SPIE (Euronext Paris: SPIE) reported first-half 2026 revenue of 5,156.6 million euros, up 3.6 percent on the 4,978.8 million euros recorded a year earlier, in results published from Cergy on 30 July 2026. EBITA rose 6.9 percent to 321.4 million euros from 300.6 million euros, lifting the EBITA margin by 20 basis points to 6.2 percent, and adjusted net income attributable to the group increased 11.9 percent to 186.5 million euros.

The composition of the revenue increase matters more than its size. Acquisitions contributed 2.7 points of the 3.6 percent, organic growth contributed 1.2 points, a disposal in the Netherlands took off 0.1 point and currency took off 0.2 point. Within the half, organic growth rebounded to 3.1 percent in the second quarter after a first quarter held back by adverse seasonality.

Germany carried the half

Germany is now the group’s largest region by revenue at 1,755.6 million euros, against 1,678.0 million euros a year earlier. Reported growth was 4.6 percent, of which 3.9 points were organic, measured against a comparison base that had itself grown 6.6 percent organically in the first half of 2025. Organic growth in Germany accelerated to 7.3 percent in the second quarter, which SPIE attributed to the catch-up it had signalled after poor weather early in the year. German EBITA reached 102.7 million euros at a margin of 5.8 percent.

France produced revenue of 1,654.6 million euros, up 1.2 percent on a reported basis with organic growth of negative 0.7 percent and 1.9 points from acquisitions. French EBITA was 102.0 million euros at a 6.2 percent margin. North-Western Europe grew 3.3 percent to 1,073.4 million euros, and its EBITA rose 16.0 percent to 83.4 million euros, taking the segment margin to 7.8 percent, the highest in the group.

Central Europe grew fastest in revenue terms, up 15.0 percent to 443.7 million euros, almost entirely from acquisitions, with organic growth flat. Its EBITA fell to 10.8 million euros and its margin declined 90 basis points to 2.4 percent. Global Services Energy, the smallest segment, saw revenue fall 4.6 percent to 229.4 million euros, with organic activity also declining.

Acquisitions, rating and cash

SPIE said it has announced five bolt-on acquisitions to date in 2026, together representing approximately 670 million euros of annual revenue, with the German industrial services platform scaled up through the ROFA and SGS transactions and further deals in Central Europe. The most recent of the five, the acquisition of nimeg ag, was announced on 1 July 2026, and MSCI upgraded SPIE’s ESG rating to AA later that month.

Two financing events sit alongside that programme. Fitch upgraded SPIE’s long-term credit rating to investment grade at BBB- with a stable outlook in April 2026. In May 2026 the group issued a 600 million euro sustainability-linked bond with a five-year maturity and a 3.875 percent coupon, extending its debt maturity profile to 2031.

Cash generation was the enabling factor. Structurally negative working capital stood at 799.7 million euros at the end of June 2026, equivalent to 28 days of revenue, against 730.1 million euros or 27 days a year earlier. Operating cash flow improved by 138.1 million euros to 163.5 million euros, and free cash flow turned positive at 25.7 million euros, an improvement of 133.4 million euros.

Net debt excluding IFRS 16 was 1,967.1 million euros at the end of June 2026 against 1,609.0 million euros a year earlier, an increase of 358.1 million euros. The leverage ratio moved from 1.9 times to 2.1 times. Net income attributable to the group was 112.0 million euros, against a loss of 13.4 million euros in the first half of 2025, when a non-cash fair value charge of 120.4 million euros on the derivative component of the ORNANE convertible bond weighed on the result; the equivalent charge this half was 15.9 million euros.

Markus Holzke, chief executive, said in the release: “SPIE delivered a very strong first-half performance, marked by the anticipated rebound in organic growth in the second quarter, further margin expansion and dynamic bolt-on M&A activity”. SPIE confirmed its 2026 outlook of strong total growth and continued EBITA margin expansion, and said the proposed payout ratio will remain at around 40 percent of adjusted net income. An anti-dilutive share buy-back of 59 million euros was carried out in the first quarter. The 2025 final dividend of 0.78 euro per share detached in May 2026, and an interim cash dividend of 0.32 euro per share, equal to 30 percent of the approved 2025 dividend, will be paid on 17 September 2026 with an ex-date of 15 September.

Analysis: the margin is organic, the growth is not

The clean way to read this half is to separate the two claims SPIE is making. Margin expansion of 20 basis points is a like-for-like statement: it comes from contract selectivity, pricing and mix inside businesses the group already owned. Revenue growth is not: more than two thirds of it came from acquisitions, and organic growth of 1.2 percent for the half is the part of the increase that excludes both acquisitions and currency. The second quarter recovery to 3.1 percent is the number that decides whether the full year looks different.

Germany is where the two claims coincide, and it is also where the concentration risk now sits. The country supplies roughly a third of group revenue, delivered 3.9 percent organic growth against a demanding base, and is simultaneously the destination of the largest acquisitions announced this year. Integrating ROFA and SGS while the underlying German business is accelerating is a harder operational task than doing either alone, and the German EBITA margin of 5.8 percent remains below the North-Western Europe margin of 7.8 percent, which is the benchmark the group has already proved it can reach.

The balance sheet figures move in a different direction from the rating headline. Net debt rose 358.1 million euros year on year and leverage moved from 1.9 times to 2.1 times, while free cash flow, though improved by 133.4 million euros, was 25.7 million euros for a group turning over more than 5 billion euros in the half. SPIE describes the M&A as self-financed, and the working capital position of negative 799.7 million euros is what makes that description defensible: the business collects before it pays. That is a structural feature of multi-technical services rather than a one-off, but it also means reported free cash flow is sensitive to any change in payment terms or to the seasonality the group says it is working to smooth.

Central Europe is the segment that deserves separate attention. It grew 15.0 percent on acquisitions with no organic contribution, and its margin fell 90 basis points to 2.4 percent, the lowest in the group. Buying revenue at a lower margin than the group average dilutes the mix even when the deals are individually sensible. A reader tracking whether SPIE’s acquisition machine is accretive should watch that segment’s margin over the next two halves, alongside the German integration and the second-half organic rate.