KBA has increased its order intake by 33 per cent for the first half of the year, though its revenue declined over that time.
The press manufacturer expects to regain those revenues in the second half of the year.
Future is bright: Claus Bolza-Schünemann, president and CEO of KBA
Good news came from its Asia Pacific arm which increased its revenue by 20 per cent, compared to the same period last year. The Asia Pacific, which includes New Zealand, saw a five per cent rise for the geographical breakdown of revenue for the company from 24.3 per cent to 29.3 per cent.
This is virtually the same as Europe excluding Germany, which contributes 29.7 per cent. Indicating that Germany is still Europe’s print powerhouse it contributed 15.1 per cent of global revenue, half as much as the rest of Europe combined. The German manufacturer recorded a declining EBIT of minus $12.67m from last year’s $5.8m.
Claus Bolza-Schünemann, president and CEO of KBA, blames Germany’s political and economic environment for the declining numbers however he sees light at the end of the 2015 tunnel. He says, “As announced in the last interim report, in 2015 far more than 50 per cent of revenue will be generated in the second half of the year, as has frequently occurred in the past.
“The KBA Group kicks off the next few months with considerably fuller books and capacities than in the past year. Completing the raft of existing orders on time and reducing the significantly longer delivery times in some areas will pose substantial challenge in the third and fourth quarters.”
Other segments in the globe that showed some positive signs include North America, which increased its geographical revenue breakdown from 10 per cent to 16.6 per cent. Africa and Latin America increased slightly from last year’s geographical breakdown of revenue from 8.7 per cent to 9.3 per cent.
