Cicor Achieves Transformative Growth in 2025

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

In 2025, Cicor Group entered a phase of transformative growth. The Company had closed 2024 with revenues of CHF 480.8 million and achieved revenues of CHF 616.5 million in 2025, corresponding to growth of about 28%. On a pro forma basis, including all M&A transactions completed, revenues increased even to CHF 691.0 million. The accelerated pace of growth represents more than purely quantitative expansion, as the Company is moving into a new league in terms of scale, customers, markets, and relevance. This development materially strengthened Cicor’s competitive position as a leading European electronics partner for high end applications.

Four key drivers place Cicor in a strong position to continue both organic and inorganic growth: A further optimised strategic geographic footprint, the expansion of capacity required to serve relevant customer programmes, a proven ability to act as a partner of choice in acquisitions and continued substantial financial firepower. The continued gain in market share and acquisition-adjusted earnings growth demonstrate the success of the strategy initiated in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA increased to CHF 64.6 million, while adjusted earnings per share decreased slightly to CHF 7.45 (2024: CHF 7.85). Strong free cash flow generation before M&A of CHF 49.1 million largely offset the cash outflow of CHF 49.9 million for the five transactions completed during 2025. This disciplined capital allocation ensures strategic flexibility for future opportunities.

Cicor accelerated the growth momentum of the previous years, increasing sales by 28.2% from CHF 480.8 million in 2024 to CHF 616.5 million in 2025 (pro forma: CHF 691.0 million). Acquisitions contributed 32.5% to sales growth, while the appreciation of the Swiss franc had a negative impact of -2.3%. Organic growth was -2.0%, primarily due to softness in the AS division. The EMS division achieved organic growth of 0.1%, compared to a -1.3%1 decline in the European Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) market. Order intake exceeded the prior year by almost 50% reaching CHF 645.0 million, mainly due to acquisitions (2024: CHF 440.4 million). This strong order intake provides a solid basis for continued growth. The book-to-bill ratio of 1.05 indicates a return to organic growth.

Cicor has made meaningful progress in executing the strategy defined in 2024, which targets revenues of CHF 1 billion by 2028. This strong trajectory reinforces confidence in achieving the medium term targets. In light of this progress, the Company expects to review and, if appropriate, revise its medium-term objectives during the course of 2026.

2025 is the first year in which the Company recorded significant one-time earnings effects as a result of its acquisition activity. In particular, the acquisition of Éolane in France in April 2025, which was completed out of a restructuring situation, initially led to non-recurring ramp-up effects and entails margin dilution. Cicor intends to gradually bring former Éolane to the Group’s margin level and is prudently assuming a high single-digit EBITDA margin run rate by the end of the current year. The integration process is proceeding according to plan. Because of the termination of the acquisition of TT Electronics, CHF 4.4 million of transaction costs that would have been capitalised are recognised as operating expenses, and approximately CHF 2.4 million as financial expenses in the 2025 income statement.

Adjusted EBITDA increased to CHF 64.6 million. However, the margin dilution resulting from the acquisitions, in particular from the integration of the insolvent Éolane entities, led to a lower adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.5% (2024: 12.6%). As in the previous year, depreciation of tangible assets and amortisation of intangible assets amounted to 2.8% of sales, resulting in adjusted EBIT of CHF 47.2 million (2024: CHF 47.5 million), corresponding to an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.7% (2024: 9.9%). Adjusted net profit decreased slightly from CHF 34.5 million to CHF 32.7 million, primarily driven by unfavourable exchange rate effects.

In the reporting year, improvements in operational excellence led to a significant reduction in net working capital relative to sales, which decreased to 22.3% (2024: 24.8%), and once again led to a strong Free Cash Flow before acquisition of CHF 49.1 million (2024: CHF 61.1 million). This underlines the Group’s continued financial discipline and is above the long-term goal to deliver 50% of Free Cash Flow to EBITDA conversion.

The strong Free Cash Flow generation prior to the acquisitions funded a significant share of the related purchase prices. Following the completion of five acquisitions in 2025, financial leverage (net debt to EBITDA) increased from 0.71 to 1.10, leaving Cicor in an excellent position to fund further acquisitions. The Group maintains a solid financial profile despite continued investment activity.

The Company presents adjusted performance measures up to and including earnings per share in the relevant section of this report. Given the high level of acquisition activity, this approach is intended to enhance transparency and comparability with historic results and peers. Key figures show both reported and adjusted financial information. Adjustments include one-off effects related to acquisition step-ups, integration and restructuring, and other acquisition-related accounting effects.

Record of five closed acquisitions

During the reporting year, Cicor further advanced its pan-European growth strategy through five targeted acquisitions, strengthening its footprint in the core markets of Healthcare/Medtech, Industrial and Aerospace & Defence. Each acquisition contributes directly to an increasing scale and customer access.

The year started with the acquisition of Profectus GmbH (Suhl, Germany), completed on 3 January 2025, which further strengthens Cicor’s market position in Germany. Profectus develops and manufactures electronic modules and systems for industrial and medical technology customers, employs around 90 people and generates approximately EUR 20 million in revenue; the business is now under joint management with nearby Cicor Digital Elektronik GmbH (Wutha-Farnroda and Buttlar, Germany).

A significant step in scaling the Group was achieved in April 2025 with the acquisition of substantial business activities of the Éolane Group, marking Cicor’s entry into the French market for Aerospace & Defence, Railway Infrastructure as well as Energy, Industrial and Healthcare Technology applications. The transaction comprised five sites in France and two sites in Morocco, adding around 890 employees and approximately EUR 128 million in profitable revenue. The scale of this acquisition represents a meaningful expansion of Cicor’s European footprint. The acquisition strengthens Cicor’s position in regulated end markets and offers potential to improve margins over time through operational and procurement synergies.

In June 2025, Cicor implemented a strategic partnership with Mercury Systems by acquiring its electronics manufacturing facility in Plan-les-Ouates (Geneva, Switzerland). The site employs 34 people, and production will be gradually transferred during 2026 to existing Cicor sites in the UK and Switzerland in order to leverage operational synergies. In parallel, Mercury committed to a five-year supply agreement, supporting capacity utilisation and revenue generation in the Aerospace & Defence segment. This agreement provides long-term visibility for production planning.

On 1 August 2025, Cicor completed the acquisition of MADES S.A.U. in Málaga, Spain, a specialist company primarily serving the Aerospace & Defence sector. MADES employs around 100 people and generated approximately EUR 30 million in revenue. The business is profitable with an EBITDA margin slightly above the group level and remains unchanged operationally to ensure continuity for customers.

At year-end, Cicor acquired two production sites from Valtronic Technologies, thereby entering the US market and further expanding its manufacturing footprint in Morocco. The sites in Cleveland (Ohio, USA), and Berrechid (Morocco) added around 220 employees and contribute approximately CHF 23 million in additional revenue, with further growth potential. The site in Morocco is located in the same building as Cicor France (former Éolane), highlighting significant integration opportunities. This step marks an important extension of Cicor’s global delivery capability. Strategically, the transaction strengthens the Group’s Medtech activities and enables local manufacturing for US customers.

In October 2025, Cicor announced its intention to acquire TT Electronics by way of a Scheme of Arrangement, which was unanimously supported by the TT Board of Directors. The proposed combination with TT Electronics offered a strong strategic and industrial rationale. However, the required 75% majority of votes cast was not obtained at the general meeting, and the transaction therefore lapsed and will not be pursued further. As a consequence, one-off transaction-related costs of approximately CHF 6.8 million were recognised in the 2025 income statement. The strategic focus of the Group remains unchanged despite the lapse of the transaction. Cicor is well positioned to pursue its strategy on a stand-alone basis, while its disciplined, value-focused M&A strategy remains unchanged.

With five acquisitions completed and one aborted due to a disciplined approach, the management team further demonstrated its ability to manage multiple M&A and integration processes simultaneously, positioning the company as one of the most capable consolidation vehicles.

Markets and regions

Cicor has already succeeded in achieving leading positions across all its target markets. Furthermore, Cicor observes a shift in global customers’ selection approaches that favors its pan-European footprint and capabilities. On a pro forma basis, and according to New Venture Research combined with own research, Cicor ranks number two in Europe in the Aerospace & Defence segment, number three in Medical, and number six in Industrial applications, resulting in an overall position of number four in the European market. This reflects the Group’s strengthened competitive positioning across its core sectors.

Growth was recorded across all of Cicor’s strategic target markets: while Medical Technology grew by 3.8% and Industrial Electronics by 48.3%, the Aerospace & Defence business expanded significantly by 30.3%. As a result, the share of sales from Industrial Applications was 38.5% (2024: 33.3%), Aerospace & Defence accounted for 25.7% (2024: 25.3%), and Medical Technology contributed 19.2% (2024: 23.7%). Due to acquisitions, sales generated in Europe (excluding Switzerland) increased by 32.7%, contributing 70.0% of total group sales (2024: 67.6%). Sales with customers in Switzerland increased by 22.5% and contributed 16.9% (2024: 17.6%). Sales with customers in Asia increased by 9.1%, bringing its share to 8.4% (2024: 9.9%). Meanwhile, sales directly invoiced to America grew by 24.5%, accounting for 3.8% of Cicor’s total sales (2024: 3.9%). These shifts illustrate the Group’s expanding international presence.

Electronic Manufacturing Services returning to organic growth

In 2025, the EMS division achieved slight positive organic growth of 0.1%, outperforming the European EMS market, which declined by 1.3%2. Following the significant market share gains achieved in 2024, Cicor was again able to generate a modest additional increase in market share despite the challenging market environment. While the EMS business in Germany was affected by the persistently weak economic conditions, revenues in other regions – United Kingdom, Asia and Romania – recorded organic growth. Net sales of the EMS division amounted to CHF 584.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached CHF 63.8 million, corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.9%, reflecting the resilience of the business model and continued operational discipline.

The continued focus on structurally attractive growth markets – in particular Aerospace & Defence and Medical Technology – combined with Cicor’s differentiated value proposition, supported further market share gains across Europe. Sales growth was driven in particular by key customer programmes in ramp-up, including applications in sensor technology, semiconductor equipment, neurostimulation implants and medical wearables.

A growing share of these products is co-developed by Cicor, underlining the progress in making Cicor a true CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation) within the EMS offering. The further expansion of co-development capabilities remains a core element of Cicor’s strategy. At the end of 2025, over 400 engineers in product and test development, process engineering and EMC testing worked closely with customers to efficiently bring complex electronic systems to market.

In Aerospace & Defence, the EMS division recorded significant order intake, including further contract wins at the beginning of the current year, resulting in a positive book-to-bill ratio for the group. Combined with a stabilisation in the other end markets, this order momentum provides a solid basis for positive organic growth of the EMS division in the current year.

Advanced Substrates with improved cost structure

In 2025, the Advanced Substrates division generated net sales of CHF 35.3 million. On an organic basis, revenues declined by 22.0%, primarily reflecting significantly lower order volumes from two major medical technology customers as a result of inventory optimisation measures. In addition, customers in the hearing aids segment reported subdued end-market demand, which further weighed on sales during the reporting year.

Against this backdrop, the division continued to consistently improve its cost structure which strengthens the foundation for future margin recovery. In the thin-film activities, the Ulm (Germany) site was closed and production was fully consolidated at the Wangs site in Switzerland, resulting in a more focused and efficient manufacturing footprint.

In the printed circuit board activities, further operational improvements were implemented at the Boudry (Switzerland) site. As a result of these measures, the impact of the volume-related margin pressure was effectively mitigated, limiting the decline in profitability. Adjusted EBITDA declined to CHF 3.8 million, corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.8%.

For the Advanced Substrates division, no further negative effects from customer inventory adjustments are expected. As these effects phase out and demand from the Aerospace & Defence segment increases significantly, the division anticipates strong revenue growth. The primary focus in the current year will be on successfully scaling operations to meet the higher demand.

Strategy

Since the implementation of its corporate strategy in 2017, Cicor has almost tripled (+184%) sales, more than tripled (+236%) adjusted EBITDA, and quintupled (+391%) adjusted net profit. The Company has risen from around 30th place among European EMS providers to number 4, establishing market leadership in Switzerland and the UK, as well as a pan-European leadership position in Aerospace & Defence applications. This development demonstrates the Group’s sustained strategic execution capability.

The strategy of Cicor is structured around three focus areas. First, Cicor concentrates on high-end electronics for applications with stringent requirements for reliability, safety and performance. The company develops and manufactures electronic systems for safety-critical aerospace as well as defence and security applications on land, at sea, in the air and in space. In medical technology, Cicor supports the industrialisation of advanced products such as hearing systems, surgical robotics and intelligent drug delivery solutions. In addition, Cicor advances the miniaturisation and automation of electronic systems, particularly in robotics, sensors, control systems and semiconductor equipment.

Second, the scaled High-Mix Low-Volume business model is a core driver of value creation. A high product mix combined with small to medium batch sizes limits dependency on individual customers and reduces exposure to single end-market cycles, supporting resilience in volatile environments. The decentralised organisational structure enables flexibility and close customer interaction, while scale effects are realised in procurement, manufacturing and selling. This model supports margin development and long-term customer relationships. It remains a key differentiator in Cicor’s competitive positioning.

Third, Cicor combines a pan-European market presence with a globally oriented manufacturing and engineering platform. Targeted acquisitions have expanded production and engineering activities to seven markets by 2025, providing access to ca. 70% of European electronics OEMs. Cicor offers customer-specific manufacturing solutions addressing regulatory requirements, nearshoring and local-for-local production models. The establishment of a presence in the United States in 2025 further extends the global footprint and enables the provision of local sales, engineering and manufacturing services to international customers.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a driver of Cicor’s 2028 Creating Together strategy and a relevant factor in securing long-term competitiveness and sustainable shareholder value. In an increasingly volatile environment characterised by geopolitical shifts, supply chain realignments, and rising regulatory expectations, disciplined ESG management strengthens resilience, safeguards market access, and enhances customer trust. Cicor therefore systematically integrates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into its strategy considerations, operational management, and risk governance framework as part of its Compliance structure.

Clear policies, robust internal controls, and structured risk management processes ensure consistent implementation across all locations. Defined performance indicators enable transparent monitoring of progress and reinforce management accountability. Cicor views sustainability as a continuous improvement journey, anchored in compliance, guided by measurable targets, and directly linked to long-term value creation and risk mitigation.

Our employees remain a critical success factor. Cicor’s ambition to become an employer of choice supports its ability to attract, retain, and develop highly skilled talent in competitive markets. A strong safety culture, inclusive leadership approach, and focus on continuous development strengthen operational performance and innovation capacity. In 2025, workplace accidents remained below industry benchmarks, underscoring the effectiveness of the Company’s safety management systems.

Operational efficiency and environmental performance remain closely aligned. In 2025, energy consumption relative to sales decreased by 5%, while the share of renewable energy increased to 32% (2024: 28%). The Company continues to progress toward its target of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030, supporting cost efficiency, regulatory preparedness, and long-term competitiveness.

Supply chain transparency is particularly critical. Cicor applies structured screening and risk-based due diligence processes to identify and mitigate ESG risks across its supplier base. In 2025, 72% of suppliers were screened under the Company’s risk assessment framework. By strengthening transparency, traceability, and responsible sourcing practices, Cicor assumes responsibility beyond its own operations and enhances supply chain resilience. This is a key factor in safeguarding customer relationships and ensuring stable business performance.

The 2025 Sustainability Report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Sustainability Reporting Standards and the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It also complies with Swiss legal requirements for non-financial reporting and will be submitted to shareholders for approval at the 2026 Annual General Meeting.

Dividend policy

The Board of Directors of Cicor Technologies Ltd. proposes to the 2026 Annual General Meeting that no dividend be distributed, in order to allocate capital to strategic acquisitions that support the Company’s growth trajectory.

These investments are aimed at generating long-term value for all Cicor stakeholders. This capital allocation approach prioritises long-term value creation over short-term distribution. As soon as Cicor has achieved a sustainable growth platform generating recurring positive net cash flow after acquisitions, a resumption of dividend payments will be considered.

Events after the end of the financial year

On 7 January, a majority of TT Electronics shareholders approved the takeover by Cicor, but not the required 75 percent. This means that the project will not be pursued further.

Focus on integration and continued growth

Following the year of transformative growth, Cicor will place a strong focus on the successful integration of the companies acquired in 2025, while continuing to pursue a selective and disciplined M&A strategy. Supported by a positive book-to-bill ratio, Cicor expects organic growth to return in the current year, with momentum building gradually and a stronger contribution in the second half. At the same time, management’s priorities include completing the integration process, raising the Group’s margin level and further strengthening operational efficiency. The anticipated continued appreciation of the Swiss franc remains a challenge. While transaction-related currency exposures are actively managed through appropriate measures, the impact on financial results arises primarily from translation effects.

Reflecting expected organic growth in 2026 and the full-year contribution of the companies acquired in 2025, Group sales are expected to reach between CHF 700 million and CHF 750 million in 2026. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be in the range of CHF 70 million to CHF 80 million, assuming stable geopolitical, economic and financial conditions.

The acquisitions completed in 2025 were executed at attractive purchase prices. The resulting temporary margin dilution is being consciously accepted. In particular, Cicor France (formerly Éolane), the largest acquisition, is expected to gradually converge towards the target margin by the end of 2026 and will remain margin-dilutive until then. At the same time, the margin improvement creates structural value and allows for a largely operational refinancing of the acquisition.

As part of its strategy presentation in November 2024, Cicor announced financial mid-term targets for 2028. These will be regularly assessed over the course of the year and may be revised if required:

• Annual organic sales growth of 7-10%
• Sales of >CHF 1 billion by 2028
• Profitability of 7-10% (EBIT) and 10-13% (EBITDA)
• Return on invested capital (ROIC) of >15%
• Leverage ratio (Net Debt / EBITDA) of <2.75
• Capital expenditure (CAPEX) of less than 3% of sales

Cicor remains well positioned, benefiting from its focus on the Medical Technology, Aerospace & Defence and Industrial markets. Despite a challenging economic environment, Cicor has demonstrated resilience in recent years. Based on its proactive risk management strategy and continuous adaptation to changing market conditions, the Company is committed to sustainable growth and the effective pursuit of its corporate objectives. Acquisitions will continue to play an important role in Cicor’s strategy, as the Company sees attractive opportunities in a highly fragmented market.