, as the diagnostic systems company outlined a narrower focus following its agreement to sell its Diatron business.
Revenue fell 6.1% to EUR 165 million from EUR 176 million a year earlier, or 5% at constant currency. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose to EUR 13.7 million from EUR 12.8 million, and the adjusted EBIT margin improved to 8.3% from 7.3%, CFO Tanja Bücherl said.
The reported nine-month figures include Diatron, while Stratec’s updated full-year outlook covers continuing operations only. CEO Marcus Wolfinger said the company expects stable to slightly higher 2026 sales at constant currency compared with pro forma 2025 sales of EUR 223.5 million, excluding Diatron. It forecasts an adjusted EBIT margin of approximately 13% to 15%.
Diatron Sale Sharpens Focus
Stratec signed an agreement on Oct. 30 to sell Diatron to a consortium of investors from India for a fixed purchase price of EUR 10 million plus potential earnout payments, Wolfinger said. The transaction covers Diatron’s Hungarian business, its U.S. business and Indian subsidiaries, and its hematology and clinical chemistry products.
Stratec will retain its molecular and immunoassay business and part of its Hungarian manufacturing footprint. Wolfinger said the company expects the business being sold to contribute approximately EUR 20 million in 2026 sales, compared with roughly EUR 30 million anticipated under its initial guidance for the year.
“So we are giving up revenue, but we are removing a drag on earnings,” Wolfinger said. He added that Stratec and Diatron already have collaborations in place and are working on potential future product cooperation.
Bücherl said reported results included an approximately EUR 44 million noncash valuation effect related to the Diatron transaction, which was excluded from adjusted operating performance figures. The reported net result was negative, while adjusted net income rose to EUR 7.5 million from EUR 7.1 million.
Core Systems Grow as Other Sales Decline
Wolfinger said molecular and immunoassay systems, blood bank systems and complex sample preparation systems grew by double digits in the first nine months. Bücherl highlighted the molecular business’s recovery following a post-COVID downturn.
That growth was offset by lower service parts and consumables sales, weaker Diatron hematology revenue and a decline in Development and Services revenue. Bücherl said Diatron hematology revenue was roughly 80% below the prior-year level, primarily because of one product.
The decline in service parts revenue was mainly attributable to one customer that underwent a change in ownership, Bücherl said. The weakness began in the second half of 2025 and continued into 2026. Stratec has incorporated the lower revenue level into its planning and fourth-quarter outlook.
Development and Services revenue declined approximately 7%, which Bücherl attributed mainly to project timing and activities shifting into the fourth quarter rather than a fundamental deterioration in the project pipeline.
For the third quarter, Bücherl said adjusted EBIT increased 37% year over year and the adjusted EBIT margin reached 11.3%, an improvement of 370 basis points. For the nine-month period, she cited efficiency measures, particularly personnel cost savings of roughly EUR 3 million, a supportive product mix and favorable currency effects as contributors to earnings.
Working Capital Drives Cash Flow Improvement
Operating cash flow rose to EUR 39.4 million in the first nine months from negative EUR 1.4 million a year earlier. Free cash flow improved to EUR 30.6 million from negative EUR 14.8 million.
Bücherl said the improvement was primarily driven by working capital, particularly the collection of trade receivables associated with a revenue-heavy fourth quarter of 2025. Trade receivables fell to EUR 38.1 million at the end of September from EUR 56.9 million at the end of 2025.
Net debt declined to EUR 89 million from EUR 112 million at year-end 2025. Cash stood at EUR 21.2 million, compared with EUR 23.1 million at the end of 2025, after financing outflows that mainly reflected debt repayments and dividend payments.
Fourth-Quarter Outlook
Excluding Diatron, nine-month sales were EUR 151.8 million, down from EUR 157.4 million a year earlier, while adjusted EBIT rose to EUR 20.3 million from EUR 17.2 million. The adjusted EBIT margin increased to 13.4% from 10.9%, Wolfinger said.
Stratec needs approximately EUR 76 million in fourth-quarter sales to reach the midpoint of its sales guidance, according to Wolfinger. He said the large majority of the required volume was considered lower risk, mostly contracted or booked, although some orders carry greater timing uncertainty.
The outlook does not assume a recovery in service parts sales from the nine-month run rate. Wolfinger said filling the early-stage development pipeline remains a priority, alongside moving new systems into series production and limiting the impact of rising input costs.
About Stratec (ETR:SBS)
Stratec SE, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures automation and instrumentation solutions in the fields of in-vitro diagnostics and life sciences in Germany, European Union, and internationally. It designs and manufactures automated analyzer systems for clinical diagnostics and biotechnology customers; and offers complex consumables for diagnostics and medical applications. The company was formerly known as STRATEC Biomedical AG and changed its name to Stratec SE in December 2018.
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