Heidelberg Annual General Meeting Decides on Dividend of 1.80 Euro

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will hold its Annual General Meeting in the Stadthalle Heidelberg tomorrow, Tuesday. The Management Board and shareholders will look back on the most successful fiscal year (April 1, 2000 - March 31, 2001) in the company's history. The key milestones during the year included the opening of the Print Media Academy in Heidelberg, the drupa trade fair in Düsseldorf and the successful move into digital printing.

The company succeeded in further extending its leading position in the graphic arts industry. The Heidelberg Group achieved record results in fiscal 2000/2001. Sales rose by more than 15 percent to 5.3 billion Euro (previous year: 4.6 billion Euro).

Orders received also exhibited pleasing growth in all divisions, standing at around 5.5 billion Euro. This is more than 18 percent up on the comparable figure for the highly successful previous year (just under 4.7 billion Euro).The rise in profits in 2000/2001 demonstrates the company's potential for growth. The operating profit rose by around ten percent from 463 million Euro to 506 million Euro. The Heidelberg Group's profit for the year increased from 251 million Euro to 283 million Euro after adjustment and, after accounting for special influences, totaled 342 million Euro.

Heidelberg shareholders at tomorrow's Annual General Meeting will be invited to vote on six points on the agenda. The key points will include the dividend of 1.80 Euro for each share attracting a dividend and a resolution relating to changes in the Articles of Incorporation. In the first quarter of the 2001/2002 fiscal year (April 1 - June 30), Heidelberg continued to grow.
Heidelberg Group sales rose by around eight percent to 1.1 billion Euro, compared with 997 million Euro in the first quarter of the previous year. The operating profit over the period under review rose by just under 22 percent to 45 million Euro. For the first time ever, Heidelberg also benefited from the tax reform. This resulted in a significant increase in profits after tax from 21 million Euro to 29 million Euro.

As expected, orders received - some 1.3 billion Euro - were slightly lower than the record levels of the previous year (1.8 billion Euro), which were heavily influenced by drupa, the world's largest trade fair. Nevertheless, compared to the first quarter of the pre-drupa year 1999/2000 (one billion Euro), the level of orders received rose by 24 percent.

At this year's most important trade fair for the graphic arts industry, Print 01 (September 6-13, 2001, Chicago), Heidelberg received orders worth 345 million US-Dollar, of which more than 50 percent were won by the sheetfed sector. The sales launch of the NexPress 2100, the new digital color press from the joint venture with Kodak, was very successful. More than 70 machines were sold in Chicago.

For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Investor Relations
Dirk Kaliebe
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 60 20
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 60 61
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