Heidelberg appears on track to record a positive net result after taxes for the current financial year, as the company seeks to secure a long-term return to profitability.
The world’ s largest offset press manufacturer ended the latest quarter with a positive net result after taxes, and its net result before taxes after nine months reached the break-even point. The company sees its recent realignment programme having a positive effect on results.
Gerold Linzbach, chief executive of Heidelberg
Gerold Linzbach, chief executive for Heidleberg, says, “We’ve made good progress with our goal of ensuring long-term profitability at Heidelberg. Our new portfolio is more closely geared toward stable market segments, is more profitable, and creates the conditions for further growth”
Group sales rose 16 percent on the equivalent nine months of the previous year at €1.802bn ($1.834bn). This figure includes positive exchange rate effects amounting to €93m. The integration of the newly acquired PSG Group also made a substantial contribution to the higher sales. At a regional level, sales rose in North America and Europe, while Eastern Europe and Latin America remained stable. In the third quarter, the subdued market development in China saw a fall in orders. Total incoming orders in the reporting period were significantly higher than in the previous year at €1.904bn.
The operating result in the third quarter and after 9 months continued its upward trend. Ebitda excluding special items as at December 31, 2015 increased to €119m (previous year: €80m), while EBIT excluding special items doubled to €65m. The Heidelberg Services segment remains on target to achieve the planned ebitda margin of nine to 11 percent. Heidelberg gave improvements resulting from the portfolio measures as the reason for the better result. Regional weaknesses, especially in China, mean the Heidelberg Equipment segment has reached the expected ebitda target margin of four to six percent.
Dirk Kaliebe, chief financial officer for Heidelberg, says, “We have created the financial scope to finance acquisitions and invest in growth and innovation. In the future, we will keep working on further optimizing our financing framework and ensuring the continued strategic development of Heidelberg.”
Heidelberg has targeted sales growth of two to four per cent after adjustment for exchange rate movements in the current financial year. As in the previous year, the company assumes it wills see higher sales in the second half of the financial year than in the first.
The company sees its main focal points for the future as further developing the growing digital business and continuing to expand its service business. The Heidelberg Services segment already accounted for almost half of Group sales after nine months.
