Viscom SE (XETRA: V6C) reported first half 2026 figures on 12 August 2026 at 08:00 CET/CEST, showing order intake up 30.2 percent, an order book up 62.2 percent, lower revenue and an operating loss. The Hanover company builds automated optical and X-ray inspection systems for electronics manufacturing. It was established in 1984 and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2006, under ISIN DE0007846867.
New orders reached EUR 55,715 thousand in the six months, against EUR 42,776 thousand a year earlier. The order book stood at EUR 37,963 thousand at 30 June 2026, against EUR 23,405 thousand a year earlier and EUR 19,196 thousand at the end of 2025. Revenue was EUR 36,948 thousand against EUR 39,290 thousand. EBIT was EUR -2,533 thousand, after EUR 52 thousand in the first half of 2025, for an EBIT margin of -6.9 percent against 0.1 percent.
A weak first quarter and a stronger second
The half divides sharply. Second quarter revenue of EUR 22,588 thousand was 57.3 percent above the first quarter figure of EUR 14,360 thousand and 15.8 percent above the EUR 19,501 thousand recorded in the second quarter of 2025. On earnings, the second quarter produced EBIT of EUR 1,461 thousand, which did not offset the first quarter loss of EUR -3,994 thousand.
Net profit for the period was EUR -3,802 thousand, after EUR -674 thousand a year earlier, and earnings per share were EUR -0.41 against EUR -0.07. Employees at the end of the quarter numbered 456, against 460 a year earlier.
Viscom attributed the order intake growth in part to a major order for inline computed tomography inspection used in battery cell inspection. The company states that this order will predominantly be recognised as revenue in the 2027 financial year.
Analysis: the whole loss sits in one region
The segment table is where this release stops being a story about timing. Europe generated revenue of EUR 18,180 thousand in the first half, down from EUR 21,876 thousand, and an EBIT of EUR -3,550 thousand against EUR -792 thousand, an EBIT margin of -19.5 percent. The Americas produced revenue of EUR 5,414 thousand against EUR 5,382 thousand and EBIT of EUR 268 thousand, a margin of 5.0 percent. Asia produced revenue of EUR 13,354 thousand against EUR 12,032 thousand and EBIT of EUR 385 thousand, a margin of 2.9 percent. Consolidation differences added EUR 364 thousand.
Both non-European segments were profitable and both grew or held revenue. The group loss is entirely a European loss, and it deepened by more than four times year on year on revenue that fell by roughly a sixth. The company’s own explanation, that Europe is characterised by a reluctance to invest while North America and Asia are more dynamic, is consistent with that table, and the segment numbers add a structural factor: the European operation carries the cost base of a company whose headquarters and manufacturing site are in Hanover, so a European revenue shortfall drops through to EBIT with little to absorb it.
The order book is the counterweight, and it needs to be read with the delivery timing the company itself supplied. At EUR 37,963 thousand the book is almost double the EUR 19,196 thousand carried at the end of 2025. The single largest contributor, the inline CT battery cell order, converts to revenue predominantly in 2027. A book that has grown on an order that will not be invoiced this year improves visibility for next year without changing what the second half of 2026 can deliver.
Test the full year guidance against that. Viscom confirmed target revenue of EUR 80 million to EUR 90 million, order intake of EUR 90 million to EUR 100 million, and an EBIT margin of 2 percent to 5 percent, corresponding to EBIT of EUR 1.6 million to EUR 4.5 million. Half year revenue of EUR 36,948 thousand leaves the second half carrying more than half the annual target even at the bottom of the range. Half year EBIT of EUR -2,533 thousand means the second half must produce a positive EBIT larger than the full year figure guided, on the back of a second quarter that delivered EUR 1,461 thousand. That is a demanding shape, and it rests on the order book converting quickly rather than on the margin recovering gradually.
The order intake guidance is the easier of the two to reach. EUR 55,715 thousand was booked in six months against a full year range of EUR 90 million to EUR 100 million, and the company had already revised the order intake forecast upward in June. Revenue and EBIT, which depend on delivery and installation rather than on signature, are where the confirmation is doing the work.
Where the demand is
Viscom named AI hardware, battery cell manufacturing, and aerospace and security as the areas of particularly high demand. Its development spending is directed at AI-powered software including vAI ProVision, more powerful 3D X-ray inspection, new inspection systems for battery cell production, and the vConnect digital platform. The company points to investment in AI infrastructure, semiconductors and battery cell manufacturing, together with the automation of industrial production, as the structural drivers behind its medium and long term prospects.
Balance sheet and cash flow moved less than the income statement. Total assets were EUR 90,517 thousand at 30 June 2026 against EUR 90,648 thousand at the end of 2025. Equity fell to EUR 40,649 thousand from EUR 44,022 thousand, taking the equity ratio to 44.9 percent from 48.6 percent. Operating cash flow turned positive at EUR 676 thousand, after EUR -2,994 thousand a year earlier, while cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period stood at EUR 3,653 thousand against EUR 4,350 thousand.
What to check next
The consolidated quarterly financial report as at 30 June 2026 is available on the company’s website under Company, Investor Relations, Financial Reports, alongside its annual reports. Directive 2004/109/EC requires issuers of shares admitted to a regulated market to publish a half-yearly financial report no later than two months after the period ends and to keep it available for at least five years, which is the window in which these figures were released.
Three numbers will settle the questions the release leaves open. European segment EBIT is the first, because the group result cannot turn positive while that line runs at -19.5 percent. The second is third quarter revenue, since the guidance requires a second half materially larger than the first. The third is the order book at the end of September, which will show whether the June revision reflected one contract or a broader recovery in order flow.
