- Liquidity rises to 1.25 billion euros
- Service business continues to grow but remains below target
Order intake rose to 4.0 billion euros, while sales fell to 3.6 billion euros, mainly due to large-scale projects that have not yet been completed. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 145 million euros.
Our financial basis was also further solidified: Liquidity grew to 1.25 billion euros. This development was driven in particular by improved project profitability, more consistent risk management, progress in the service business, as well as technological innovations.
“The conditions in 2025 were anything but easy. So, it is all the more important that we were able to further improve our profitability and maintain stability in our project delivery,” says Jochen Burg, CEO of SMS group. “At the same time, it should be said that we are not yet where we want to be. Our ambition remains high. And we are consistently driving our strategic further development.”
The spotlight is on a sustained improvement in our project performance, a stronger interlinking of new plant business and service, as well as a focus on technologically differentiating solutions. “We do not regard our EBIT target margin of seven percent as an upper limit, but as a minimum requirement,” adds Fabíola Fernandez, CFO of SMS group. “We see further potential and will continue to chart the course we have taken in terms of performance orientation and cost discipline.”
Service business grows, expansion remains a priority
The service business continued its positive growth, accounting for 24 percent of total sales in the past fiscal year. It comprises technical services, maintenance concepts, spare parts business, and long-term operational support. Going forward, the goal is to grow sales of services by approximately ten percent every year, in order to significantly increase the stability and plannability of the business.
At the same time, SMS is consistently integrating service into its project business. Right at the bidding stage, service activities are systematically considered and embedded in the contract. “Our SMS Regions also bear responsibility for advancing and expanding the service business. This is where proximity to the customer and business success are crucial,” says Fabíola Fernandez.
Leveraging technology as a competitive advantage
Innovation remains a key success factor in the steel industry. SMS is specifically investing in technologies that help its customers make their production more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective.
The main focus is on decarbonization, digitalization, and the circular economy. One example is our EASyMelt technology, which can be used to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in existing blast furnace processes. Together with Tata Steel, this technology is being implemented in India on an industrial scale for the first time.
In addition, at the beginning of 2026, SMS took over Metso’s Ferrous technologies business. In this way, the company is expanding its portfolio to include key process steps such as sintering and pelletizing plants as well as calcination processes. For customers this means greater flexibility with raw materials, higher efficiency, and lower emissions. In 2025, SMS again increased its investment in research and development by 1.3 percent to 157 million euros.
SMS develops plant assessment tool for customized decarbonization solutions
SMS continues to drive the decarbonization of the steel industry. To this end, the company offers customers its Plant Assessment Tool (PAT), a data-driven decision-making tool that helps steel producers evaluate their transition pathways. The PAT uses live simulated models and sensitivity analyses to calculate the most sustainable decarbonization routes. It takes into account key factors such as energy prices and the availability of raw materials as well as the impact on the carbon footprint for scopes 1, 2, and 3. The PAT enables detailed CAPEX and OPEX evaluations so that steel producers can compare scenarios and make well-founded decisions for a sustainable and economically sound transition.
India a strategic growth market
India continues to gain strategic importance for SMS and is one of the most significant growth markets in the global metals industry.
At the beginning of 2026, the company opened a state-of-the-art production facility in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, western India. The new location strengthens local added value, expands production capacities, and improves our proximity to customers in the western part of the country. “This is a major step toward expanding our presence in this significant growth market and actively supporting the industrial upturn in the country. Indian steel production currently stands around 150 million tons per year and is expected to increase to 300 million tons in the years ahead. We want to provide our customers with the best possible local support with first-class equipment and excellent service,” says Jochen Burg. SMS already operates a large production facility in the state of Odisha in eastern India. From a technological and logistical perspective, both locations complement each other perfectly.
ESG strategy further operationalized
In the 2025 financial year, SMS significantly further advanced its ESG strategy and increasingly implemented it at an operational level. Following its strategic anchoring in the previous year, the focus was now on the concrete definition of measurable goals and the implementation of further measures covering all three ESG dimensions. These include the introduction of a group-wide target system, the establishment of a central ESG organization with a direct reporting line to the Managing Board, as well as the execution of the first decarbonization projects in important locations. At the same time, ESG criteria have been more integrated into central business processes – for example through new control instruments in product development and through concrete initiatives to promote occupational safety and diversity. With these advances, SMS is creating the foundation for transparent, legally-compliant, and impact-oriented sustainability management.
SMS looking ahead with optimism
For the current financial year, SMS expects the market environment to remain challenging. Order intake is projected to be at the previous year’s level, while sales are expected to grow moderately to over 3.6 billion euros. At the same time, the plan is to further improve the operating result.
“We intend to use 2026 specifically to solidify our position as a leading partner in the integrated plant and service business. Our objective is clear: We stand for technological excellence, reliable project delivery, and close support for our customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their plants,” says Jochen Burg.
