The company said it expected to boost the scheme by €30m (A$59m) to €80m (A$157m) in 2009, while generating additional cash flow of €100 million (A$196m) from balance sheet reductions “in the area of real estate, inventories, finance lease debtors and accounts receivable,” according to Rokus van Iperen, chairman of the board of executive directors.

Profit for the quarter stood at €700,000 (A$1.4m) from €35.8m (A$70.3m) the year previous. Fourth quarter revenues were down 4.3% to €802m (A$1.58bn) while free cash flow dipped 31.7%. The manufacturer cited the continual “postponement” of high volume equipment orders as one of the reasons behind the drop in sales. The Dutch manufacturer also revealed that the dividend for 2008 will be €0.15 (A$0.29) per ordinary share.

Van Iperen said the economic downturn had impacted the printing industry and also “severely affected Océ’s financial performance.”

He added that while the company had maintained a competitive position, it anticipated “continuing challenging market conditions.”

Océ also revealed it was to continue to pursue new partnerships including selling continuous-feed and wide-format printers through third parties.

Read the original article at www.printweek.com.

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