Incoming orders in the third quarter amounted to €609m, 14.7 per cent up on the previous quarter’s level of €534m and roughly nine per cent higher than the figure for the same quarter the previous year (€560 million).

Commenting on the results, Bernhard Schreier says, “Incoming orders and sales were slightly up in the third quarter. We achieved some fairly notable business successes, particularly in China and Germany.”

He continues, “We have increased our market share with our new large-format presses however there is currently no sign of a significant recovery because generally speaking print shops around the globe are still reluctant to invest.”

The press giant also reported that at €578m, sales in the third quarter matched the highest level to date for the current financial year. Services accounted for just under 30 per cent of this figure. Sales were €79m higher than the previous quarter’s figure of €499 million but 23 per cent down on the same quarter the previous year, when they totalled €750m.

The Heidelberg workforce also fell again, by 181, in the third quarter of 2009-10. As of December 31, 2009, the Heidelberg Group had a workforce of 18,020 worldwide (previous year 19,548). Since March 31, 2008, staffing levels have been reduced by a total of 2,550. Overall, the company plans to cut around 4,000 jobs worldwide by the end of financial year 2010-11.

Based on the way the current financial year has gone to date, Heidelberg still expects the Group’s sales for financial year 2009-10 as a whole to be significantly below the level recorded in financial year 2008-09.

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