grenke earnings rise 25% in first half of 2026

grenke has reported a 24.8% increase in Group earnings to €32.6 million for the first half of 2026, supported by higher operating income and improved cost efficiency despite an elevated loss rate.

The small-ticket leasing specialist’s earnings increased from €26.2 million in H1 2025, while return on equity after tax improved from 3.8% to 4.6%. Operating income rose 11.0% to €352.6 million, while costs increased by a more modest 1.5% to €181.9 million.

As a result, grenke’s operating result before settlement of claims and risk provision increased by 23.2% to €170.7 million, compared with €138.5 million a year earlier. Its cost-income ratio improved from 56.4% to 51.6%.

Dr Sebastian Hirsch, CEO of grenke AG, said: “Our income is growing faster than our costs. This is no flash in the pan, but the result of disciplined work and fundamental improvements that are increasingly taking effect.

“This gives us the flexibility we need in a challenging environment: we can offset the persistently high risk burden while steering our new business with the necessary discipline and composure. We remain on track.”

Leasing new business reaches €1.64bn

Leasing new business increased by 1.4% to €1.645 billion during the first six months of the year, compared with €1.622 billion in H1 2025.

Germany recorded the strongest growth among grenke’s core leasing markets, with new business increasing by 7.8% to €332.8 million. France, Italy, Spain and the UK completed the company’s five largest markets by new business volume. Together, the five countries accounted for around two-thirds of total leasing new business.

On a regional basis, Western Europe excluding DACH was grenke’s largest market, with new business increasing 3.0% to €429.1 million. Southern Europe grew 3.1% to €422.3 million, while DACH recorded a 7.5% increase to €404.8 million.

Northern and Eastern Europe was the exception, with new business falling from €307.8 million to €273.2 million. grenke attributed the decline to factors including the expiry of e-bike subsidies in Finland, deliberate management measures in Denmark and Sweden and cautious investment behaviour amid geopolitical uncertainty.

IT devices remained grenke’s largest asset category, accounting for 27.2% of contracts. Around 349,000 leasing applications were received during H1, resulting in approximately 165,000 new contracts and a conversion rate of 47.4%. The average ticket size increased from €9,864 to €9,948.

However, contribution margin 2 (CM2) declined to €260.8 million from €280.7 million, with the CM2 margin falling from 17.3% to 15.9%. grenke attributed this partly to the time lag between movements in interest rates and adjustments to lending terms, alongside higher-than-expected defaults and increased loss levels.

Loss rate remains elevated

The lender continued to face pressure from insolvencies and defaults during the period. Its result from the settlement of claims and risk provision declined to minus €118.6 million, compared with minus €94.7 million a year earlier.

The loss rate consequently increased from 1.7% to 2.0%, which grenke attributed to persistently high insolvency levels and the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Despite this, its operating result increased from €36.5 million to €45.4 million.

Dr Martin Paal, CFO of grenke AG, said: “In the first half of 2026, we were able to significantly improve our cost-income ratio to 51.6 percent.

“This is primarily because our strict cost discipline and our measures to increase process efficiency are showing effect.

“Both have contributed significantly to our increase in earnings. Also worth highlighting are our successful refinancing operations, such as our first bond issue in Canadian dollars, which provide a stable foundation for our new business target.”

Lease receivables increased to €7.7 billion at the end of June, from €7.3 billion at the end of 2025, while the equity ratio remained broadly stable at 15.4%, compared with 15.6% at year-end.

grenke has maintained its guidance for the full year, forecasting Group earnings of between €74 million and €86 million. However, against the persistently challenging economic backdrop, the company expects leasing new business to finish towards the lower end of its €3.4 billion to €3.6 billion forecast range.

The Group is maintaining a longer-term focus on profitability, with a target of achieving a return on equity after tax of 10% by 2030.