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Italy-based industrial and medical gases company SOL Group’s home care business has overtaken its technical gases division by revenue, as a string of acquisitions and an expanding patient base drove double-digit growth in the first half of 2026.
SOL’s Home Care segment, operated under its Vivisol brand, generated €499.8m in sales in the six months to June 30, up 11.3% year-on-year. That compared with €469.5m ($545m) for its Technical Gases segment, which grew 5.5% over the same period.
The shift comes as SOL continues to build its presence in home respiratory care across Europe and Latin America, with acquisitions forming a major part of its expansion strategy.
During the first half, SOL acquired Swiss home respiratory-care operator VitalAire Schweiz from Air Liquide, as well as UK specialist respiratory-care companies Remeo Healthcare and Remeo Property. It also acquired 70% of Brazilian home respiratory-care group Oxigenar and its subsidiary Pulmonair.
SOL said Vivisol’s growth was driven by a progressive increase in patients, acquisitions and growth across all business lines, particularly sleep apnoea and advanced nursing care.
The UK acquisition of Remeo, completed earlier this year, expanded SOL’s respiratory-care activities into specialist care for patients with complex respiratory needs. The deal included the Lane Fox Remeo Respiratory Centre in Surrey, a 20-bed facility operated in partnership with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
In Brazil, the Oxigenar and Pulmonair acquisition added a business-to-consumer home respiratory-care network spanning 24 sleep centres, with services covering sleep apnoea, oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation.
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SOL has continued expanding since the end of the reporting period. In the third quarter, it completed the of 51% of Brazilian industrial gases company IBG. It also acquired Danish respiratory-care operator Nowus Healthcare, which operates across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the UK.
The wider SOL Group reported consolidated sales of €948.6m ($1.1m) for H1, up 8.5% year-on-year. EBITDA increased 12.1% to €247.4m ($288m), while EBIT rose 10.3% to €148.8m ($173m) and net profit increased 7.6% to €89.9m ($104.5m).
Home Care also generated €124.2m ($144m) in EBITDA, up 9.5%, while Technical Gases generated €123.2m ($143m), up 14.7%.
SOL said its international expansion would remain a priority, despite continued geopolitical and energy-market volatility.
“We will closely monitor the high geopolitical and energy volatility, and at the same time ready to seize new opportunities for strategic partnerships,” said SOL Chairman Aldo Fumagalli Romario.
