The world’s biggest press manufacturer Heidelberg says it is on course to be back in profit in 2013-2014 after six tumultuous years in the aftermath of the GFC. Latest figures released by Heidelberg show group sales in the first quarter were in line with expectations at €504m, down around three per cent down on the figure for the same quarter of the previous year (€520m). Sales fell in all three segments – equipment, services and financial services. In most regions, they matched the previous year’s level. In the South America region, however, Brazil’s continuing economic difficulties hit business hard. Gerold Linzbach, Heidelberg CEO, says, “The substantial increase in our operating result makes us confident that we will record a profit for the year as a whole. In order to achieve this, we are systematically pressing ahead with our strategic reorganisation so as to further improve our margins for new machine sales in the future and adapt our cost structures to the market situation on an ongoing basis.”??As expected, results improved significantly in the first quarter thanks to sustained savings from the Focus 2012 programme and higher profit contributions for new equipment.”
EBITDA excluding special items improved considerably from a €47m loss to a loss of just €2m. The pre-tax result improved significantly from a loss of €R85m to around minus €3m. Overall, the net loss in the first quarter of 2013/2014 was halved from the previous year’s figure of minus €76m to €38m. ??Incoming orders amounted to €643m in the reporting period, only 70 per cent of last year’s figure, but Heidelberg says the far higher order volume of €890m in the same quarter of the previous year can be explained by the industry trade show drupa, which took place in May 2012. The China Print trade show in May this year went well for Heidelberg, but coincided with a reluctance to invest in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and the South America region, especially in Brazil. At €602m, the order backlog at June 30, 2013 was 20 percent up on the figure for the previous quarter (€502m). ??As planned, the workforce as of June 30, 2013 fell to 13,669 (same quarter of the previous year: 14,899). The aim is to reduce the Group’s headcount to less than 13,500 by mid-2014 at the latest.
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