Global press giant Heidelberg posted robust second quarter results, with net earnings of €9 million compared to a loss of €9 million in the same period last year.
“The clear improvement in the result during the second quarter shows that our realignment is bearing fruit,” says CFO Dirk Kaliebe. “In view of the solid order situation, we anticipate that the second half of the year will bring a considerable improvement in sales and the result compared to the first half of the year.”
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) significantly increased its operating result compared to the previous year, as previously envisaged, and also achieved a clearly positive net result after taxes, said the company in its interim report for the second quarter of financial year 2016/2017.
After the first six months, the result was still below the previous year’s figures due to sales and the costs associated with the drupa trade show. However, as a result of drupa, incoming orders (up around 6 percent) and the order backlog (up 19 percent) were increased significantly. The Group has thus created a sound basis on which to achieve its targets for the year as a whole.
• Operating result (EBITDA) excluding special items increased
from €33 million to €44 million
• Positive net result of €9 million (previous year: €–9 million)
• Sales in Q2 at €586 million significantly up on Q1, but still slightly below the previous year
• Order backlog of €765 million approximately one fifth higher than previous year
• Outlook: Sights still set firmly on the targets for the year
Total sales up to the half-year point were €1.072 billion (previous year: €1.162 billion). Thanks to strong demand at drupa, incoming orders for the first six months were up around 6 percent on the previous year’s figure (€1.323 billion) at €1.408 billion, while the order backlog at €765 million was even some 19 percent higher (previous year €644 million).
The portfolio expansion in rapidly developing markets, possible acquisitions and the drupa industry trade show will substantially affect sales performance in the financial year 2016/2017 and the years ahead. The investment priorities in the areas of digitalization, digital printing and services are expected to contribute to an average sales growth of up to 4 percent per year.