Arkema: EBITDA up 7% in the third quarter, driven more by prices than by volumes
Arkema published on November 5, 2026 EBITDA of €332 million for the third quarter, up 7.0% year on year, on revenue up 8.1% to €2,364 million. This growth is primarily based on prices, with a positive impact of 6.0%, while the group's volumes rose only 0.6%.
Price increases offset the rise in energy and raw material costs: the EBITDA margin declined by 0.1 point to 14.1%. This quarter changes the reading of the year-to-date figures, as EBITDA for the first nine months is almost stable at €1,005.8 million compared with €1,003.2 million a year earlier.
Prices drive sales, current results rise
The increase in revenue breaks down into a price effect of 6.0%, a currency effect of 1.8% linked to the appreciation of the dollar and the yuan against the euro, a scope effect of -0.3% and volumes up 0.6%.
The group attributes its pricing adjustments to higher energy costs, particularly in Europe, and to raw material inflation.
Volumes diverge across businesses: they rise 1.7% in Specialty Materials, notably in batteries, water management and adhesives for the aerospace and transportation sectors. By contrast, they fall 5.1% in Primary Materials, held back by weak demand for acrylic monomers.
Further down the income statement, current operating income (REBIT) rises 10.9% to €157 million, and its margin gains 0.1 point to 6.6%.
Current net income increases 23.2% to €93 million, or €1.23 per share compared with €1.00, while net income attributable to the group rises from €34.5 million to €58.0 million.
Coating Solutions and Adhesives drive EBITDA, Primary Materials decline
Advanced Materials, the largest segment with 37% of sales, see their EBITDA rise 1.8% to €163 million, but their EBITDA margin falls 1.1 points to 19.0%. High Performance Polymers, supported by batteries and the ramp-up of new capacities, offset the weakness of Performance Additives, affected by the situation in the Middle East.
Adhesives (31% of sales) post EBITDA up 8.6% to €100 million, with a stable margin of 13.7%, despite a mechanical dilutive effect of price increases estimated by the group at about 80 basis points. Industrial adhesives offset weak demand in construction.
The sharpest improvement comes from Coating Solutions (17% of sales): their EBITDA increases 22.7% to €52 million, and their margin gains 1.5 points to 12.9%, thanks to UV-curable applications and rheology additives. The group sees this as confirmation of the trend observed in the second quarter.
Conversely, EBITDA of Primary Materials (15% of sales) falls 9.5% to €35 million, and their margin loses 1.9 points to 9.9%, with current operating income reaching break-even compared with €7.6 million. Margin spreads in acrylic monomers have returned to low levels in Asia and Europe.
Stable nine-month cumulative results, annual targets confirmed
Over nine months, the trend remains flatter: revenue reaches €6,973.9 million compared with €6,963.2 million, current operating income declines to €494.4 million from €499.5 million, and current net income to €286.7 million from €293.8 million. Cumulative EBITDA of Advanced Materials falls to €465.2 million, compared with €522.6 million a year earlier.
On the cash side, the current cash flow for the quarter decreases to €129 million, compared with €207 million, due to a €32 million negative change in working capital and fixed asset suppliers, whereas it had been positive at €94 million a year earlier. Investments decline to €110 million from €131 million.
Net debt and hybrid bonds fall to €3,513 million at the end of September, compared with €3,605 million at the end of June, but remain above the €3,169.6 million at the end of December 2025. The ratio to trailing twelve-month EBITDA thus moves from 2.5 times to 2.8 times.
Management confirmed its target of 2026 EBITDA slightly above that of 2025 at constant exchange rates, with an additional contribution of about €50 million from its major projects, investments below €600 million and a 3% reduction in headcount through natural departures.
Thierry Le Hénaff, chairman and chief executive officer, said he does not expect “any improvement in external conditions in the coming months”. The annual target therefore relies on levers that the group says it controls, while the quarter's growth is mainly driven by prices and the decline in Primary Materials continues to weigh on the overall result.
