In the first nine months of financial year 2006/2007 (April 1,
2006 to December 31, 2006), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
(Heidelberg) (FWB: HDD) returned figures for sales, incoming orders
and operating result that were up over the previous year. Sales by the
Heidelberg Group during the period under review climbed around 6
percent to EUR 2.589 billion (previous year: EUR 2.437 billion).
Incoming orders after nine months amounted to EUR 2.913 billion,
around 7 percent up on the same period of the previous year (EUR 2.725
billion). The order backlog of EUR 1.280 billion at December 31, 2006
was once again on a very high level.
"The favorable development in the print media industry has
continued thanks to the positive trend in the economy as a whole in
2006," stated Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier. "Capacity utilization
and production activity in printshops both increased in the two key
markets Germany and the U.S."
The Heidelberg Group recorded an operating result of EUR 202
million in the period under review (previous year: EUR 144 million).
This corresponds to a return on sales of 7.8 percent. The net profit
after nine months - including a positive non-recurring effect
resulting from a corporate income tax credit in the third quarter of
EUR 73 million - was EUR 180 million (previous year: EUR 65 million).
Earnings per share after nine months were EUR 2.21 (previous year: EUR
0.76), of which EUR 0.89 were attributable to the additional tax
revenue.
"We were able to make further progress towards increasing our
productivity in both the third quarter and the nine months as a
whole," stated Heidelberg CFO Dirk Kaliebe. "We are also making use of
the resulting improved cash flow to implement the share buyback
program."
As of December 31, 2006, the Heidelberg Group had a workforce of
19,156 worldwide (previous year: 18,700). This represents an increase
of around 400 since the end of the last financial year.
Nine-month sales and results show improvement in the divisions
In the Press Division (offset printing), sales rose to EUR 2.251
billion in the first nine months (previous year: EUR 2.130 billion).
Incoming orders in the period under review amounted to EUR 2.551
billion (previous year: EUR 2.395 billion). The operating result after
the first three quarters amounted to EUR 157 million (previous year:
EUR 121 million). The positive business development within the press
division was also affected by the considerably high demand for the
large format, especially for the Speedmaster XL 105. In the current
fiscal year Heidelberg is particularly investing in new technologies
as there are Anicolor and a new generation of sheetfed printing
presses of a larger format (Speedmaster XL 142/162).
In the Postpress Division (finishing), sales amounted to EUR 309
million, 14 percent up on the figure 12 months ago (previous year: EUR
271 million). Incoming orders rose by around 13 percent to EUR 333
million (previous year: EUR 294 million). The operating result for the
period under review amounted to EUR 7 million (previous year: EUR 2
million).
Sales and incoming orders in the EMEA, North America, Latin
America and Eastern Europe regions in the first nine months exceeded
the comparable figures for the previous year. In the Asia/Pacific
region, figures fell short of the high levels of the previous year.
Primarily the suspension of the import duty exemption in China in the
second and third quarter slowed down incoming orders and sales. The
restoration of the import duty exemption on March 1, 2007 suggests
that the expected improvement in the order and supply situation for
the Chinese market will be deferred to the new financial year.
Share buyback
On November 7, 2006, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG launched a
second share buyback program: A total of up to 5 percent of the
company's capital stock - a maximum of 4,152,535 shares - is to be
repurchased on the stock market by January 2008 at the latest. At the
end of the quarter, on December 31, 2006, the company had bought back
909,422 shares, equivalent to 1.1 percent of the share capital.
Outlook for financial year 2006/2007 unchanged
For financial year 2006/2007, the company anticipates that sales
will be approximately 5 percent up on financial year 2005/2006.
Heidelberg plans to increase its operating result to approximately 10
percent of sales during the current financial year.
The complete report for the third quarter of 2006/2007 will be
available online at www.heidelberg.com.
The tables showing the figures as well as further information can
be downloaded from the Press Lounge at www.heidelberg.com.
Other dates:
The scheduled publication date for the preliminary figures for
financial year 2006/2007 is May 9, 2007.