KBA Australasia said it is on track to hit its annual targets despite the company reporting a 15% fall in global sales.
The German press manufacturer reported group sales of €502.2 million ($732.8 million) for the six months to 30 June 2013 compared to €590.5 million at the same point in 2012.
The sheetfed division saw sales climb 1.6% and orders fall 19.3%, while the web and special presses division reported a 26% drop in sales and a 30% fall in orders.
KBA's interim results also showed a pre-tax loss of €8.8 million compared to a €6.7m pre-tax profit a year earlier. However, KBA turned a Q1 pre-tax loss of €18.8 million into a €10 million pre-tax profit in Q2.
Chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann forecast a return to pre-tax profit in this calendar year, and said it would be similar to that achieved in 2012.
Bolza-Schünemann said the sales figures mirrored a "slump in economic momentum" caused by factors including the ongoing Euro-zone crisis, the realignment of Chinese policy and instability across the Middle East and Latin America.
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He said demand for web presses was declining faster than expected and pointed at the continued scaling back of KBA’s web division and further expansion of its digital printing and packaging activities.
"Along with the capacity adjustments already carried out and those still necessary, management is considering which business model could make the web press business more profitable in the longer term, even at a significantly reduced volume."
Given market trends in the web press sector, Bolza-Schünemann said that further consolidation was "indispensible" and that potential workforce reductions would be negotiated.
KBA’s acquisition of Italian press manufacturer Flexotecnica is set for completion in September and Bolza-Schünemann said its performance over the next three months would play a crucial role in helping the business match sales of €1.3 billion achieved in 2012.
Meanwhile, KBA Australasia's sheetfed general manager, Dave Lewis, said the local business was on track to hit its targets for the year.
He told ProPrint that KBA was working on some serious prospects and that he had detected "a little bit more optimism in the market". "The size we are in Australia, there's plenty out there to keep us going," he said.
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This article originally appeared at printweek.com
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