At the group’s agm, CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann said that while sales topped the 2005 year figure by more than €40m, shipping schedules meant they once again fell short of the annual target and thus impaired group earnings.
Sales of sheetfed and commercial presses, however, picked up in the second quarter and the sheetfed division has sufficient orders to secure production until almost the end of the current year.
A €1bn-plus backlog of orders will keep KBA’s web press production plants busy until well into the first quarter of 2007.
He said that in view of the big increase in sales and a more earnings-friendly shipping schedule in the second half-year, he saw no cause to amend his March prognosis of a single-digit increase in group sales and a higher pre-tax profit than in 2005 (€25.8m). KBA will issue its half-year figures on 11 August.
He said KBA will continue to drive growth in its core business through innovation, a tighter customer focus and the creation of unique features to address market needs, citing for example the environmentally friendly waterless newspaper production press which offers considerable sales potential in the near future.
