Tomra, a provider of collection and sorting technologies for recycling and resource recovery, has reported a 25 per cent increase in second quarter revenue, driven by strong demand for reverse vending machines following the rollout of deposit return systems (DRS) in Poland and other markets.
Group revenue increased to €405m ($462.25m) in the second quarter of 2026, compared with €325m ($370.95m) in the same period last year.
The company’s Collection division recorded the strongest growth, with revenue rising 45 per cent year on year to €246m ($280.78m). Growth was supported by reverse vending machine installations in Poland, Portugal, Singapore and Romania, alongside 15 per cent growth in existing markets.
New deposit markets contributed €69m ($78.75m) in revenue during the quarter. Poland’s deposit return system became Tomra’s second largest deposit market in Europe during the period, with approximately 800 million drinks containers collected through 7,000 Tomra reverse vending machines since launch.
‘A new milestone’
Tomra president and chief executive Tove Andersen said: “The second quarter marks a new milestone for Poland’s recently launched deposit return system, which has rapidly grown into Tomra’s second largest deposit market in Europe.”
She added that installations in Poland peaked during the quarter, contributing to record group revenue growth.
However, Tomra’s Recycling division continued to face challenging market conditions. Revenue fell by 11 per cent to €51m ($58.25m) following lower order levels over the previous year, particularly in North American waste recovery and European plastics recycling.
Recycling order intake increased by 40 per cent to €58m ($66.20m), driven mainly by metals recycling and mining projects. The company said this was the first year-on-year increase in order intake for the division in more than a year.
Food division revenue increased by 5 per cent to €99m ($113m), although order intake declined by 22 per cent following a strong comparison period that included €25m ($28.53m) of large projects.
Reverse vending machine sales
Tomra’s gross margin declined to 41.3 per cent from 44.3 per cent a year earlier, mainly due to the higher proportion of reverse vending machine sales in its Collection division and changes in the mix of products sold by its Food division.
Adjusted EBITA increased by 30 per cent to €57m ($65.06m), while cash flow from operations rose by 118 per cent to €38m ($43.37m).
The company said it expects continued development of deposit return systems, supported by regulatory developments including the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and Single-Use Plastics Directive.
Tomra is also implementing gross cost reductions of approximately €16m ($18.26m) in its Recycling division, with savings expected to gradually take effect during 2026 and deliver their full impact from 2027.
