-
Preliminary incoming orders of EUR 668 million in Q2
-
Preliminary sales of around EUR 636 million in Q2
-
Preliminary operating result for Q2 positive at
approximately EUR 5 million
-
Preliminary free cash flow in Q2 exceeds expectations at EUR
-12 million
-
Demand in the second half of the year likely to be weaker than
expected due to heightened economic uncertainties
-
The Heidelberg Management Board anticipates a noticeable
improvement in the operating result for financial year 2011/12
as a whole compared with the previous year
-
Unlikely that the target of a break-even pre-tax result will
be achieved
Based on preliminary calculations, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
AG (Heidelberg) generated incoming orders of EUR 668 million and
sales of EUR 636 million in the second quarter of financial year
2011/12 (July 1 to September 30, 2011). As a result, preliminary
incoming orders were slightly higher than in the same quarter of
the previous year (EUR 650 million). As expected, preliminary sales
were higher than in the previous quarter and match the previous
year's level (EUR 633 million). The preliminary operating
result (EBIT) excluding special items for the second quarter is
slightly positive at EUR 5 million, an improvement on the same
quarter of the previous year (EUR -6 million). Preliminary free
cash flow is EUR -12 million (previous year: EUR 6 million).
Business development in the past quarter was in line with the
company's expectations. Heidelberg achieved a positive operating
result in the second quarter. Thanks to consistent asset
management, free cash flow exceeded expectations.
Heidelberg now anticipates that economic uncertainties will
have a dampening effect on investment behavior in the sector during
the second half of the financial year. Due to the turbulence on the
capital markets and the weaker macro-economic situation,
uncertainty about future economic developments increased
significantly again compared to the first quarter of 2011/12. The
order situation at Heidelberg continues to vary from region to
region and is influenced, on the one hand, by the ongoing economic
uncertainties in the U.S., Japan, and the Mediterranean countries
and, on the other hand, by positive development in China and South
America.
Outlook
In view of the economic outlook, it is likely that demand in
the second half of the financial year will be lower than expected,
that sales and the operating result will not reach the level
Heidelberg has been aiming for, and thus that the target of a
break-even pre-tax result is unlikely to be achieved. In an
endeavor to increase operating profitability in the current
financial year, measures relating to non-personnel costs and the
human resources area that can be implemented quickly have been
introduced. The company expects that the operating result for
financial year 2011/12 will be noticeably better than that of the
previous year.
Heidelberg will stick to its medium-term profitability
targets, even if the planned increase in sales to over EUR 3
billion takes longer to achieve due to weakness in demand. The
company will take all the measures needed to achieve these
objectives.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Investor Relations
Robin Karpp
Tel: +49 (0)6221- 92 6020
Fax: +49 (0)6221- 92 5189
E-mail:
Robin.Karpp@Heidelberg.com
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
A technology provider and partner in the print media industry
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is the world-wide
leading provider of solutions and services for the print media
industry. The name Heidelberg is internationally associated with
leading technology, top quality, and customer focus. The company's
core business covers with its equipment and services the entire
process and value chain of the sheetfed offset format classes from
20 inches (35 x 50 cm) to 64 inches (120 x 160 cm) as well as
digital printing solutions. Furthermore, contract manufacturing -
mainly for customers from other engineering sectors and the energy
sector - is gaining importance at Heidelberg.
Headquartered in the city of Heidelberg, Germany, with
production and development sites in seven countries and around 250
sales and service units in 170 countries, the company serves about
200,000 customers. Printing presses, prepress and postpress
equipment are mainly produced in Germany in compliance with severe
quality standards. For the Chinese market, standardized printing
machines for all common format classes as well as folding machines
are manufactured in Qingpu near Shanghai, China.
In financial year 2010/2011, the company had a sales volume
of 2.629 billion Euros. As of March 31, 2011, the Heidelberg Group
has employed a workforce of 15,282 including 631 trainees and
apprentices.
Important Note
This press release contains forward-looking statements
based on assumptions and estimations by the Management Board of
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the
Management Board is of the opinion that those assumptions and
estimations are realistic, the actual future development and
results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking
statements due to various factors, such as changes in the
macro-economic situation, in the exchange rates, in the interest
rates and in the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Aktiengesellschaft gives no warranty and does not assume liability
for any damages in case the future development and the projected
results do not correspond with the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release.
