Heidelberg Presents Third Quarter Results

HEIDELBERG, Germany—At EUR 684 million, incoming orders at Heidelberg increased 12 percent in the third quarter over the previous year's figure of EUR 609 million. Exchange rate effects accounted for EUR 44 million of the increase. And the company's successes were not limited to incoming orders: sales revenue also increased in the third quarter to EUR 687 million up 19 percent over the previous year's third quarter figure. After nine months, total sales amounted to EUR 1,883 million, an improvement of 18 percent (11 percent after adjustment for exchange rate effects) on the previous year.

“Thanks to stable growth in the global economy, our incoming orders increased in all regions and divisions during the third quarter. Nonetheless, the economic recovery is still marked by regional differences. While incoming orders are rising steadily in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, the recovery in the key U.S. market has been slow to set in,” said Heidelberg Group CEO Bernhard Schreier. “The positive developments of the past nine months show that we are on track to achieve our target - a break-even operating result for the current financial year.”

In the third quarter, incoming orders in all regions were up on the previous year. In the North America region, too, incoming orders for the third quarter improved over the previous year and previous quarter. The picture is somewhat different when it comes to sales revenues, however. While the figures for the first three quarters showed a clear improvement on the previous year’s levels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia/Pacific, sales in North America were still below last year’s level after adjustment for exchange rate effects.

Outlook
For the current financial year 2010/2011, Heidelberg continues to project a modest growth in sales after adjustment for exchange rate effects. The result of operating activities will benefit from the increasing profit contributions as well as from the cost-reduction measures that have been realized so far. Assuming stable economic developments, the company continues to strive for a break-even operating result for the current financial year. When looking at how the economy will develop, the group’s financial year planning takes into account the respective product mix prevalent in the individual markets. Heidelberg continues to focus on limiting the commitment of funds. Nevertheless, the enormous growth in financing costs and the one-time effects resulting from the repayment of financial liabilities from the proceeds of the capital increase will place a heavy burden on the financial result. However, the repayment of financial liabilities following the successful capital increase will have a mitigating effect during the remaining months of the current financial year. For the current financial year, the company continues to anticipate a marked net loss.