Spending slow down hits Heidelberg hard

Cautious investment behaviour leads to Heidelberg’s fall in sales and profit for the 2009-10 financial year.

Preliminary incoming orders fell to €2.371 billion, down from €2.906 for the previous year. In addition, preliminary sales also fell to €2.306 billion, down from €2.999 billion. As a result, Heidelberg’s preliminary operating result came to €-130 million (the previous year’s figure was €-49 million).

According to Heidelberg’s CEO, Bernhard Schreier, (pictured), the financial year was “a difficult market environment”. He is hopeful of the company’s ability to break even.

“A marked upward trend was evident in the second-half of the year, which was primarily influenced by the traditionally strong fourth quarter,” he said. “Now, the aim of our further cost-cutting measures introduced at the end of March is to achieve a break-even operating result for the next financial year, assuming stable economic development and furthermore an economic value added in all areas of business in the medium-term.”

CFO, Dirk Kaliebe, also noted an upward trend in the fourth quarter – 1 January to 31 March 2010. “We recorded a further increase in our sales volume of around 24 per cent on the previous quarter and, for the first time since the economic and financial crisis started, we achieved a positive operating result, excluding special items,” he said.

Staff have felt the brunt of these tough conditions. The Heidelberg workforce numbers fell by 1,524 in the fourth quarter of 2009/10. The company now employs 16,496 across the globe.