Koenig & Bauer has concluded the 2025 financial year, according to preliminary, unaudited figures, with a significant improvement in earnings in the context of a “persistently weak macroeconomic environment and increasing trade policy uncertainties”.
Group revenue improved as planned by 2.2 per cent (slight revenue growth) to €1.3bn (AUD$2.15bn). Both segments contributed to the revenue growth, with Special & New Technologies (S&T) delivering a clear increase of 6.8 per cent to €596m (AUD$989.9m) and Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems (P&P) posting a solid 0.9 per cent rise to €741.5m (AUD$1.2bn).
Operating EBIT rose to €36.6m from €15.3m the previous year (to AUD$60.7m from $25.4m). The company therefore landed squarely within the forecast specified in November 2024 of around €35m-€50m (AUD$58m-$83m).
Non-operating extraordinary items also fell sharply in the 2025 financial year to just €5.3m (AUD$8.8m). Consequently, EBIT improved significantly to €31.3m from the previous year’s -€35.1m (-AUD$58.3m).
In Q4 2025, operating EBIT of €30.2m (AUD$50.2m) was generated. Bolstered by an already strong operating performance in Q3 2025 of €16m (AUD$26.5m), this made it possible to noticeably smooth out the earnings trend in the second half of the year and significantly reduce the dependency on the year-end compared to the previous year.
Due to the strong cash inflow of €69.2m (AUD$115m) in Q4 2025, a positive free cash flow of €7.3m (AUD$12.1m) was generated for the year as a whole, despite having been negative at -€61.9m (-AUD$102.8m) in the first nine months.
As expected, order intake of €1.2bn (AUD$1.99bn) as of 31 December 2025 was below the strong previous year (-12.1 per cent). The P&P segment proved to be highly resilient, recording a decline of just -3.9 per cent to €704m (AUD$1.1bn) compared to the drupa year.
The -19.7 per cent decline in the S&T segment of €558.4m (AUD$927.9m) is largely attributable to the high volume of orders from the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the previous year. The order backlog as of 31 December 2025 stood at €970.6m (AUD$1.6bn) and thus remains at a historically high level.
Against the backdrop of the current order situation and volatile geopolitical conditions, Koenig & Bauer expects to see continued operating stability in the 2026 financial year.
In view of the future requirements of IFRS 18, to increase comparability with its peer group and to sharpen the focus on operating cash generation, the company will base its guidance on operating EBITDA (previously operating EBIT) starting from the 2026 financial year.
Taking into account the opportunities and risks, the forecast is tied to the following key assumptions – provided that global economic developments and demand stimuli in the relevant sub-markets remain stable, Group revenue is expected to be on a par with the previous year of €1.3bn (AUD$2.1bn).
Assuming that prompt clarity on import tariffs is reached based on recent US jurisprudence, enabling customers to make their investment decisions without trade-related uncertainty, the Executive Board forecasts operating EBITDA of approximately €80m (AUD$132.9m) for 2026, consistent with the previous year. Operating EBITDA does not include any extraordinary items affecting earnings.
The detailed guidance will be published together with the annual report on 26 March 2026.