Still weighed down by its train production delays for Germany, Alstom further drastically lowers its annual targets

French railway manufacturer Alstom drastically lowered its annual forecasts on Monday after poor results in the first half due to production difficulties for its Coradia Max train program intended for Germany. The group expects to produce a total of around 4,000 cars in the current 2026/27 financial year, up from 4.

400 to 4,500 previously expected. It now forecasts an operating margin at around 1% compared to around 6.5% so far.

The “operational and financial performance” during the first half, the figures for which were published on Monday ahead of schedule, was “mainly affected by the Coradia Max platform”, Alstom explained in a press release on Monday. Coradia Max is a regional electric train program intended for European customers, particularly in Germany. In April, the group had already revised its performance objectives downwards, due to its execution difficulties, just after the arrival of new management led by Martin Sion, who succeeded Henri Poupart-Lafarge.

Production down 8% “Since my appointment as general manager in April 2026, I have requested rigorous identification and systematic escalation of risks and opportunities at project level, by mobilizing dedicated teams of Alstom experts on the most critical projects, including Coradia Max,” commented Martin Sion. “The announcement made today reflects the consequences of this exercise, with the aim of normalizing the group's performance from the next fiscal year,” he assured in the press release. Alstom revealed deteriorated figures for the first half of the 2026/27 staggered financial year.

The operating margin thus appears negative, at around -4% for the half-year. Alstom also produced 1,860 cars during the first half, down 8%.

“Execution difficulties on the Coradia Max platform” “led to a manufacturing interruption during the first quarter,” the company explains. However, turnover increased by 9.3 billion euros in the first half, up 3%. Faced with these difficulties, Alstom announces an “ongoing in-depth review of organizational and operational models, expected to result in decisions by early 2027”.

The group also wants to launch “an examination of all possible options (...) in order to achieve a reduction in its debt of around 2 billion euros by September 2027”.

Machine-translated from French