Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) has announced preliminary figures for the 2023/2024 financial year, showing stable sales and profitability despite challenging market conditions. The company achieved sales of approximately €2.4 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.2 percent, meeting its forecast.
Free cash flow, excluding special items, reached around €50 million, marking the highest level in a decade. “We were able to achieve our financial year targets in a difficult economic environment,” said CEO Dr. Ludwin Monz. “HEIDELBERG’s financial performance was solid. Our value creation program is an important building block in positioning HEIDELBERG for the future.”
The value creation program, which includes over 250 measures to enhance productivity and strengthen the financial base, successfully mitigated the impact of declining production volumes and rising costs. CFO Tania von der Goltz emphasized, “The resilient development of profitability and free cash flow are proof of our financial discipline and our ability to deliver reliable results even in a difficult environment.”
HEIDELBERG’s incoming orders recovered towards the end of the financial year, with a notable improvement in the fourth quarter driven by strong business in Asia, particularly China. While incoming orders were down 6 percent compared to the previous year, they outperformed the industry average.
Looking ahead to the drupa trade fair, HEIDELBERG is set to showcase technological innovations aimed at addressing key challenges in the printing industry. The company will focus on automation, digitalization, and resource-efficient production across its offset, digital, and flexo printing segments. Collaborative robotics for post-processing print products will also be featured.
HEIDELBERG plans to leverage its broad customer base and globally organized sales and service network to drive growth in new market segments. The company is optimistic about its future prospects and the role its innovations will play in the industry.
This positive financial performance underscores HEIDELBERG’s ability to navigate a challenging economic landscape and reinforces its strategic direction as it prepares for drupa 2024.