Regulated information - September 1nd 2026- 18:00
Financial results
Campine, Belgian specialty chemicals and circular metals company, delivered a strong first half of 2026, generating EBITDA of €47.2 million on revenue of €298 million.
Revenue decreased by 22% compared with the exceptionally strong first half of 2025, largely reflecting the significant normalization of metal prices. EBITDA declined by a more limited 12%, demonstrating the resilience of Campine's underlying businesses in a considerably less favourable environment.
The average antimony metal price was approximately 50% lower than in H1 2025, while the average LME lead price expressed in euros decreased by approximately 7%. Both metals experienced further price declines during the first half of 2026.
"Following the exceptional market conditions of 2025, we are pleased with the resilience of our results," says CEO Wim De Vos. "Despite sharply lower metal prices and reduced antimonytrioxide demand, Campine generated €47 million of EBITDA in the first six months. This remains more than twice the level achieved in H1 2024 and approximately three times the H1 2023 result."
Results performance per division/segment
Specialty Chemicals division
Market and Operations
Sales volumes in the Specialty Chemicals division decreased by 4% compared with H1 2025, with significant differences between product groups.
Volumes of antimony trioxide, Campine's main specialty chemicals product, decreased by 23%. The exceptionally high antimony prices reached in 2025 prompted customers to reduce consumption and, where technically possible, substitute antimony-based flame retardants with alternative solutions.
Campine's diversified product portfolio partially offset this effect. Flame-retardant masterbatch volumes increased by 12%, benefiting from demand for solutions using less antimony. Recycled plastics volumes grew by 8%, supported by higher virgin polypropylene prices and the resulting increased attractiveness of recycled alternatives.
Revenue in Specialty Chemicals amounted to €164 million, a decrease of 44% compared with H1 2025. Revenue in the division is strongly influenced by the antimony metal price, which declined from approximately $60,000/tonne in mid-2025 to approximately $23,000/tonne at the end of June 2026.
The antimony market has progressively moved towards a more normalized supply-demand balance as additional smelting capacity in Southeast Asia has come on stream, partly filling the supply gap created by Chinese export restrictions introduced in 2024.
Importantly, the additional upstream antimony metal capacity has not resulted in meaningful new competition in the antimony trioxide market. While several existing producers, including Campine, have expanded capacity, we have maintained our new position as a global market leader in antimony trioxide.
Against this backdrop of substantially lower antimony prices and reduced customer demand, Specialty Chemicals delivered EBITDA of €32.4 million, compared with €36.6 million in the exceptionally strong first half of 2025.
Circular Metals division
Market and Operations
Volumes within the existing Circular Metals perimeter, excluding the acquired Ecobat activities, remained broadly stable compared with last year.
While lower lead and antimony prices weighed on smelting margins, this was offset by higher throughput and productivity improvements at the French battery-breaking facilities, following investments made during 2024 and 2025. The French battery breakers also started to benefit from initial synergies with the acquired Ecobat operations, demonstrating the strategic potential of the enlarged recycling platform.
The acquired Ecobat smelters did not yet contribute to H1 earnings, partly reflecting the lower LME lead price. This leaves meaningful scope for further operational improvements and synergies as Campine progressively optimizes and invests in these assets. The downstream Le Plomb Français (also ex-Ecobat) business performed strongly, supported by its activities in specialized anodes for zinc and copper smelters and radiation-shielding applications.
Revenue in Circular Metals amounted to €167 million, up 46% year-on-year, an increase completely attributed to the Ecobat acquisition.
As a result of a less favourable metal- price environment, EBITDA decreased to €14.8 million compared to €16.8 million in 2025.
Outlook full year 2026
Geopolitical and trade tensions continue to create significant volatility across Campine's markets and limit visibility for the remainder of the year.
Assuming current market demand and low metal-price conditions persist, Campine expects full-year 2026 EBITDA of about €65 million.
In Specialty Chemicals, antimony metal prices have stabilized at substantially lower levels compared with the exceptional peaks of 2025 and stood at approximately $18,000/tonne at the time of publication. These lower prices significantly improve the economics of antimony trioxide for customers. Campine therefore sees potential for a gradual recovery in demand as substitution incentives diminish and antimony-based flame-retardant solutions regain competitiveness.
In Circular Metals, the current low lead-price environment is expected to continue weighing on smelting profitability in the near term. At the same time, Campine expects synergies from the Ecobat acquisition to increase progressively. Realizing the full potential of the acquired operations will require targeted improvement and capacity investments, meaning that a more substantial contribution is expected from 2027 onwards.
"The first half of 2026 demonstrated the resilience of Campine's business model," concludes CEO Wim De Vos. "We absorbed a sharp correction in antimony prices, lower antimony demand and less favourable conditions in lead recycling while still generating €47 million of EBITDA. At the same time, our downstream activities are performing well and the first synergies from the Ecobat acquisition are becoming visible. With antimony prices returning to more sustainable levels and further improvement potential within our enlarged recycling platform, we remain confident in Campine's longer-term prospects."
The full interim financial report is available on our website www.campine.com: Investors/shareholder information/financial reports and calendar/Financial reports/interim financial report.
For further information you can contact Karin Leysen (tel. no +32 14 60 15 49)
(email: Karin.Leysen@campine.com).
