Tough times ahead for Heidelberg

The 2008-09 financial year was one of the worst that Heidelberg has ever experienced, according to CEO, Bernhard Schreier.

Speaking to 1,700 shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in Mannheim last week, Schreier discussed the company’s strategy and the balance sheet for the past financial year (April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009) and speculated on what the future might hold. Approximately 57 per cent of the company’s share capital was represented at the meeting.

There is no denying that things have been tough for the company, and Schreier does not see any rapid pick-up anytime soon. “The past financial year was without doubt one of the worst in the more than 150-year history of Heidelberg – if not the worst,” Schreier said. “And let me say straight away that things will not get much easier in the current financial year.”

While drupa gave Heidelberg a small boost, during the last year incoming orders slumped by 20 per cent to EUR 2.91 billion ($A5.06 billion). Schreier added that in the second half of the financial year, customers in virtually all markets and regions put their planned investments on hold. “Printshops are extremely reluctant to order new equipment,” he said. “The situation being seen in Germany is also mirrored in other countries”

The drop in profit has meant a number of job cuts to Heidelberg staff. As a result, the Management Board has been forced to terminate the agreement safeguarding the company’s future as of 30 June 2009. This agreement concluded with employee representatives was most recently extended in October 2007 and scheduled to run until 2012. “We are currently in intensive negotiations with employee representatives on the exact form the job cuts will take,” Schreier said.

Like most in the industry, Schreier has high hopes that when the global financial crisis eventually passes, it will put printing in a stronger position than before. “There is no doubt in my mind that sheetfed offset printing has a future. Forecasts indicate that printing volumes will be as high after the crisis as they were before it,” he said.