The German industrial group SMS Group, which has controlled Paul Wurth for several years, recorded a 10% increase in order intake in 2025, to €4bn, despite a market described as challenging by its management in a press release on Wednesday morning. Revenue fell slightly to €3.6bn, mainly due to major projects still in progress, whilst operating profit rose to €145m. Free cash flow now stands at €1.25bn.
For Luxembourg, these results go far beyond the mere news of a German metallurgical engineering group. Since SMS Group acquired a stake in Paul Wurth in 2012 and then bought out the remaining shares in 2021, the former Luxembourg flagship of steel engineering has gradually become a key component of the group’s technological strategy in low-carbon steel, blast furnaces and industrial hydrogen.
This is a strategic issue for Luxembourg because Paul Wurth has historically been one of the country’s leading industrial names, with close ties to Luxembourg’s steel industry and the ecosystem that developed around Arbed and later ArcelorMittal. A significant proportion of the group’s engineering, research and energy transition technology activities are still based in Luxembourg today.
Higher financial targets for 2026
“Conditions in 2025 were anything but easy. It is therefore all the more important that we were able to further improve our profitability and maintain stability in the execution of our projects,” said the group’s CEO, Jochen Burg. The group also has higher financial ambitions for the coming years. “We do not view our 7% Ebit margin target as an upper limit, but as a minimum requirement,” said CFO Fabíola Fernandez.
Beyond its financial results, SMS Group is primarily seeking to reposition itself as a key player in the energy transition within heavy industry. The group is placing a strong emphasis on technologies for decarbonising steel production, a market set to become increasingly important given the growing regulatory pressure on industrial emissions.
The company highlights, in particular, its EasyMelt technology, designed to reduce CO2 emissions existing blast furnaces. SMS states that this solution is now being rolled out on an industrial scale with Tata Steel in India. The group has also increased its investment in research and development to €157m by 2025.
A long-term technology partner
This focus is directly in line with the expertise Paul Wurth has historically developed in Luxembourg in steelmaking technologies and blast furnace processes. For several years now, SMS Group has also been promoting Luxembourg as a key hub for its developments in hydrogen and industrial decarbonisation.
The group is also developing a tool called the Plant Assessment Tool, designed to help steelmakers simulate different energy transition pathways based on energy and raw material costs, as well as carbon impacts. This development illustrates the gradual transformation of the industry: beyond simply building industrial facilities, engineering firms are now seeking to become long-term technology partners for their clients.
SMS Group is also continuing to expand its services business, which now accounts for 24% of total turnover. Maintenance, technical support, spare parts and operational support form a segment considered to be more stable and profitable than major industrial projects alone. The group is targeting annual growth of around 10% in this business.
India, a driver of growth
India is now emerging as one of the group’s main drivers of growth. In early 2026, SMS opened a new plant in the state of Gujarat to support the rapid expansion of the Indian steel industry. “Indian steel production currently stands at around 150m tonnes per year and is expected to reach 300m tonnes in the coming years,” said Jochen Burg.
The group also states that it is continuing to strengthen its ESG strategy through the introduction of new environmental management tools, internal decarbonisation projects and the greater integration of sustainability criteria into its product development. As is the case for much of the European industrial sector, however, these announcements come at a time when companies still need to demonstrate their ability to rapidly transform their business models whilst maintaining profitability.
For 2026, SMS Group expects the market to remain challenging but anticipates a further improvement in its operating results and a slight increase in revenue to over €3.6bn.
