Heidelberg  appointments  finance 
Industry giant Heidelberg has released its nine month figures, which show the company is on target to reach its goals for the year, which include profits in the €25m-75m range. So far sales have climbed by around eight per cent on the same period last year, incoming orders in third quarter are on the level of previous quarter, and the operating result of €69m in third quarter is showing a further improvement.

Including the losses of €62m for the discontinued Digital and Web Systems divisions, the profit after taxes for the Heidelberg Group after nine months was a loss of €18m, a huge result from the previous year’s losses of €725m at the same stage.

In the first nine months of financial year 2004/2005 (April 1 to December 31, 2004), Heidelberg achieved net sales of €2.23bn up on the previous year of €2.07bn. In the third quarter alone, sales totalled €860m, making it the best-performing quarter in terms of sales for the current financial year so far (Q2 was €769m, Q1 reached €602m). Incoming orders in the period under review stood at €2.73bn, 13 per cent up on the same period of the previous year.

“The growth in the global economy also increased capacity utilisation in printshops”, says Bernhard Schreier, CEO of the Company. “We will increase sales in the continuing operations and will attain our year-end objectives as planned”.

The operating result of the Heidelberg Group was €69m in the third quarter (previous year was €38m), a clear improvement on the results of the previous quarters (Q2: €27m, Q1: €21m). In the first nine months overall, the Group recorded a positive operating result of €75m (previous year: €37m). “By realigning the Heidelberg Group and applying consistent measures to reduce structural costs, we have succeeded in increasing our operating return on sales to 8 percent within the third quarter”, says Heidelberg’s CFO, Dr Herbert Meyer. “To strengthen the competitiveness of the Heidelberg Group, we plan to further reduce manufacturing costs, with particular emphasis on personnel costs. Discussions with employee representatives are already underway.”

As of December 31, 2004, the Heidelberg Group had a workforce of some 18,800 worldwide (previous year: 23,400). This fall is partly due to the deconsolidation of the Digital and Web Systems divisions in the current financial year and the workforce reduction as part of the Company’s efficiency-enhancing programme.

In the Press Division, sales rose by approximately 10 per cent in the first nine months to €1.94bn. Incoming orders in the period under review increased by 14 per cent on the previous year to around €2.4bn. The operating result in the third quarter alone stood at €61m (previous year: €24m), demonstrating the additional earnings potential associated with growing volumes.

In all regions, incoming orders at the end of the nine-month period were up on the previous years - by around 13 per cent on average.

Outlook for financial year 2004/2005 is unchanged. In the current financial year 2004/2005, Heidelberg is aiming for an increase in sales of at least five per cent over the previous year on a comparable basis. The company is projecting an improvement in earnings over the previous year. Its target is to achieve an operating return on sales, including all special effects, of about per cent.