Heidelberg has reported a strong start to the 2025/26 financial year. Boosted by a solid order backlog carried over from the previous year, the company reported first-quarter sales of €466 million – well above the €403 million recorded in the same period last year.
According to the company, business in Europe and Asia developed particularly positively during this period. The adjusted operating result (EBITDA) also improved significantly, to €20 million (corresponding quarter of previous year: € –9 million).
The adjusted EBITDA margin, which did not include any special items during the reporting period, rose accordingly to 4.4 per cent after three months (equivalent quarter of previous year: –2.3 per cent).
A full year after drupa, incoming orders of €559 million in the first quarter (previous year’s figure: €701 million) continued to create a solid basis for positive business development, according to Heidelberg, with the company’s successful participation in the China Print trade show also playing a role.
“Thanks to our global market position and an improved cost basis, we have made a good start to the new financial year,” said Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberg.
“Strategic measures in our core business, together with new options in the Technology segment and our move into the defence sector, give us cause to feel very confident about the prospects for the year as a whole.”
Although the free cash flow after three months was negative, as expected, it was much improved compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. Thanks to the initiation of staffing and efficiency measures, the figure of € –68 million (previous year: € –103 million) was better than envisaged. The net result after taxes in the first quarter amounted to € –11 million, which was a big improvement on the equivalent period of the previous year (€ –42 million).
As of April 1, 2025, Heidelberg started basing its reporting on the print & packaging equipment, digital solutions & lifecycle, and Heidelberg technology segments. The print & packaging equipment segment includes offset and flexo solutions, as well as prepress and postpress solutions for packaging and commercial printing. The digital solutions & lifecycle segment covers products and activities relating to software, service, consumables, and digital printing. The Heidelberg technology segment primarily comprises activities outside the company’s core business, such as electromobility (Amperfied) and industry operations (production and technology solutions for third-party businesses).
In the print & packaging equipment segment, sales in the first quarter increased by some 42 per cent to €211 million. Digital solutions & lifecycle sales matched the previous year’s level, totalling €241 million. Sales after three months in the technology solutions segment were also at the same level as in the corresponding period of the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA improved in all the segments.
David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg, said packaging printing remained a growth driver for the business in the first quarter.
“This development reaffirms our growth strategy – the continuous and targeted expansion of our portfolio as a systems integrator for this key market segment. Our acquisition of Polar Mohr brand rights and technology to boost the productivity of value chains in packaging and label production is a further example of this approach.”
Full-year forecast confirmed
Following a positive start, the forecast for financial year 2025/26 is confirmed. In view of macroeconomic developments, taking into account the various opportunities and risks, and assuming the global economy does not see weaker growth than predicted by the relevant institutions, the company is expecting sales of around €2,350 million in financial year 2025/26 (2024/25: € 2,280 million). The EBITDA margin adjusted for special items is predicted to rise to as much as 8 per cent (previous year: 7.1 per cent).
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