After nine months of its 2025/26 financial year (1 April to 31 December 2025), Heidelberg has delivered a marked improvement in profitability, with the company saying performance is in line with expectations despite ongoing market headwinds.
On the back of the stronger result, Heidelberg is pressing ahead with its strategic transformation, accelerating its move into new areas of business that are delivering higher growth, while continuing to strengthen its core print, packaging and digital systems operations.
Sales for the first three quarters rose to €1.6 billion (AUD$2.73 billion), up 6.1 per cent on the prior-year result of €1.5 billion (AUD$2.57 billion), despite negative exchange rate impacts of around €44 million (AUD$74.9 million). The company cited particularly strong performance in Europe and in packaging and label printing, with third-quarter sales reaching €617 million (AUD$1.04 billion), around four per cent higher than the corresponding period last year and continuing quarter-on-quarter growth in the current financial year.
Business in Europe and with packaging and label printing presses saw particularly positive development during this period. At €617 million (AUD$1.04 billion), the sales figure for the third quarter was around four per cent higher than in the equivalent quarter of the previous year and continued the quarter-on-quarter sales growth so far in the current financial year.
The adjusted operating result (EBITDA) after nine months increased significantly to €114 million (AUD$194 million and the adjusted EBITDA margin improved considerably to 7.1 per cent.
Incoming orders after nine months totalled €1.6 billion (AUD$2.7 billion). Allowing for the fact that drupa resulted in the previous year being very strong, they were therefore in line with expectations, according to the company.
During the reporting period, the company saw a significant impact from negative exchange rate effects amounting to some €46 million (AUD$78.4 million). Incoming orders in the third quarter stood at €517 million (AUD$880 million). The development of incoming orders in the third quarter was particularly positive in the Americas region, where they were up 17 per cent on the equivalent quarter of the previous year.
Tapping into new growth markets
Despite a market environment that remains challenging, Heidelberg is consistently pursuing its strategic transformation. Based on its strong industry and systems expertise, the company is systematically tapping into additional markets in the areas of defence, security, energy, charging infrastructure, and industrial system solutions. One key aspect of this process is combining all relevant activities under HD Advanced Technologies.
In the Technology segment, sales after nine months totalled €42 million (AUD$71.6 million) – slightly higher than the previous year’s figure of €41 million (AUD$69.9 million).
Even though the development of sales is moderate at present, the strategic measures that have been initiated provide a basis for Heidelberg Technology to potentially make a much bigger contribution to business as a whole. In particular, the continuing strategy of tapping into new industries and the creation of new business models are raising expectations of a positive sales trend in the coming years.
“The measures we have initiated are confirmation of our growth plan,” said Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberg. “Both strategically and operationally speaking, Heidelberg is extremely well positioned to actively hone this plan and leverage additional opportunities in dynamic future markets.”
Foundations for transformation
At the same time as new areas of business are being unlocked, the company’s core business is also said to be developing robustly.
In the Print and Packaging Equipment segment, Heidelberg is benefiting from its strong market position in packaging and label printing. In the reporting period, this segment’s sales increased to €804 million (AUD$1.4 billion).
In the Digital Solutions and Lifecycle segment, the company is further expanding its role as a systems integrator – with hybrid printing, software, and service solutions as part of a digital ecosystem. In this segment, Heidelberg achieved nine-month sales of €755 million (AUD$1.3 billion).
“Our strength lies in the intelligent way we combine presses, software, and service operations,” said Dr. David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg.
“By specifically expanding our digital printing portfolio and launching new high-performance systems, such as the Jetfire 75, we are creating additional growth potential – both in our core business and beyond.”
The free cash flow of Heidelberg after three quarters was -€81 million (-AUD$137 million), which the company said was an improvement on the previous year, although was still negative.
This is due to the Polar acquisition and restructuring costs in the high single-digit million-euro range. The net result after taxes of €17 million (AUD$28.9 million) after nine months represented a significant increase -€42 million (-AUD$71.5 million) in the corresponding period of the previous year.
FY forecast confirmed
The company is confirming its forecast for financial year 2025/26, with the company saying a healthy order backlog, the current efficiency measures, and systematic implementation of the strategy are laying the foundations for achieving its targets.
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 €2.3 billion (AUD$3.9 billion) in financial year 2025/26.
In view of the significant exchange rate effects, the continuing weak macroeconomic situation, and the uncertain trade situation, the company is assuming the increase in the adjusted EBITDA margin will be toward the lower end of the predicted range of up to eight per cent, compared to the previous years’ 7.1 per cent.