In the first three months of fiscal 2004/2005 (April 1 to June 30), Heidelberg recorded sales of around €710M (previous year: €741M). Incoming orders amounted to €1,286M (€783M) influenced by the drupa show in May, according to ceo Bernhard Schreier.
“Order levels from all regions were particularly favorable in the first quarter thanks to drupa. This will be reflected in the sales figures for coming quarters,” he states. In line with expectation, Heidelberg’s operating result was -€54M (-€43M). This was burdened by the cost of drupa and by the losses of the Digital and Web Systems segments (-€33M) which will cease in the future.
“The operating result of the Press Division was -€22M compared to -€14M the previous year,” states Heidelberg cfo Dr Herbert Meyer. “From an operational point of view, however, the division has clearly performed more favourably, as it bore most of the trade show costs.” The net result in the period under review was €63M (-€77M).
As of June 30, 2004, the Heidelberg Group had a workforce of some 21,200 worldwide (previous year: 24,100). During the quarter, 1,396 employees in the Digital Division were transferred to Kodak.
The Press (Offset Printing) Division saw sales grow in the first quarter to €513M from €504M in the previous year. Incoming orders climbed by around 82 per cent to €1.024 billion, thanks to the drupa effect. The operating result including the cost of the trade show for the Press Division was -€22M (-€14M).
The Postpress Division experienced a slight increase in quarterly sales to €70M. Incoming orders increased by around 29 per cent to €98M as result of drupa. The operating result recovered slightly to -€8M.
For the first time, Heidelberg showed the Financial Services Division separately in its accounts. The figure for the previous year have been adapted accordingly. The interest received from customer financing and shown as net sales was €19M (€23M). This was down on the previous year due to the decrease in the volume of the customer financing portfolio.
Incoming orders from all regions were said to be particularly pleasing thanks to drupa. Incoming orders in the first quarter showed substantial growth in all regions due to the show. The average increase exceeded 64 per cent. Asia Pacific, Europe and Eastern Europe led the way. In the USA, the industry is focusing on the Graph Expo trade show, which will be held in Chicago in October 2004.
The contract governing the sale of the Web Systems operations to Goss International was concluded on August 6, 2004.
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