Heidelberg's Year-End Looks Better Than Expected

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Apr 28, 2004

Heidelberg's preliminary results for the 2003-2004 year-end are higher than the company expected.

Heidelberg's preliminary results for the 2003-2004 year-end are higher than the company expected.

Heidelberg's preliminary sales volume reached 3,661 million Euros, which is roughly 11% below the previous year's sales volume of 4,130 million Euros.

Adjusted to eliminate currency effects, the decrease in sales amounted to 6% said the company.

At 20 million Euros, the preliminary operating result (previous year 102 million Euros) exceeded the forecasted break-even.

The company believes that its cost-cutting and efficiency improvement measures have produced benefits earlier than planned.

Heidelberg's fourth quarter order intake totalled at 1.0 billion Euros.

In light of the coming trade fair Drupa (May 2004) and the resulting low-key order intake, the company believes it can be seen as a satisfactory level of performance.

Despite high one-off disbursements for efficiency improvement and restructuring, the free cash flow was positive and therefore much better than forecasted (minus 100 million Euros).

Due to high one-off costs, the preliminary result after taxes levelled out at 690 million Euros, which was in the expected range (previous year minus 138 million Euros).

The year for Heidelberg was burdened by restructuring costs and expenses connected to discontinued digital and web systems activities, amounting to 565 million Euros.

That affected the individual Heidelberg AG financial statement in the form of depreciations on financial assets and financial receivables, amounting to 1.2 billion Euros, which are already accrued in the group closing figures.

Further details will be disclosed with the preliminary figures on May 3 2004.

The entire year-end financial statement for the year closing on March 31 2004, as well as the transition to Heidelberg's new segment reporting structure, will be introduced at the year-end press and analysts' conference on June 8 2004.