Kepler upgraded the rating of SOL (BIT:SOL) to Buy from Hold on Thursday and raised the target price to €56.50 from €54.50, citing solid results for the 2025 financial year and favorable prospects for the Italian chemical company.
SOL reported sales of €1.78 billion for the 2025 financial year, which is an increase of 10.3% compared to last year, while mergers and acquisitions contributed to a growth of 1.9%. The company's EBITDA margin expanded by 30 basis points to 25.4%, while EBITDA grew by 11.8%, EBIT increased by 13.8%, and net profit rose by 13%.
Both the technical gases division, which grew by 8.2%, and the home care division, which grew by 12.3%, contributed to the results.
Sales growth in the fourth quarter slowed to 8.2% year-on-year from 9.0% in the third quarter, primarily due to lower energy cost carryover. The net financial position amounted to €485 million, which is better than Kepler's estimate of €516 million, thanks to lower capital expenditures and cash outflows from M&A transactions.
Kepler raised its sales estimate for 2026 to €1.92 billion from €1.90 billion and its EBITDA estimate to €490 million from €481 million.
The firm increased its earnings per share estimates for 2026-2028 by 2.0%-3.5%, incorporating the full impact of eight acquisitions completed in 2025 and two transactions in early 2026.
SOL completed transactions totaling €17 million in cash outflows during 2025. According to Kepler, the company expects to receive between €6 million and €8 million from the Energy Release decree in 2026.