Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:SRT) reported preliminary full-year 2025 results showing a return to “normal” demand behavior for consumables, while customer investment in equipment and instruments remained cautious. Management said improved demand trends—particularly in recurring revenue—combined with operating leverage and cost discipline helped drive “considerable profitable growth,” with results slightly ahead of the company’s upgraded sales guidance and profitability exceeding its October EBITDA target.
Group results: sales ahead of guidance and margin expansion
CFO Florian Funck said group sales revenue rose 7.6% in constant currencies and 4.7% in reported currencies to “slightly more than EUR 3.5 billion.” The gap between constant-currency and reported growth was attributed primarily to U.S. dollar weakness, which management said was a headwind of “almost 300 basis points” to reported growth.
Underlying EBITDA rose 11.2% to EUR 1.052 billion, and the underlying EBITDA margin expanded 170 basis points to 29.7%. Funck attributed the improvement to volume and mix effects and economies of scale, supported by cost discipline, which more than offset foreign exchange and tariff-related headwinds of around 1 percentage point.
Below EBITDA, Funck said underlying net profit increased 18% and reported net profit rose 84%, with underlying EPS up 18%. Operating cash flow was EUR 837 million, down from EUR 976 million in 2024, which he said benefited from “significant one-off inventory reduction measures.” Free cash flow came in at EUR 390 million. CapEx increased to EUR 441 million from EUR 410 million, and the CapEx ratio was 12.5%, in line with guidance.
Division performance: bioprocessing leads; lab business stabilizes
In Bioprocess Solutions, sales revenue grew 9.5% in constant currency for the year. Management said the gain was driven by mid-teens growth in consumables, which more than offset softness in equipment. CEO Michael Grosse and Funck said the equipment business stabilized over the year, with H2 equipment sales double-digit percentage above H1.
Bioprocess Solutions profitability improved, with underlying EBITDA up 15.2% to EUR 907 million and the margin expanding 240 basis points to 31.7%.
Lab Products and Services posted sales that were “essentially flat,” with 0.2% growth in constant currencies. Funck said momentum in consumables and services supported the performance, while instrument sales were impacted by constrained CapEx spending in life science research markets. He said there were “encouraging signs of stabilization,” citing positive momentum in bioanalytics in the second half and updated instrument launches. The MatTek acquisition contributed “slightly more than 1 percentage point” to growth. LPS underlying EBITDA margin declined to 21.5%, which Funck attributed to an unfavorable product mix as well as FX and tariff impacts.
Regions and China: stabilization with early improvement signs
By region, EMEA sales grew almost 6% in 2025, while the Americas and APAC each grew 8.9%. Funck said China “continued to stabilize with early signs of improvement,” while APAC excluding China delivered low double-digit growth. In the Q&A, management described China as a market that has “rebaselined,” with Sartorius able to keep market share and participate in modest growth, while also supporting customers with out-licensing and pipeline expansion outside China. However, management said expectations for China remained “rather flattish” overall, particularly on equipment, citing a capacity overhang.
Innovation, partnerships, and capacity investments
Grosse highlighted product launches and partnerships aimed at supporting long-term growth. He said Sartorius launched Sartopore Evo, a PFAS-free filtration solution, and the Sartocon cassette for downstream processing, including viral vector purification. The company also introduced the Pionic Continuous Bioprocessing Platform, developed with Sanofi, which management said has generated high customer interest as the industry transitions toward continuous manufacturing.
In lab products, Grosse said the company advanced its bioanalytical portfolio, including what he described as the only live cell imaging system with confocal microscopy inside an incubator, and strengthened its position through the acquisition of MatTek to expand advanced 3D cell model offerings. Sartorius also entered a partnership with Nanotein Technologies to enhance capabilities in cell expansion and activation.
On manufacturing footprint, Grosse said the company completed an expansion in Aubagne, progressed with expansion in Germany, and continued construction of a greenfield site in Songdo, South Korea.
2026 outlook: broad range reflects uncertainty; equipment seen at least stable
For 2026, management guided to group sales growth of around 5%–9% in constant currencies, with an underlying EBITDA margin slightly above 30%. The outlook includes roughly 1 percentage point of sales benefit from MatTek and tariff-related surcharges. Management said it deliberately set a broad range given macroeconomic and industry volatility, and noted that the industry is “back on track” but not yet at long-term growth levels, especially for equipment and instruments.
Division guidance included:
- Bioprocess Solutions: sales growth of 6%–10%, driven mainly by recurring business; equipment expected to be “at least stable”; underlying EBITDA margin slightly above 32%.
- Lab Products & Services: sales growth of 2%–6%, including 1.5 percentage points from MatTek; instruments expected “at least stable”; underlying EBITDA margin slightly below 21%, influenced by investments in Advanced Cell Models and headwinds from mix, FX, and tariffs.
Management said tariff surcharges would create a “tactical” margin dilution of about 50 basis points in 2026. On foreign exchange, the company said that at a EUR/USD rate of 1.2 it would face a headwind of about 2 percentage points on reported versus constant-currency growth for the full year (and around 4 points in Q1).
In the Q&A, management said it did not build material revenue from large U.S. onshoring projects into 2026 assumptions, citing long lead times for major greenfield expansions and suggesting such benefits would more likely come in 2027 and beyond. It also reiterated that the 2026 guidance assumes no decline in equipment revenues, with potential upside tied to a more meaningful equipment recovery later in the year given typical lead times.
On capital allocation and leverage, Funck said the company remains committed to an investment-grade rating. The group’s leverage ratio improved to 3.55x net debt to underlying EBITDA from 3.96x, and management guided to a further decline to slightly above 3x by year-end 2026. Management also indicated 2026 would likely be the last year of elevated CapEx ratios before a reduction from 2027 onward as major projects roll off.
About Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:SRT)
Sartorius Aktiengesellschaft provides bioprocess solutions and lab products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers multi-parallel, benchtop, single-use, stainless steel, cell culture, rocking motion, and microbial bioreactors, and software apps for bioreactors and cell culture shake flask; fermenters; cell culture media products; cellcelector flex, incubator flowbox, nanowell arrays, and capillaries and tips; fluid management products; microbiology products; and Ultrafiltration membrane filters, glass and quartz microfiber filters, clarification, syringeless and in-line filters, lab chromatography, and filters and blotting papers.
