Mixed bag of results for KBA

KBA's sales for the third quarter came in at €1,208.6 million, an increase from the €1,205.5 million that it achieved 12 months earlier; but it still suffered from weak demand.

Soft demand for new presses in the summer months caused a 7.9 per cent drop in incoming orders, though a higher volume of new contracts for special presses and customer services helped offset weak demand for multi-unit press lines.

KBA listed the strength of the Euro impairing the competitiveness of German exporters and high import duties as contributing to a brake in the sales of sheetfed presses to high-growth markets including China and India. KBA's sheetfed division did not live up to last year's third-quarter result and decreased by 16.6 per cent in new orders.

After witnessing a number of new projects, KBA is confident that orders will increase once more and stabilise at a normal level. President and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann said that while the company would not disclose any projections for 2008 until its annual report was published in March, Drupa would be a key driver in generating interest and demand.

"Provision has already been made for the additional costs associated with capacity adjustments at our web press plants necessitated by the sale of our gravure activities and the lower volumes anticipated in the newspaper market over the next few years," he said.

"Notwithstanding unfavourable exchange rates, higher wages and spiralling prices for raw materials, we anticipate pre-tax earnings of a similar magnitude to last year, €47.4m."