Alfa Laval's triple breakthrough: data centers double, biofuel returns, and a new tanker leg
Alfa Laval booked a record SEK 22 billion in Q2 orders, “a new all-time high of just above SEK 22 billion” — Tom Erixon, CEO · 2026-07-21. This lifted the backlog to a record SEK 53.5 billion and produced a book-to-bill of 1.23. The adjusted EBITA margin held at 17% despite heavy investment and some mixed effects.
Data centers: from SEK 2.5B to SEK 5B run rate
The quarter's centerpiece is the doubling of the data center business. “the 12-month order pace in data centers in the Energy division is approximately at around SEK 5 billion” — Tom Erixon, CEO · 2026-07-21 That roughly doubles the “ongoing rolling 12 months is at around SEK 2.5 billion” — Tom Erixon, CEO · 2026-04-22 from the previous quarter's call. Tom Erixon sees this as a structural share gain:
The data centers theme is no longer a sideline; it is running at a SEK 5 billion annualized pace and management is deliberately managing order timing while adding capacity for 2027 and beyond. The company's ability to scale with the largest hyperscalers is becoming a durable competitive moat.We are very confident that our market share has increased during this year... we are the go-to partner and the anchor partner for most of the data center expansion plans when it comes to the data center side... we are very committed to go with this and play our role in the supply chain.
Biofuel cycle returns
The biofuel investment cycle, which had been dormant for two years, turned decisively. “the large Brazilian project amounting to SEK 1.1 billion was booked in the second quarter” — Tom Erixon, CEO · 2026-07-21 That comes on top of a SEK 1.5 billion cryo order for LNG in the U.S. and sharply reverses the recent trough, when “It's been 5%. And so it's been very little” — Tom Erixon, CEO · 2026-02-03 was the story for biofuel's share of orders. Management now sees a multi-year pipeline of sizeable projects, with the energy transition becoming more market-driven than policy-driven.
LR tankers: a new leg for pumping systems
The Ocean division delivered another breakthrough: orders for long-range tankers, a segment comparable in size to MR tankers where Alfa already dominates. "It was also a breakthrough quarter with orders for the LR-Tanker segment," Erixon said. The hydraulic pumping solutions that deliver high value in MR tankers are now winning acceptance in the LR segment, opening a new addressable market for LR tankers. While the dynamics differ, this is a meaningful step in the company's marine growth story, complementing a record cargo pumping order book running into 2028.
The overall message is consistent: Alfa Laval is in a period of strong multi-end-market growth. The third quarter is guided "somewhat lower" sequentially, but against a record second quarter and with no deterioration in underlying conditions. The company's record backlog of SEK 53.5 billion and its capacity investments position it well for continued invoicing growth.