Heidelberg back in the black

Incoming orders and sales recorded by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) in the financial year 2010/2011 were up on the previous year.

After two years in the red, the company has moved back into the black, and met its own forecast.

‘This proves that we have adopted the right strategy - competitive products and services, a strong presence on emerging markets, a commitment to less cyclical areas such as services and consumables, and an expansion of business with packaging print shops.  We will continue to systematically implement this successful strategy during the current financial year and gradually build up to our medium-term target of sales exceeding EUR 3 billion and a return on sales of more than 5 percent,’ said company CEO Bernhard Schreier.

Incoming orders were up 16 percent on the previous year's figure of around EUR 2.4 billion, with EUR 140 million of this linked to exchange rate movements.  Trade show success at ExpoPrint in Brazil and IPEX in the United Kingdom led to above-average incoming orders in the first quarter, making orders higher in the first half-year than in the second.  They exceeded the previous year's figure in all regions but grew more strongly on emerging markets than in industrialized countries.

Heidelberg Group sales climbed by around 14 percent to approximately EUR 2.6 billion, which includes approximately EUR 135 million from exchange rate movements. The emerging markets paved the way for strong growth in the print media industry and increased their total share of sales from 42 percent to around 45 percent at the end of the year.  Brazil played a major part in this increase, as did China, which now accounts for 16 percent of sales, followed by Germany with 15 percent.
 
‘Heidelberg has secured its medium- to long-term financing by diversifying its finance sources and made great strides in optimizing the maturity profile of loans.  Thanks to our comprehensive cost-cutting measures, we have reduced the operating break-even threshold too.  This will significantly improve our earnings situation in the future,’ said Heidelberg CFO Dirk Kaliebe.