Cognor Holding increased third-quarter 2026 revenue by 24.5% year on year to PLN 618 million and narrowed its net loss to PLN 9.6 million from PLN 26.4 million. The Polish steel group returned to an operating profit, but failed to maintain the profitability achieved in the second quarter. EBITDA was PLN 32.1 million, compared with negative PLN 4.8 million a year earlier and PLN 50.6 million in the previous quarter.
By the editorial team. Polish original, published 15 November 2026. Calculations based on company financial data.
After the first half, Cognor had returned to profit and rebuilt margins, although cash was flowing out of the business. The latest report changes that picture: operations generated positive cash flow in the third quarter, but the group again recorded a net loss and net debt continued to rise.
Clear improvement from a year earlier
Revenue increased by PLN 121.6 million from the third quarter of 2025. The cost of products, goods and materials sold rose more slowly than sales, lifting gross profit from PLN 10.9 million to PLN 49.7 million. The gross margin improved to 8.0% from 2.2%.
Operating profit reached PLN 7.4 million, compared with a PLN 19.4 million loss a year earlier. EBITDA, defined here as operating profit plus depreciation and amortisation, improved to PLN 32.1 million from negative PLN 4.8 million.
The group’s net loss narrowed by almost 64% year on year to PLN 9.6 million. Of that amount, PLN 8.7 million was attributable to shareholders of the parent, compared with a PLN 24.7 million loss a year earlier.
| Consolidated results | Q3 2025 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | PLN 496.3m | PLN 650.0m | PLN 618.0m |
| EBITDA* | PLN −4.8m | PLN 50.6m | PLN 32.1m |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | PLN −19.4m | PLN 31.1m | PLN 7.4m |
| Net result attributable to parent shareholders | PLN −24.7m | PLN 6.4m | PLN −8.7m |
| EBITDA margin | −1.0% | 7.8% | 5.2% |
*Q3 2026 and Q3 2025 EBITDA calculated as EBIT plus depreciation and amortisation of property, plant, equipment and intangible assets. Figures rounded.
Profitability weakened after a strong second quarter
The quarter-on-quarter comparison was less favourable. Revenue fell by 4.9%, while EBITDA declined by 36.6%. The EBITDA margin dropped by 2.6 percentage points, from 7.8% to 5.2%.
Operating profit fell by about 76%, from PLN 31.1 million to PLN 7.4 million, and the operating margin contracted from roughly 4.8% to 1.2%. The group therefore generated substantially less operating profit despite a relatively modest decline in revenue.
The comparison is with a strong second quarter. When Cognor published its half-year results, it said profitability had benefited from more favourable relationships between raw-material and steel-product prices, higher capacity utilisation and an increase in free carbon dioxide emission allowances.
The third-quarter figures confirm a recovery from 2025, but not a further improvement from the preceding three months.
Finance costs absorb operating profit
Finance costs contributed to the continuing net loss. They rose to PLN 24.7 million from PLN 14.8 million a year earlier. After finance income, the net burden was PLN 19.2 million, compared with PLN 14.8 million in the prior-year quarter.
That burden was more than twice the operating profit, preventing Cognor from recording a pre-tax profit despite the improvement in its core business.
Higher depreciation and amortisation also affected operating profit. The charge increased to PLN 24.7 million from PLN 14.6 million year on year. It reduces EBIT and net profit but is not a current cash outflow.
Nine-month performance improves but remains loss-making
For January to September, revenue rose by 13.7% year on year to PLN 1.86 billion. Cognor reported operating profit of PLN 50.5 million, compared with a PLN 19.7 million loss in the same period of 2025.
The nine-month net loss narrowed to PLN 3.8 million from PLN 52.9 million. The result was therefore substantially better year on year, although the third quarter absorbed the entire PLN 5.7 million net profit earned in the first half.
Net finance costs reached PLN 54 million for the nine months and exceeded operating profit, showing the continuing weight of financing even after production and sales margins improved.
Operating cash flow turns positive in Q3
Operating activities had consumed PLN 55.9 million of cash in the first six months. In the third quarter alone, they generated PLN 15.1 million, reducing the year-to-date operating cash outflow to PLN 40.8 million.
A change in receivables helped, releasing PLN 33 million in the quarterly cash-flow statement.
The year-on-year comparison was weaker. Operations generated PLN 65.2 million in the third quarter of 2025, more than four times the latest figure. Operating cash flow for the first nine months of last year was positive at PLN 57.1 million.
Cognor therefore improved earnings year on year but continued to generate less cash from its ongoing business. Both measures are material to an assessment of the group.
Lower investment spending limited the cash outflow. Investing cash flow was negative PLN 0.2 million in the third quarter, compared with negative PLN 23.5 million a year earlier. Financing activities used PLN 22.7 million, including interest and lease repayments.
Net debt continues to rise
At the end of September, net debt—bank borrowings, other debt instruments and leases, less cash—was approximately PLN 839.3 million. It had stood at PLN 826.8 million at the end of June.
Cash declined to PLN 89.6 million from PLN 97.9 million over the quarter. Of the September balance, PLN 58 million was subject to restrictions on use.
The group continued to breach some financial ratios required under its financing agreements and asked banks to waive the breaches. Because contractual conditions were not met, a Banco Santander investment loan and the company’s bonds were classified in full as current liabilities.
Management says Cognor is servicing its debt on time and has not received a demand for accelerated repayment. It expects to return to compliance with the ratios in 2027 as results continue to improve.
Planned share issue expected to raise more than PLN 100 million
Cognor has expanded after a large modernisation programme. The report put the value of projects undertaken from the beginning of 2021 through the end of the third quarter of 2026 at more than PLN 1.7 billion. The largest investment, a rolling mill in Siemianowice Śląskie in southern Poland, cost more than PLN 830 million and remains in commissioning and test production.
Increasing production and sales requires more working-capital financing. A further share issue is intended to meet that need.
An extraordinary general meeting scheduled for 7 December 2026 will vote on an issue of up to 27.84 million shares. In its third-quarter report, management said it expected the transaction to raise more than PLN 100 million.
Sources
Cognor Holding S.A., condensed interim consolidated financial statements as at 30 September 2026, published 13 November 2026; the company’s half-year report and results announcement; earlier ManagerPlus analysis published 29 August 2026. Calculations based on the financial data.
