Ad Hoc Releases
13.07.2010
KBA appoints new CFO with effect from 1 October 2010
On 1 October 2010, Helge Hansen (63), president and CEO of German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), will hand the financial remit he has held since March 2009 to a new, externally recruited executive board member. This personnel decision of the supervisory board serves to relieve the CEO of numerous operative tasks, not least since Helge Hansen also carries responsibility for human resources and production at the Radebeul sheetfed division, in addition to his duties as president and CEO and the strategic realignment of the company group. Helge Hansen, who has served KBA as president and CEO for sixteen months, will thus gain more time for his remaining executive board responsibilities, and for increased concentration on the strategic realignment of the company which was begun under his management last year and is to include also the announced expansion into new business fields.
As head of finance and control with an international company group, the newly appointed CFO possesses extensive experience in corporate finance and control. The appointment of a separate executive vice-president for finances is the response of the SDAX-listed company Koenig & Bauer AG to the mounting challenges posed by risk and finance management, compliance and customer financing in the light of statutory requirements and the volatile market situation.
05.02.2010
KBA group: balanced result despite continuing weak demand
Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) publishes preliminary figures for 2009.
Market conditions for export-oriented German press manufacturers show little sign of easing. Hit by the economic recession and a slump in advertising, global demand in 2009 was over 40% below the level for 2007. Even KBA, one of the world’s leading suppliers of printing equipment, was badly affected by a widespread moratorium on new investment in the print media industry. Although incoming orders of web and special presses picked up slightly in the fourth quarter of 2009, group orders for the year came to just under EUR890m, a drop of 29% on the 2008 figure of EUR1,241.5m. With demand for web presses even weaker than expected, Group sales came to EUR1.06bn, 31% below the prior-year figure of EUR1.53bn.
Despite the decline in sales KBA succeeded in moving from a pre-tax loss of EUR87.1m in 2008 to a balanced result in 2009, and even anticipates a modest post-tax profit for the year. Following quarterly losses in the first six months, in the third quarter there were signs that the group’s successful turnaround was working through to the bottom line, boosted by savings of more than EUR100m in personnel and material costs. All the obligations anticipated for outstanding restructuring measures were included in the 2009 balance sheet and adequate provision made for other risks.
In 2009 the KBA group payroll was trimmed from around 8,000 to fewer than 7,000, largely due to capacity cuts in the sheetfed division, and this year it will be reduced even further, to approximately 6,300. Downsizing in line with market prospects has helped deliver permanent gains in terms of cost savings and breakeven thresholds.
The cost-intensive restructuring process was funded by KBA with no state aid or new debt. The group’s equity ratio of 34%-plus is well above the industry average, its net financial position remains positive. It has not had to draw on pre-arranged credit lines.
KBA will issue its final figures for 2009 on 26 March along with a preliminary outlook for 2010.
13.11.2009
Koenig & Bauer AG: quarterly profit in a challenging year
While demand in the export-intensive press engineering sector has stabilised at a low level since the summer, German manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) sees no sign as yet of a sustained recovery. The Group order intake for the first nine months was €682.3m, 32.1% below the Drupa-enhanced figure of €1,005m for the same period the previous year. However, this was better than the plunge of 49% in the industry as a whole. After picking up strongly in April and remaining buoyant in the summer, orders for sheetfed presses came to €149.4m in the third quarter, up from €145m in the second. The total for the first nine months was €371.7m, 24% below the prior-year figure of €489.3m. The volume of new orders for web and special presses fell from €515.7m to €310.6m, a difference of 39.8%. The only bright spot was security printing.
Group sales were on schedule at €737.3m (2008: €1,075.3m). An increase in sheetfed sales in the third quarter raised the figure to €318.8m at the end of September (2008: €499.9m). Sales of web and special presses fell from €575.4m to €418.5m. A group order backlog of €446.5m on 30 September compared to €721.6m a year earlier. Web and special presses contributed €287.3m (2008: €510.2m), sheetfed €159.2m (2008: €211.4m).
The cost-cutting initiatives launched in March delivered savings of more than €80m by the end of September. A vigorous consolidation programme has cut the group payroll by 908 to 7,095. At the end of the fourth quarter KBA will have fewer than 7,000 and by mid-2010 just under 6,500 employees.
Following pre-tax losses of €35.2m in the first quarter and €12.2m in the second, in the third quarter the KBA group posted a pre-tax profit for the first time this year of €9.6m. For the nine months to October KBA made an operating loss of €31.1m (2008: €7.9m profit), a pre-tax loss (EBT) of €37.8m (2008: €3.6m profit), and after deducting income taxes disclosed a group loss of €39m (2008: a profit of €7.8m). Earnings per share were also negative (–€2.38 compared to +47 cents in 2008). Cash flows from operating activities were positive at €9.5m (2008: €49.8m), largely due to a substantial decrease in working capital.
In his outlook KBA president and CEO Helge Hansen states that because of an unexpectedly weak inflow of orders for multi-unit web presses group sales are unlikely to exceed the €1.1bn mark in 2009. Despite market conditions make provisions necessary in the final quarter for a capacity reduction in the web segment that is much bigger than originally planned, we stand by our objective of posting a balanced group result (EBT) by the end of the year. “If thefourth quarter proves disappointing and we post a negative result for the full year, it will be in the low single-digit million euro range and would still represent a notable achievement compared to the performance of other players in the sector.”
18.06.2009
Koenig & Bauer AG: CEO Hansen: KBA on course despite soft demand
Since April German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (KBA) has seen a major upturn in new orders for sheetfed presses, with business drummed up at trade fairs in the Middle and Far East largely balancing a shortfall in the first quarter. This was the message delivered by Helge Hansen, KBA president and CEO since 27 March, at the company’s 84th AGM at the Vogel Convention Center in Würzburg. However, as Hansen warned the serried ranks of shareholders present, demand for big newspaper and commercial web presses remains unsatisfactory. “While we have increased our share of the global newspaper market to almost 50 per cent, the total volume of new orders booked in the first five months was well below our target for the year. The global recession and financial meltdown continue to impact on demand in the sector, and are now affecting sales of special presses for niche applications. At present the only bright spot in this gloom is the security printing sector.”
He continued: “Since the financial crisis broke, customer financing has become increasingly difficult and changes in banks’ lending practices have in many cases put paid to planned investments. Even so, the past few months have shown that KBA’s product range, which is much broader than that of the market leader and embraces customised multi-unit web presses, batch-produced and special sheetfed presses, exerts a stabilising influence on sales.”
Referring to recent media reports of state aid for press manufacturers, Hansen warned against generalisations based on isolated cases, and argued for a more differentiated assessment of individual enterprises. He followed this up by emphasising the KBA group’s solid financial and liquidity base compared to certain rivals: “At present we have no net bank debts. On the contrary, in recent months we have improved our net financial position to a good EUR36 million and our operative cash flow is positive. At the end of March our equity ratio stood at 33.9%, well above the norm for the engineering sector. In addition to EUR100 million in funds we have a credit line of EUR160 million, of which more than 60% is guarantee credit required to safeguard the customer down payments that are routine in the heavy plant industry. We have applied for a government guarantee effective from 1 April 2010. As you are aware, at present such guarantees reflect changes in banks’ risk policies rather than in KBA’s liquidity.”
KBA is a solid, solvent enterprise and has no need of the “state prop” somewhat prematurely assigned it by a certain business journal. However, as Hansen explained, “we are concerned about possible competitive imbalances that may be caused by government intervention.”
KBA will continue to expand its service activities, and is also aiming to expand its consumables business. As it has done for the past 192 years, the group will remain an innovative and trusted provider for print entrepreneurs the world over. But like many other industry insiders, once this crisis has passed the KBA management board does not see the global market volume for press technology returning to the high levels of 2005 or 2006 for the foreseeable future. Growth is being limited by changes in media consumption habits, ongoing consolidation in the print sector, a rapid increase in press productivity and the emergence of low-budget rivals in threshold economies like China and India.
Last year, amid financial and economic turbulence, KBA posted group sales of EUR1.53bn, a good EUR200m below the record EUR1.74bn for 2006, and this year the figure will shrink by over EUR300m to just under EUR1.2bn. Helge Hansen comments: “We and the other press manufacturers cannot stop the market from shrinking, so to achieve a decent return again as soon as possible we must adjust our capacity accordingly.”
Hansen goes on: “To achieve the growth KBA undoubtedly requires in the medium term, we must look to high-potential sectors where we can capitalise on our formidable skills in engineering, high-quality machine manufacture and global distribution. Two of the sectors we are focussing on are packaging and green energy technology, and here we have already developed specific concepts. Alongside a more customary merger or acquisition we are considering taking a stake in a promising new start-up or entering an alliance with an established player as a means of gaining access to these markets. Our solid balance sheet and finances certainly give us plenty of scope.”
According to the preliminary figures quoted by Hansen, in the first five months of the year the KBA group posted a 20.7% decline in new orders (1st quarter: 40.7% decline). However, the revival in sheetfed business swelled the order backlog at the end of May to EUR557.1m (1st quarter: EUR500.8m). Group sales, at EUR347.5m, were 34.7% down on the corresponding figure for the previous year and 10.7% below target. Meeting the group target for 2009 of around EUR1.2bn will depend largely on market trends in coming months. Said Hansen: “Following last year’s substantial loss we have a real chance of achieving our ambitious goal of posting a balanced result, even if sales are just shy of EUR1.2 billion.”
In view of the net loss posted by the parent, Koenig & Bauer, no dividend will be paid for 2008.
15.05.2009
Koenig & Bauer AG: Cost savings will boost results in subsequent quarters
Following slack demand in the final quarter of 2008, the first quarter brought little relief to the printing press sector. The group order intake for Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) totalled EUR219.5m, a drop of 40.7% from the prior-year figure of EUR370.3m. However, this was better than the industry average, largely thanks to KBA’s broad product range addressing both volume and niche markets. While orders for web and special presses were down 28.7% at EUR142.2m (2008: EUR199.3m), the knock-on effects of the financial and economic crisis caused demand for sheetfed presses to shrink by more than half to EUR77.3m (2008: EUR171m). The impact on sales, which declined by 27% to EUR220.2m (2008: EUR301.7m), was equally disparate. A relatively moderate drop of 9.1% to EUR143.4m (2008: EUR157.7m) in the web and special press division, where production cycles tend to be much longer, contrasted with a plunge of 46.7% to EUR76.8m (2008: EUR144m) in the sheetfed division. The group order backlog of EUR500.8m at the end of the quarter was roughly the same as at the beginning, but was 41.8% below the corresponding figure for the previous year of EUR860.5m. Web and special presses accounted for almost four-fifths of unfilled orders.
The savings in personnel expenses delivered by short-time work at all KBA’s production plants failed to offset the revenue lost through slower sales. Management anticipates a substantial reduction in personnel and material costs in coming months following the implementation of the scheduled capacity adjustments, for which ample provision was made last year. These entail extensive job cuts at the sheetfed factories. A first-quarter operating loss of EUR32.7m (2008: EUR–5m) and pre-tax loss of EUR35.2m (2008: EUR–6.4m) were in line with expectations. The net loss came to EUR33.2m (2008: EUR–1m), resulting in earnings per share of EUR–2.03 (2008: –6 cents).
Cash flows from operating activities were positive, totalling EUR19.2m (2008: EUR88.6m). This was largely due to a substantial drop in trade receivables. The free cash flow came to EUR13.5m (2008: EUR73.7m). Liquid assets swelled from EUR85.8m at the end of December to EUR99.4m at the end of March, and the net financial position improved from EUR22.6m to EUR36.6m over the same period. Despite the quarterly loss, the equity ratio of 33.9% was higher than the industry average. At the end of March there were 7,646 employees on the group payroll, 535 fewer than twelve months earlier and 192 fewer than at the beginning of the quarter.
KBA president and CEO Helge Hansen says: “In the current market environment, our March prediction of a 20% decline in sales is fairly optimistic, as is the balanced pre-tax result we are targeting. We shall therefore continue to devote all our energies to pursuing these goals. We are currently in the process of adjusting capacities to a smaller market volume, and this will materially improve our profitability by the end of the year. The total package aims for savings of several hundred million euros in personnel and material costs by 2011. We’ll keep you posted on progress in our interim reports.”
30.04.2009
Koenig & Bauer AG: High restructuring charge impacts on earnings
German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) published its 2008 financial statements on 30 April following preliminary disclosures on 26 March.
The global economic downturn had a disproportionately severe impact on the inflow of orders for batch-produced sheetfed presses, which plunged 22.6% to EUR598.5m (2007: EUR773.5m). The web and special press division, where multi-unit installations with lengthy production times dominate the schedule, exerted a stabilising influence, with new orders totalling EUR643m (16.9% below the prior-year figure of EUR773.4m). Group orders therefore shrank 19.7% to EUR1,241.5m (2007: EUR1,546.9m). Weak demand resulted in a 16.7% drop in sheetfed sales to EUR714.2m (2007: EUR856.9m), and their contribution to group sales consequently fell from 50.3% to 46.6%. With sales of web and special presses relatively steady at EUR817.7m (2007: EUR846.8m), group sales sank 10.1% to EUR1,531.9m (2007: EUR1,703.7m). The drop in the volume of orders on hand was much greater, from EUR791.9m to just EUR501.5m at year’s end.
The impact on profits of a EUR170m slide in sales was exacerbated by provisions and write-downs totalling EUR93.3m, primarily relating to the approved restructuring and consolidation of sheetfed facilities. This gave rise to an operating loss of EUR79.9m, as opposed to an operating profit of EUR65.7m in 2007.
A higher service turnover and solid earnings in niche markets less affected by the recession pushed up the profit generated by the web and special press division from a healthy EUR63.1m in 2007 to EUR108.5m. This contrasted with a heavy loss of EUR188.4m (2007: EUR2.6m profit) in the sheetfed division due to capacity underutilisation and substantial one-off expenses in preparation for the proposed realignment. The outcome was a financial loss of EUR7.2m, pre-tax earnings of EUR–87.1m (2007: EUR63.2m profit) and a group loss of EUR101m (2007: EUR49m profit). Net earnings per share came to EUR–6.18 (2007: EUR3.00). At the AGM on 18 June the management and supervisory boards will therefore table a motion to dispense with a dividend.
Cash flows from operating activities swelled from EUR21.3m to EUR34.6m, primarily due to higher provisions and a reduction in receivables and inventories. The KBA group’s cash flow is materially influenced by the customer prepayments commonly made in the heavy plant sector, which despite softer sales in the second half-year came to EUR140.5m (2007: EUR199.3m). The free cash flow improved from EUR–17.1m in 2007 to EUR–9.9m. At the end of December liquid assets stood at EUR85.8m (31.12.2007: EUR123.2m). With bank loans down EUR20.3m at EUR63.2m, the group’s net financial position remained strong at EUR22.6m. Additional credit lines totalling EUR160m have been extended by domestic banks. Although the net loss reduced total equity from EUR515.1m to EUR411.1m, an equity ratio of 34.8% (2007: 37.7%) reveals a solid capital base.
In view of weak global demand, unfavourable economic indicators in the ad-dependent printing industry and a drop of more than 36% in the group order backlog, KBA expects sales to be some 20% lower than in 2008. Management is hopeful that the timely implementation of the restructuring measures, which will mainly focus on sheetfed activities, will rapidly bring capacities and costs in line with the smaller global market anticipated in the medium term. The group payroll will be reduced to around 7,000 by the end of the year.
Since provision was made in last year’s accounts for the necessary personnel cuts, write-downs and other remedial action, KBA is targeting a balanced pre-tax result (EBT) for 2009, provided global demand does not deteriorate any further.
26.03.2009
Preliminary financial figures for 2008 and changes at the top
The global economic crisis has left its mark on the 2008 balance sheet of Germany press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA). Preliminary figures reveal that the group order intake fell to EUR1,241.5m, 19.7% down on the corresponding figure for 2007. Below-capacity production levels, particularly at KBA’s sheetfed plants, caused a 10.1% drop in sales to EUR1,531.9m (2007: EUR1,703.7m). The volume of orders on hand at the end of the year shrank 36.7% to EUR501.5m. In consequence the group posted an operating loss of around EUR80m and a pre-tax loss (EBT) of more than EUR85m. However, there was a modest EBITDA profit of under EUR10m.
An operating profit of more than EUR100m on web and special presses contrasted with a loss of over EUR180m in the sheetfed division, where substantial provisions for the proposed restructuring of domestic and foreign sheetfed production plants and for related inventory valuation adjustments, write-downs on bad debts and other remedial measures resulted in a one-off charge in the high double-digit millions.
Company president and CEO of six years’ standing Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann (57) has resigned with immediate effect from all offices within the group. Announcing his decision at the March meeting of the company’s supervisory board, he cited the substantial losses incurred by the sheetfed division in Radebeul near Dresden last year. His brother Claus (53) is now the sole remaining representative of the founding family on the KBA board.
Mr Bolza-Schünemann is making way for personnel changes aimed at turning the division around. The supervisory board accepted his resignation with the greatest respect and appointed Helge Hansen, CFO since February this year, his successor both as president and as head of human resources in Radebeul. Product development has been taken over by the executive vice-president for production, Dr Frank Junker.
At the end of December there were 7,838 employees on the group payroll, 398 fewer than in 2007 (8,236). Further reductions will be necessary at KBA’s sheetfed production plants, bringing the total down to nearer 7,000 by the end of the current year.
Given the present recessionary tendencies in the global economy and the engineering industry, KBA anticipates a further drop of 20% in sales. However, barring a renewed slump in demand the scheduled restructuring, consolidation and cost-cutting initiatives should enable the group to post a balanced result for 2009. A more detailed projection will be issued when the 2008 financial statements are disclosed on April 30.
Detailed press release:
>>>Collapse in global demand impacts on balance sheet
>>>Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann resigns all offices
>>>Collapse in global demand impacts on balance sheet
>>>Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann resigns all offices
28.01.2009
President and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann hands finances to Helge Hansen
KBA squares up to the challenges of the financial crisis
With the approval of the supervisory board, on 6 February 2009 Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann (56), president and CEO of German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), will hand his financial remit to Helge Hansen (61), a respected banker and business economist. Hansen, who was appointed managing director of Metronic AG (now KBA-Metronic) in July 2003, successfully restructured the company following its acquisition by KBA in 2004.
Along with the rest of the press engineering industry and most exporters, KBA has experienced a collapse in sales over the past year in the wake of the global financial and economic meltdown. The appointment of a new executive vice-president for finances (CFO) to this SDAX-listed company – the world’s first and oldest press manufacturer – is a response to the mounting challenges posed by risk management, financial dealings with banks, and customer financing.
When Bolza-Schünemann was appointed president and CEO of KBA in June 2003, finances were added to his existing responsibilities of product development and human resources at KBA’s sheetfed operation in Radebeul, near Dresden. The transfer of his financial remit will give him more time to focus on the long-term strategic realignment of the entire KBA group in the international marketplace. This will entail a consolidation of the sheetfed division, which has been particularly hard hit by the global crisis.
Helge Hansen, KBA’s new CFO, is well qualified for his new position, having spent his entire career in finance. After taking his school-leaving certificate Hansen completed an apprenticeship at Commerzbank in his home city of Hamburg. In 1971 he graduated from the University of Hamburg with a degree in business economics. There followed a year expanding his knowledge of international finance on secondment to law firms in London. On his return to Commerzbank Hansen handled export financing as head of department from 1972 to 1980. In 1980 he moved into industry, gaining valuable experience as director of finances and accounting at the Salzgitter group and as managing director of two affiliated companies. From 1988 to 1999 he headed the Feinfocus group, a mid-cap start-up with a number of domestic and foreign plants producing non-destructive radiography testing equipment. Hansen first came into contact with KBA in June 2003, when he was appointed managing director of what was later to become KBA-Metronic. Prior to that, at the request of the lending banks he had successfully turned around a number of stricken businesses in the print media, construction and service sectors.
14.11.2008
Nine-month profit but market, sales and earnings demand consolidation
Like the rest of the sector, printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) is experiencing the knock-on effects of the current financial turmoil on its export business. Following a slump in demand in key markets such as the USA, and the abrupt tightening of credit lines for customer investments, group order intake in the first nine months fell 12.5% to EUR1,005m (2007: EUR1,148.2m). Group sales, at EUR1,075.3m, were 11% below the prior-year figure of EUR1,208.6m. But despite narrower contribution margins, higher material and energy prices, the substantial expense associated with intermittent below-capacity plant utilisation and allowances for bad debts, KBA posted a modest operating profit of EUR7.9m (2007: EUR41.5m). A financial loss of EUR4.3m was accompanied by a plunge in earnings before taxes (EBT) from EUR38m to EUR3.6m. KBA closed the period with a net profit of EUR7.8m (2007: EUR29.8m) and proportional earnings per share of 47 cents (2007: EUR1.83).
A drop in the order backlog from EUR888.3m to EUR721.6m resulted in below-capacity production output at sheetfed and web press production plants, and this continued in the fourth quarter. As a countermeasure, overtime and holiday accounts are being run down and KBA’s Radebeul plant has submitted an application to introduce short-time work from November onwards.
Reaffirming the revised sales and profit forecast issued in late September for the current financial year (ending 31 December), KBA now anticipates sales of EUR1.5bn (down from EUR1.7bn in 2007) and a group pre-tax loss in the high double-digit millions due to a high one-off expense for consolidating sheetfed production plants, though the pre-restructuring operating loss is unlikely to exceed EUR10m. With global demand exceptionally weak, and little likelihood of improvement in the foreseeable future, management sees an urgent need to reduce sheetfed capacity, having barely completed the capacity adjustment initiated at its web press plants in September 2007. Around 600 of the 3,600 jobs at the sheetfed factories in Radebeul near Dresden (Germany), Mödling (Austria) and Dobruška (Czech Republic) will have to go. Details are still being negotiated with workers’ representatives.
26.09.2008
Koenig & Bauer AG: 2008 sales and profit targets no longer attainable
Following a supervisory board meeting to discuss the latest financial figures, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) management board announced a downward adjustment in the 2008 earnings forecast issued on 31 March and reaffirmed at the AGM on 19 June in the wake of a highly successful Drupa trade fair. KBA anticipates a slide in group sales for the current financial year (ending 31 December) from €1.6bn to around €1.5bn. Pre-tax earnings, which were originally set to equal last year’s figure of €63.2m, will turn negative in view of a considerable slump in sales of sheetfed presses, provisions for consolidating sheetfed production activities, and adjustments in inventory value.
On current form, sales of web and special presses will exceed targets. Nevertheless, the profit generated will not be sufficient to balance the sheetfed division’s operating loss enlarged by provisions for restructuring measures and value adjustments.
The increase in sheetfed orders anticipated in connection with a sizeable volume of contracts negotiated at Drupa has failed to materialise. Particularly in the USA, but also in other countries affected by the present financial crisis and economic downturn, it is still proving difficult for printers to obtain corresponding funding. The already perceptibly reduced demand in the print media industry has softened further since summer 2008. This has impacted on all press manufacturers, and at KBA also on the web and special press divisions.
KBA management plans to compensate the foreseeable underutilisation of production capacities in the fourth quarter by making greater short-term use of its scheme of flexible working hours. Following a double-digit drop in the worldwide market volume for newspaper, commercial and sheetfed presses over the past eighteen months, KBA management has extended to the sheetfed division the capacity reductions initiated in the web division in September 2007. This adjustment to a probably longer spell of weaker demand, which will include human resources measures, will affect group facilities in Radebeul (Germany), Mödling (Austria) and Dobruška (Czech Republic).
KBA will publish further information with its quarterly report on 14 November.
19.06.2008
Koenig & Bauer AG: Drupa sales boost in second half-year
At the 83rd AGM of German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), group president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann revealed that Drupa, a 14-day print media trade fair recently held in Düsseldorf, had brought in orders worth more than €200m, surpassing the figure for the previous Drupa in 2004. The surge in orders booked at Drupa, along with an-ticipated post-Drupa business, will substantially improve capacity utilisation and sales at KBA's sheetfed production plants. Major web press contracts booked at the turn of the year, and a brisk inflow of orders over the past few months, will keep the group's web press facili-ties busy until the end of the year and materially boost sales in the third and fourth quarters. Following the divestment of KBA's rotogravure business in September 2007, an agreement has now been reached with staff representatives on personnel reductions at the relevant plants. In addition to natural attrition, which has already trimmed the payroll by 180, and other measures such as phased retirement, there will be around 100 redundancies at KBA's Frankenthal operation. While sales of metal-decorating presses and at subsidiary KBA-Metronic were on target at the end of May, the figures for security presses failed to equal the prior year's high level.
Bolza-Schünemann admitted that, with sales and profits flagging in the first five months, his €1.6bn end-of-March sales prognosis for 2008 represents something of a sporting challenge. However, in view of the major boost expected in the second half-year, he believes this to be a realistic figure. Notwithstanding the risks associated with market activities, currency ex-change and the financial crisis, KBA is aiming for a pre-tax profit roughly on a par with 2007 (€63.2m), following a big increase in shipments in the third and fourth quarters.
To stabilise earnings, diversify risk and reduce the group's dependence on more volatile print markets, Bolza-Schünemann stated that KBA will continue to pursue its successful strategy of driving growth in niche print markets and is on the watch for opportunities to diversify through judicious acquisitions, and in addition to stepping up its service and consultancy ac-tivities does not exclude a move into consumables or non-print sectors such as environ-mental technology or other high-growth engineering applications. The group has already ac-quired expertise and patents on air purification through its Stuttgart subsidiary, KBA-MetalPrint.
15.05.2008
Koenig & Bauer AG: orders up, turnover down
Defying the financial crisis, a strong euro and a pre-Drupa lag in demand for sheetfed presses, in the first three months of the year German printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) posted a 5.5% increase in new orders to €370.3m (2007: €350.9m). Its web and special press division bucked the industry trend with major contracts from US and Turkish newspaper publishers, which helped boost the order intake by an above-average 10.6% from €180.2m to €199.3m. And despite a sluggish US market, the volume of incoming orders for sheetfed presses, at €171m, was roughly the same as the previous year (€170.7m).
As in the years 2004 to 2006, group sales fell well short of the prior-year figure (€301.7m, compared to €414.2m). While sheetfed sales of €144m were just 8% lower than in 2007 (€156.6m), sales of web and special presses slid by more than a third, from €257.6m to €157.7m. This is because most web presses will not ship until the second half of the year.
The shortfall in sales impacted heavily on results, with an operating loss of €5m (2007: €13.5m profit) and pre-tax loss of €6.4m (2007: €13m profit) lagging targets by a wide margin. KBA closed the quarter with a net loss of €1m (2007: €9.3m profit) and proportional earnings per share of -6 cents (2007: +57 cents).
The volume of unfilled orders for web and special presses rose from €565.9m to €611.5m, ensuring that the level of plant utilisation will be higher into the autumn than it was in the past few quarters. But the backlog of orders for sheetfed presses fell from €319.5m to €249m, so further contracts are needed to safeguard production in the second half-year. KBA is confident that the Drupa trade fair that opens in late May will provide the necessary stimulus.
KBA president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann says: "Looking beyond the unsatisfactory first-quarter sales and earnings, and notwithstanding the economic, currency and commodity-related risks our group is facing, we stand by the targets we stated in late March of around €1.6bn in sales and a pre-tax profit on a par with 2007 (€63.2m)."
31.03.2008
Koenig & Bauer AG: higher profits on lower sales
In 2007 Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) posted group sales worth €1,703.7m, not far off the previous year's record figure of €1,741.9m. But at €1,546.9m the volume of new orders was 6.2% lower (2006: €1,649.7m) following the economic downturn in the US, weaker demand for big press lines and a slump in demand for gravure presses. The order backlog shrank accordingly to €791.9m, from €948.7m a year earlier.
But the impact of higher material and labour costs, and provisions for capacity adjustments at web press production plants, was more than offset by systematic cost reductions and improved margins on goods shipped. As a result operating profit jumped from €46.2m in 2006 to €65.7m. Pre-tax earnings (EBT) soared to €63.2m (2006: €47.4m) and group profit climbed to €49m (2006: €34.3m), though there was a modest financial loss. Earnings per share rose to €3 (2006: €2.11). The parent's retained earnings, which determine dividend payments to shareholders, fell to €10.8m (2006: €16.1m). Nonetheless, at the annual shareholders' meeting in Würzburg on 19 June the management and supervisory boards will propose paying out €9.8m - equivalent to a dividend of 60 cents (2006: 50 cents).
President and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann says: "Provided the global economy remains on a relatively steady footing, we anticipate group sales for 2008 of around €1.6 billion and group earnings before taxes (EBT) on a par with 2007. But in view of the current scenario and the associated risks, we are unable to make more precise projections at this point in time. When the Drupa international trade fair closes its doors in June we shall have a clearer idea of developments in key overseas markets, the investment climate in our industry and our prospects for the rest of the year and beyond."
13.02.2008
New York Daily News orders multi-unit 6/2 KBA Commander CT
Third major contract in succession for Koenig & Bauer
Following contracts from India and Turkey early this year for a total of twelve newspaper presses, Würzburg-based German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) recently received another major order, this time from the New York Daily News, which has reaffirmed its commitment to print with a contract for a fifteen-tower, triple-wide version of KBA’s ultra-compact Commander CT. Scheduled to go live in autumn 2009, the triple-wide Commander CT press line for the Daily News will have three sections, each with five Pastomat reelstands, five towers and one KF 7 jaw folder. Founded in 1919 as the first US daily printed in tabloid form, the Daily News is the largest and most widely read newspaper in the New York metropolitan market and the fifth largest newspaper in the country. Along with its newly redesigned web site – NYDailyNews.com – the Daily News reaches 4.6 million readers per week.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
27.09.2007
KBA and Cerutti sign an agreement on rotogravure business
Press manufacturers Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) in Germany and Officine Meccaniche Giovanni Cerutti S.p.A. (Cerutti) in Italy have signed an agreement transferring to Cerutti for an undisclosed sum all KBA’s intellectual property rights (know-how, industrial designs and patents) relating to rotogravure printing presses for magazines, catalogues and decorative paper. KBA will design and manufacture the folders for all new Cerutti publication rotogravure presses. In addition KBA will continue to provide after-sales service for the rotogravure presses it sold up to the date of the transaction. The agreement will allow the two groups to optimise the development and manufacture of their products and to achieve substantial synergies. It will deliver major competitive advantages to printers operating publication rotogravure presses in a highly competitive environment that is being further exacerbated by the evolution of other printing process and new communication technologies.
The agreement was approved by KBA’s supervisory board at its latest meeting. The sale to Cerutti of KBA’s gravure business, which for some time has felt the impact of weak demand in the gravure market, will lead to personnel changes at KBA’s production plant in Frankenthal. As KBA president Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann had already announced in the company’s half-year report published in mid-August, slack demand in the newspaper industry during the past eighteen months also means that capacity must be reduced at KBA’s newspaper production plants. The scenario envisaged by the board of directors for downsizing capacity and safeguarding earnings will first be discussed by the competent worker committees before concrete figures are released. Despite the slide in demand for multi-unit press lines the KBA board reaffirmed its forecast that group profit and pre-tax earnings in 2007 would be roughly on a par with the previous year.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
19.06.2007
Slow demand for big press lines mars fine performance
At the 82nd AGM of German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), group president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann reaffirmed his March projections for 2007 of group sales totalling €1.7bn and a pre-tax profit on a similar scale to last year’s €47.4m. Although investment in big newspaper and gravure press lines has been slow for the past year, buoyant demand for sheetfed and special presses meant that the volume of orders for the first five months of 2007 was a good €70m up on the prior-year figure. Sales were also higher, and KBA projects a rise in sales and a profit in the first half-year, figures for which will be published on 14 August.
While KBA’s sheetfed division has enough orders to keep it busy until well into the fourth quarter, a year-on-year drop in the order backlog for newspaper and gravure presses, due in part to higher shipments, will cause capacity fluctuations in the second half-year at the group’s web press production plants. Because of the long lead times for web presses, recent contracts for newspaper and commercial presses will have no immediate impact on manufacturing and assembly levels.
Having reduced the volume of work outsourced, downsized the temporary labour force and rescheduled internal manufacturing jobs, KBA is planning to introduce short-time work in certain departments from 1 July. The costs associated with this cut in capacity utilisation have already been factored into the earnings forecast for 2007.
Says Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann: “Among newspaper publishers, investment in new kit has been hit by demographic trends in many developed economies and by the fact that daily titles in Europe and North America have now largely completed conversion to full colour. It is too soon to tell whether this is cyclic, like the downturn six years ago, a temporary phenomenon as the media industry absorbs ongoing changes in the market, or a permanent and irreversible trend. If the last hypothesis is correct we shall be obliged to trim our web press operations and focus on core components.” He was unwilling to be more specific.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
15.05.2007
Good start to 2007
In the first three months of the year German printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) posted a 3% increase in group orders to €350.9m (2006: €340.6m). While demand was soft for big newspaper and gravure web presses, a brisk influx of orders for special presses helped boost new bookings for web and special presses by an above-average 7.3% to €180.2m from €167.9m. The volume of incoming orders for sheetfed presses, at €170.7m, was roughly on a par with the previous year (€172.7m). Group sales of €414.2m surpassed the prior-year figure of €309.4m by a substantial 33.9%. A big increase in shipments of commercial and security presses pushed up sales of web and special presses from €146.7m to an impressive €257.6m. However, sheetfed sales of €156.6m (2006: €162.7m) were not in line with annual targets.
A jump in shipments reduced the volume of orders on hand from €1,072.1m twelve months earlier to €885.4m. A €319.5m (2006: €321.7m) backlog of orders for sheetfed presses, which have relatively short delivery time-frames, will keep KBA’s production plants in Radebeul and Dobruška (Czech Republic) busy until well into the second half of the year. The same cannot be said of KBA’s web press production plants, where capacity utilisation will fall in the second half-year following slack demand for big newspaper and gravure presses, which shrank the backlog of orders for web and special presses to €565.9m (2006: €750.4m).
Cost savings and a substantial improvement in sales transformed an operating loss of €6.5m in the first quarter of 2006 into a €13.5m profit, and a net loss of €5.3m into a net profit of €9.3m. Earnings per share of 57 cents were a big improvement on the prior-year loss of 33 cents.
Looking ahead, KBA reaffirmed its end of quarter projections that group sales and pre-tax earnings in 2007 would be similar to last year, namely €1.7bn and €47.4m.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
29.03.2007
Koenig & Bauer AG: big jump in sales and earnings in 2006
Group sales climbed 7.5% to €1,741.9m (2005: €1,621m), the highest level in KBA’s 189-year history. While a total of €1,649.7m for new bookings represented a double-digit improvement on 2004, which had been boosted by the Drupa trade fair, it was 6.7% down on the record figure for 2005 of €1,768.9m. President and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann attributed this to the smaller number of major newspaper and gravure contracts put up for tender. An increase in shipments trimmed the order backlog to €948.7m at the end of the year, from €1,040.9m in 2005. A high level of capacity utilisation at KBA’s production plants and efficiency gains from restructuring the web press division enabled the group to boost operating profit from €33.3m in 2005 to €46.2m. While the financial profit was no more than modest, pre-tax earnings (EBT) soared to €47.4m (2005: €25.8m), net group profit to €34.3m (2005: €18.5m). Earnings per share thus came to €2.11 (2005: €1.14). Although the export level of 82.7% was marginally higher than in 2005 (81.9%), group profitability in the fiercely competitive global press market was hit by the weakness of the Japanese yen, the US dollar and the Swiss franc against the euro, by higher steel and energy prices and by an increase in unit labour costs, which together wiped out some of the cost savings and productivity gains made. At the AGM on 19 June in Würzburg management and the supervisory board will propose a dividend of 50 cents per share, up from 40 cents in 2005. €8.2m of the parent’s net profit of €16.1m (2005: €6.5m) will be paid out as dividends, €7.9m reinvested. Despite softer sales of multi-unit web presses, KBA management is confident that group sales and pre-tax earnings in 2007 will be roughly on a par with 2006.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
01.12.2006
Ralf Sammeck to succeed Andreas Mössner as head of sheetfed sales in August 2007
In its November session Koenig & Bauer’s supervisory board approved changes at the executive level. On 31 July next year, at his own request, Andreas Mössner (43) will step down from the parent company‘s board of directors, resigning the position he has held since January 1998 as executive vice president for sales at KBA’s sheetfed division in Radebeul (Dresden). He will be replaced on 1 August 2007 by Ralf Sammeck (44), who has guided KBA North America’s sheetfed division to new heights since being appointed president and CEO in October 2002. Mössner has accepted an appointment by the supervisory board of KBA’s Austrian subsidiary, KBA-Mödling, as successor to managing director Wolfgang Schischek (62), who retires at the end of January 2008.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
15.11.2006
KBA: sales climb, profit jumps
In the third quarter the KBA group more or less wiped out a shortfall from the first half-year with an order intake worth €527.3m – the highest in any quarter in its history. New orders for the nine months to 30 September totalled €1,246.6m, just 4.8% below last year’s figure of €1,309.9m, which was boosted by a number of big contracts. Sales climbed 8.9% from €1,107.3m to €1,205.5m. The €1,082m backlog of unfilled orders was roughly the same as in 2005 (€1,095.6m). Group operating profit for the nine months to 30 September almost doubled to €30.1m (2005: €16.1m), and pre-tax earnings (EBT) more than trebled to €30.4m (2005: €8.9m). Net profit, at €22.4m, was more than five times the prior-year level of €4m. Earnings per share improved accordingly from 25 cents in 2005 to €1.38. KBA management reaffirmed its spring prognosis of annual sales in excess of €1.7bn and a pre-tax profit substantially higher than the €25.8m reported in 2005.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
11.08.2006
KBA posts big jump in profits
In the first six months the KBA group posted a modest 5.1% lift in sales to €726.5m (2005: €691m). While the volume of new orders, at €719.3m, fell short of the prior year’s exceptionally high figure of €860.9m following softer sales of sheetfed, webfed gravure and security presses, the pace picked up again in July. An order backlog of €1,033.7m (2005: €1,062.9m) will keep production plants busy for the rest of the year.
A substantial boost in earnings from web and special presses in the second quarter transformed an operating loss of €6.5m from the first quarter into an €18.8m profit (2005: €0.4m loss), even though sheetfed earnings were well below target. According to KBA president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, efforts to secure an innovation premium commensurate with the competitive benefits delivered over more conventional sheetfed technology are frustrated by market pressures. After deducting a financial loss of €0.1m (2005: €5.7m loss) KBA posted a pre-tax profit of €18.7m (2005: €6.1m loss), closing the quarter with a net profit of €12.5m (2005: €6.6m loss) and a proportional profit per share of 77 cents (2005: loss per share of 41 cents).
Cash flows from operating activities eased to €52.9m, from €64.2m a year earlier, while the free cash flow shrank to €32.5m (2005: €56.5m). Funds at the end of June (€143.4m) were substantially higher than at the end of 2005 (€129m). Equity stood at €456.2m, or 31.8% of the balance sheet total.
Notwithstanding the negative impact of hostilities in the Middle East on energy and commodity prices, currency movements and exports, KBA is targeting an increase in group sales to €1.7bn or more and a substantial improvement in profits compared to 2005.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
22.06.2006
Upbeat prognosis reaffirmed for 2006
Speaking to a packed hall at the 81st AGM convened by German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), group president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann reaffirmed his upbeat prognosis for 2006 despite the fact that in the first five months demand had been relatively modest. Sales topped the prior-year figure by more than €40m, and though shipping schedules meant they once again fell short of the an-nual target and thus impaired group earnings, the situation at mid-year will be better than at the end of the first quarter. While the volume of new orders failed to equal the previous year’s exceptionally high figure, and bookings for special security and gravure presses also eased, sales of sheetfed and commercial presses picked up in the second quarter. A €1bn-plus backlog of orders will keep KBA’s web press pro-duction plants busy until well into the first quarter of 2007, while the sheetfed division has sufficient orders to secure production until almost the end of the current year. In view of the big increase in sales and a more earnings-friendly shipping schedule in the second half-year, Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann saw no cause to amend his March prog-nosis of a single-digit increase in group sales and a higher pre-tax profit than in 2005 (€25.8m). However, he pointed out that the recent tariff agreements in the German metalworking and electrical industries will hit group earnings to the tune of several million euros. He added that the risks inherent in currency fluctuations between the euro and the US dollar, and movements in the prices of energy and raw materi-als, mean that it would be premature at this point in time to make a detailed prognosis with regard to sales and earnings in 2006.
He revealed that the Federal Cartel Office had recently approved the acquisition of Stuttgart-based metal-decorating specialist LTG-Mailänder by KBA subsidiary Bauer+Kunzi, which is located in the same area and is already a major player in this lucrative niche market. By expanding its metal-decorating activities into a much bigger opera-tion with a payroll of over 300 and sales in excess of €90m KBA is aim-ing to boost its global market share and gain potentially higher returns.
29.05.2006
KBA subsidiary Bauer+Kunzi planning to acquire metal decorating specialist LTG-Mailänder
Metal-decorating press manufacturer Bauer+Kunzi GmbH in Ditzingen near Stuttgart, a successful supplier to the metal decorating industry since 1974, and since 2003 a subsidiary of the Würzburg printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), is pursuing plans to acquire the full assets of Stuttgart-based LTG Print Systems Holding GmbH, including the latter's active metal-decorating supplier LTG-Mailänder GmbH & Co KG and the associated sales subsidiaries in Italy, Great Britain and Japan. The recently signed acquisition agreement, a transaction valued in the lower two-digit million Euro range, is to be implemented by transferring the holding of the London-quoted parent company LTG Technologies PLC. The deal is currently still subject to the expected approval of the German Federal Cartel Office.
The acquisition of metal decorating specialist LTG-Mailänder is the logical continuation of the strategy charted over recent years by Koenig & Bauer AG, the parent company of Bauer+Kunzi GmbH, namely to flank the core competence demonstrated in a strong market position in the high-volume sectors for sheetfed offset, commercial web offset and newspaper printing with targeted acquisitions strengthening its role in niche markets less dependent on the general economic and advertising climate.
15.05.2006
Outlook good for 2006 after slow start
German printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) won contracts worth €340.6m in the first quarter, 10.9% below the record figure of €382.4m for the corresponding period in 2005. While new bookings for web and special presses jumped 21.2% to €167.9m following a string of orders for commercial and security presses and big newspaper presses, soft demand in January and February slowed the inflow of new orders for sheetfed presses to €172.7m, 29.2% down on 2005 (which, however, was 40% up on 2004). Far from signalling a downturn, the dip in sheetfed contracts proved to be a temporary blip that allowed the sheetfed offset division to consolidate strong prior-year growth before returning to business as usual in March.
Shipping schedules resulted in group sales of €309.4m, roughly on a par with the previous year (€311.3m) but a long way off course for meeting the annual target. However, an order backlog of €1,072.1m, 11.2% up on the high prior-year figure of €964.1m, will keep KBA’s production plants busy until well into the second half of the year.
Lagging sales also impacted on earnings, leading to an operating loss of €6.5m (2005: –€6.2m) and a net loss of €5.3m (2005: –€6.8m). The proportional loss per share was 33 cents (2005: loss of 42 cents).
Despite a weak start to the year, KBA stands by its end-of-quarter prognosis for 2006 of a single-digit increase in sales and a substantial improvement in pre-tax earnings compared to 2005 (€25.8m).
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
30.03.2006
Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) 2005:Renewed brisk growth and higher profits
The KBA group benefited from rising domestic demand in 2005 to boost sales by an impressive 13.9% to €1,621m (2004: €1,423m). Operating profit jumped to €33.3m, from €20.4m the previous year. Pre-tax earnings (EBT) of €25.8m (2004: €16m) and a net profit of €18.6m (2004: €11.8m) were both on target, while earnings per share of €1.15 compared well with the prior year’s 73 cents. At the AGM on 22 June management and the supervisory board will therefore propose a dividend of 40 cents per share, up from 25 cents in 2004.
The order intake climbed 21.2% to €1,768.9m (2004: €1,459.1m). Despite an increase in shipments the backlog of unfilled orders at year’s end swelled €150m to €1,040.9m (2004: €893m) and will keep KBA’s production plants busy for some months to come.
Further details will be released this afternoon at a press conference at Pressehaus Stuttgart.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
30.03.2006
Change in Koenig & Bauer executive board
At its meeting in March the Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) supervisory board signed off on the financial statements for 2005 (see separate press release) and approved a change in the executive board. Following a successful tenure, Walter Schumacher (49), executive vice-president for web press sales, marketing and service since 1 January 1999, will step down by mutual agreement on 30 April to pursue his personal roadmap. With effect from 1 May he will be succeeded by Christoph Müller (45), who joined Albert-Frankenthal (now part of KBA) in 1984 and was appointed vice president for commercial web offset and publication rotogravure sales in 1998.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
15.11.2005
KBA moves back into the black
Third-quarter figures for German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) showed a 25.9% increase in group order intake to €1,309.9m (2004: €1,040.1m). Group sales totalled €1,107.3m, 17.2% above the prior-year figure of €944.5m, and the order backlog was 15% higher, at €1,095.6m. As a result KBA has moved back into the black for the first time this year, with a pre-tax profit (EBT) of €10.1m. Its operating profit of €17.3m is a big improvement on the figure of €1.2m for the first six months. Net profit was €5.2m, equivalent to net earnings per share of 32 cents. Management reaffirmed the projected sales target of €1.5bn for 2005 and a higher pre-tax profit than last year’s €15.9m.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
12.08.2005
KBA group posts half-year operating profit
German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) booked a 17.7% increase in group order intake to €860.9m (2004: €731.6m) in the first six months, despite the absence of any exceptional stimulus like last year’s Drupa trade fair. Group sales totalled €691m, 29.2% above the prior-year figure of €534.9m. The €1,062.9m order backlog was also higher (30.06.2004: €1,053.6m) and safeguards production until well into next year.
A €4.2m operating loss (EBIT) in the first quarter was turned into a €1.2m profit at the end of the second. A financial loss of €5.7m translated into a pre-tax loss (EBT) of €4.5m, substantially lower than a year earlier (-€18.5m). The net loss including deferred taxes was €5m (2004: -€16.5m), which corresponds to a proportionate net loss per share of 31 cents (2004: -€1.02).
With earnings expected to receive a major boost from higher sales and a more profitable product mix in the second half of the year, KBA management reaffirmed the €1.5bn sales target announced some months earlier. The group stands by its goal for 2005 of a higher pre-tax profit than in 2004 (€15.9m).
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
13.05.2005
Big jump in new orders
KBA group quarterly report
Press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has revealed that the inflow of orders in the first quarter surged to €382.4m, 23.5% up on the prior year period, with the sheetfed division outclassing all rivals to post a 40.3% jump in bookings to €243.9m. New orders for web and special presses lifted 2% to €138.5m. Group sales for the quarter totalled €311.3m, 20.7% higher than twelve months earlier. Sheetfed sales climbed 16.4% to €168.1m, web and special press sales rose 26.2% to €143.2m.
However, a return to profit in 2004 was followed in the first quarter by a pre-tax loss (EBIT) of €4.2m (1st quarter 2004: -€3.6m) and a net loss for the quarter of €4.8m (2004: -€3.9m). This “temporary glitch” was caused by the quarterly turnover, which fell short of annual targets, by higher prices for materials and by poor margins arising from some contracts booked in previous years.
Despite the red ink, KBA management has reaffirmed the group’s objective, announced in early April, of boosting sales to around €1.5bn (2004: €1,423m) and improving pre-tax earnings, which in 2004 totalled €15.9m. The gains delivered by cost-cutting initiatives – now completed – at KBA’s web press production facilities and by more flexible labour agreements at all its German operations will soon work through to the bottom line, along with broader profit margins for new presses soon due to ship.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
06.04.2005
Return to profit with record sales
In 2004 German press manufacturing group Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) posted record sales of €1,423m and a big jump in new orders to €1,459.1m. Group earnings before interest and taxes totalled €20.3m, pre-tax earnings €15.9m and the annual net surplus €11.9m. At the AGM in Würzburg on 23 June the management and supervisory boards will propose a dividend of 25 cents per ordinary share.
10.03.2005
KBA acquires Czech press maker Grafitec
Würzburg/Dobruška: German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has agreed to purchase Czech counterpart Grafitec, spol. s r. o. from American investment fund Charles Investment Partners and minority shareholders for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is part of a strategic expansion drive in the small-format sheetfed offset market and builds on the dynamic growth now being experienced in KBA’s global sales of medium- and large-format presses.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...
04.02.2005
Management and staff agree cost-cutting measures
KBA management and staff at the group’s web press production plants in Germany have agreed to work longer hours for no extra pay in order to reduce overheads and delivery time frames. The deal, which affects all 3,634 executive and non-executive staff, is effective from 1 January for a period of two years. KBA cited the strong euro, which is eroding group competitiveness against non-euro players, as one reason for the move. No further details were released.
15.11.2004
First quarterly pre-tax profit since 2002
The group figures issued by press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) after the third quarter 2004 show that the volume of new orders has leaped 21.7% on the previous year to stand at €1,040.1m (2003: €854.3m). Sales in the first nine months of the year improved 16.8% to €944.5m (2003: €808.8m). As a result, it was possible to cut the loss before taxes (EBT) to €9.7m, slashing over 75% from the corresponding figure for the previous year (2003: €40.9m including restructuring costs) and almost 50% from the figure returned after the first six months of 2004. The continuing improvement is also expressed in the fact that, for the first time since the end of 2002, a quarterly profit before taxes (EBT) of €8.8m was posted in the third quarter of 2004. Alongside the persistent pressure on prices, revenue losses arising from below-target sales and spiralling costs for raw materials placed a squeeze on earnings. Nevertheless, management holds by the declared annual group sales target for 2004 of €1.4bn – the highest in KBA's 187-year history – and a pre-tax profit.
Detailed press release...
Detailed press release...