Three years of losses, two years of restructuring and finally a return to profit in 2025: Windmöller has laid the groundwork for a fresh start. Now the German flooring manufacturer is entering its next chapter, with a familiar face back at the helm. In early October, the company announced that Philip Lehmann was leaving after less than three months as CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). Windmöller cites personal reasons without providing further details. Matthias Windmöller has returned as CEO, alongside Frederik Wittop as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer. For the family entrepreneur, it is a return to familiar territory: he was the person who initiated the company's far-reaching restructuring programme in late 2023.
Windmöller has navigated a demanding period. The company had been loss-making since 2022, recording three consecutive years in the red before returning to profitability in 2025. In December 2023, Matthias Windmöller, then CEO and principal shareholder, announced a comprehensive restructuring of the Augustdorf and Detmold sites. The plans included consolidating production capacity, expanding automation and cutting approximately 100 jobs. According to the company's statements at the time, the objective was to make Windmöller more resilient and better prepared for the future. The initiative therefore originated with the owner himself, as BTH Heimtex reported at the time.
Jürgen Abromeit took over operational leadership on 24 May 2024 as managing co-shareholder. Under his leadership, the restructuring already under way was advanced: Windmöller closed its Augustdorf site, consolidated production and administration in Detmold, and invested in machinery, automation and digitalisation. In mid-July 2026, the company declared its roughly two-year restructuring programme complete and announced a return to profitability. Abromeit transferred his shares back to the owning family as previously agreed. His successor, Philip Lehmann, also holding the combined CEO/CRO role, was expected to guide the next phase. For 2026 and 2027, Windmöller announced substantial investments in processes, products and sales. The stated objective was to gain additional market share.
The 2025 financial results demonstrate that the restructuring had begun to deliver tangible improvements. According to BTH Heimtex, citing the company's annual report, revenue declined by a further 3.4% to €83 million. At the same time, EBITDA doubled to €3.7 million. After a net loss of €7.3 million in 2024, Windmöller recorded a net profit of €100,000 in 2025. Modest as that figure may appear, it represents an important turning point after three loss-making years. The restructuring has clearly strengthened earnings. Nevertheless, establishing consistently robust profitability remains a task for the future. These earnings figures alone provide limited insight into the company's current liquidity, debt levels or financing position.
A closer look at the individual sales channels reveals how differently the business segments performed. In 2025, revenue fell by 23% in retail sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, by 19% in export sales and by 4% in the commercial project business. By contrast, sales to industrial customers increased by 17%, driven by stronger demand from the United States, according to BTH Heimtex. The industrial customer business thus proved comparatively resilient. For Windmöller, this is an important finding: alongside flooring products marketed under the wineo brand, the company has other business segments whose performance could play a significant role in its future earnings.
Windmöller's structure has also changed considerably in recent years. A company presentation from 2022 referred to more than 500 employees across three sites. The latest announcement puts group employment at approximately 280. However, exactly the same figure appeared in the July statement, meaning it provides no evidence of additional workforce changes following the recent management transition. Historical workforce figures are also not directly comparable without accounting for changes in the company's structure and potentially different reporting boundaries. Nevertheless, the scale of the transformation is substantial: Windmöller has reorganised its industrial operations and concentrated activities in Detmold. This new structure provides the foundation for the company's next phase.
For the next stage, Matthias Windmöller will be working alongside experienced restructuring specialist Frederik Wittop. Wittop, a graduate in business administration, has been a partner at restructuring consultancy Montag & Montag since 2015. His expertise includes distressed M&A, liquidity management and the operational continuation of businesses. According to the consultancy, his recent assignments have frequently involved serving as an authorised representative or CRO in insolvency proceedings under self-administration. Industry publication raumausstatter.com reports that Wittop is responsible for Windmöller's commercial and operational functions. The company explicitly highlights his experience in difficult and demanding situations involving industrial businesses and expects his expertise to support stabilisation and future development. His appointment does not necessarily indicate a renewed acute financial crisis. It may equally reflect the intention to safeguard the restructuring gains already achieved and provide a sound financial and operational basis for the next phase. The specific priorities of Wittop's role remain to be seen.
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Three years of losses, two years of restructuring and finally a return to profit in 2025: Windmöller has laid the groundwork for a fresh start. Now the German flooring manufacturer is entering its next chapter, with a familiar face back at the helm. In early October, the company announced that Philip Lehmann was leaving after less than three months as CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). Windmöller cites personal reasons without providing further details. Matthias Windmöller has returned as CEO, alongside Frederik Wittop as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer. For the family entrepreneur, it is a return to familiar territory: he was the person who initiated the company's far-reaching restructuring programme in late 2023.
Windmöller has navigated a demanding period. The company had been loss-making since 2022, recording three consecutive years in the red before returning to profitability in 2025. In December 2023, Matthias Windmöller, then CEO and principal shareholder, announced a comprehensive restructuring of the Augustdorf and Detmold sites. The plans included consolidating production capacity, expanding automation and cutting approximately 100 jobs. According to the company's statements at the time, the objective was to make Windmöller more resilient and better prepared for the future. The initiative therefore originated with the owner himself, as BTH Heimtex reported at the time.
Jürgen Abromeit took over operational leadership on 24 May 2024 as managing co-shareholder. Under his leadership, the restructuring already under way was advanced: Windmöller closed its Augustdorf site, consolidated production and administration in Detmold, and invested in machinery, automation and digitalisation. In mid-July 2026, the company declared its roughly two-year restructuring programme complete and announced a return to profitability. Abromeit transferred his shares back to the owning family as previously agreed. His successor, Philip Lehmann, also holding the combined CEO/CRO role, was expected to guide the next phase. For 2026 and 2027, Windmöller announced substantial investments in processes, products and sales. The stated objective was to gain additional market share.
The 2025 financial results demonstrate that the restructuring had begun to deliver tangible improvements. According to BTH Heimtex, citing the company's annual report, revenue declined by a further 3.4% to €83 million. At the same time, EBITDA doubled to €3.7 million. After a net loss of €7.3 million in 2024, Windmöller recorded a net profit of €100,000 in 2025. Modest as that figure may appear, it represents an important turning point after three loss-making years. The restructuring has clearly strengthened earnings. Nevertheless, establishing consistently robust profitability remains a task for the future. These earnings figures alone provide limited insight into the company's current liquidity, debt levels or financing position.
A closer look at the individual sales channels reveals how differently the business segments performed. In 2025, revenue fell by 23% in retail sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, by 19% in export sales and by 4% in the commercial project business. By contrast, sales to industrial customers increased by 17%, driven by stronger demand from the United States, according to BTH Heimtex. The industrial customer business thus proved comparatively resilient. For Windmöller, this is an important finding: alongside flooring products marketed under the wineo brand, the company has other business segments whose performance could play a significant role in its future earnings.
Windmöller's structure has also changed considerably in recent years. A company presentation from 2022 referred to more than 500 employees across three sites. The latest announcement puts group employment at approximately 280. However, exactly the same figure appeared in the July statement, meaning it provides no evidence of additional workforce changes following the recent management transition. Historical workforce figures are also not directly comparable without accounting for changes in the company's structure and potentially different reporting boundaries. Nevertheless, the scale of the transformation is substantial: Windmöller has reorganised its industrial operations and concentrated activities in Detmold. This new structure provides the foundation for the company's next phase.
For the next stage, Matthias Windmöller will be working alongside experienced restructuring specialist Frederik Wittop. Wittop, a graduate in business administration, has been a partner at restructuring consultancy Montag & Montag since 2015. His expertise includes distressed M&A, liquidity management and the operational continuation of businesses. According to the consultancy, his recent assignments have frequently involved serving as an authorised representative or CRO in insolvency proceedings under self-administration. Industry publication raumausstatter.com reports that Wittop is responsible for Windmöller's commercial and operational functions. The company explicitly highlights his experience in difficult and demanding situations involving industrial businesses and expects his expertise to support stabilisation and future development. His appointment does not necessarily indicate a renewed acute financial crisis. It may equally reflect the intention to safeguard the restructuring gains already achieved and provide a sound financial and operational basis for the next phase. The specific priorities of Wittop's role remain to be seen.