Heidelberg achieves results target and returns to profit

Heidelberg said this means the company has achieved its key target for the financial year.

Although factors such as exchange rate movements resulted in an expected fall in group sales from the previous year's figure of 2.7 billion EUR to 2.4 billion EUR, all result-related KPIs were far better than in the previous financial year. For example, EBITDA excluding special items rose to 143 million EUR in the financial year just closed against 80 million EUR.

The result of operating activities ( EBIT) excluding special items climbed to 72 million EUR over the twelve-month period, from a loss of three million EUR in the previous year. Special items in the reporting period amounted to a loss of some 10 million EUR and the financial result was a loss of 60 million EUR.

According to preliminary figures, this has resulted in a net profit for the year of four million EUR.

Gerold Linzbach, Heidelberg chief executive officer, said: ‘Heidelberg is once again making a net profit, which was our number one priority. Despite the weak sales situation, we have significantly improved our company's profitability. This impressive achievement lays the foundation for further positive developments at the company.

‘The big improvement in the result after tax to a net profit demonstrates the success of our strategic reorientation, even with difficult underlying conditions. This now puts us in a position to press ahead with reorganizing the company by optimizing our portfolio. Our medium-term target of achieving an EBITDA margin of at least eight percent remains unchanged.’

Heidelberg CFO Dirk Kaliebe added: ‘Not only have we impressively achieved all our results targets, but our asset and net working capital management program has also brought further successes in terms of the cash flow and free cash flow and thus reducing our debts. At the end of the financial year, we have thus achieved our goal of reducing the leverage (net debt divided by EBITDA) to less than two for the first time in many years.’

Heidelberg will publish its detailed audited group figures on June 11.