According to unaudited preliminary figures by Heidelberg, the company has revealed that it has exceeded its own forecast in terms of net sales and operating margin for the financial year 2020/2021, which ended on March 31.
“Thanks to a strong final quarter, sales of around €1.913 billion were slightly above the forecast range of €1.85 billion to €1.90 billion,” it said, in a statement.
According to the company, this is due to rising demand particularly in China, parts of Europe and, in the final quarter, incoming orders rising to a around €2.0 billion in the US.
“In the fourth quarter alone, the order intake improved significantly to €579 million, from € 462 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The order backlog thus increased to a level of € 636 million, providing a favorable basis for the new financial year,” it said.
Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer said with a strong final spurt, the business has been able to continue its recovery in business volume since the pandemic low earlier in its financial year.
“The upturn in the regions makes us confident that we will be able to continue our upward trend in net sales and margin in the future,” he said.
As a result of the positive effects realised under the transformation program and the higher sales volume in the final quarter, Heidelberg said the operating return exceeded the company’s own forecast.
At €146 million, EBITDA excluding restructuring result in financial year 2020/2021 was significantly higher than in the previous year (€102 million). The EBITDA margin of around 7.6 per cent exceeded the company’s own forecast of around seven per cent.
“The consistent and rapid implementation of our transformation program has stabilised Heidelberg during the pandemic and, with the tailwind of the market recovery setting in, provides the foundation for profitable growth,” Heidelberg chief financial officer Marcus A. Wassenberg said.
The company is expected to publish its financial statements and annual report for financial year 2020/2021 on June 9.
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