Heidelberg increased its sales and earnings in the first quarter of financial year 2006/2007 compared with the previous year. At €719M, sales by the group in the first three months (April 1 to June 30) were around nine per cent up on the previous year (€660M). Incoming orders in the first quarter increased by around 21 per cent, to €1.076B (€886M). At €1.346B, the order backlog at the end of the first quarter was up on the figure at March 31, 2006 (€1.017B), “thanks to the good levels of incoming orders”.
"The positive trend in the print media industry continued in the first three months of the new financial year," said Heidelberg's ceo, Bernhard Schreier. "The success of the IPEX trade show at the start of the financial year gave us considerable momentum. Our expectations for 2006/2007 are confirmed."
The group recorded an operating result of €16M in the period under review (previous year, €7M). The net profit in the first quarter was €5M (previous year, minus €1M) and was positive again for the first time in four years.
"The high volume of incoming orders in the first quarter proves that investment confidence in the print media industry has strengthened further," said cfo Dr Herbert Meyer. "There was a considerable upturn in business, particularly in Europe and North America. The Asia/Pacific region remained at the high level of the previous year, if one deducts the good volume of incoming orders generated at the China Print trade show in May, 2005."
For financial year 2006/2007, the company expects growth in sales of around five per cent on 2005/2006. It plans to boost the result of operating activities to around 10 per cent of sales in the current financial year.
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