Koenig & Bauer has come through the pandemic period in good shape, reporting that orders in most segments were up in the first half of the 2021 financial year.
Incoming orders rose 28% to €615.3 million (€480.2 million) boosting the backlog to €754.1 million (€650.4 million). Revenue continued to be affected by the pandemic though and dropped from €515.7 million to €493.2 million. It was not enough to keep the business in the red. Thanks to cost saving measures under its P24X programme, the year’s first six months achieved an Ebit profit of €6.4 million from an Ebit loss of 19.8 million at the same point last year.
The P24X effort has achieved its head count reduction aims without recourse to compulsory redundancies, saving the company around €20 million that had been set aside for that purpose.
The increase in orders was especially pronounced in the special products division, helped by a rush of orders for can printing presses to a 45% increase. The sheetfed offset sector noted a 30% increase in orders, thanks to further growth in packaging demand driving orders for large format presses. Packaging accounts for 60% of sheetfed orders.
The interest from packaging printers has resulted in five orders for its CorruCut press, increasing sales of flexo presses and interest from Chinese converters in the Varijet 106 inkjet machine that is a joint venture with Durst. The growth in flexo press orders could not offset a fall in orders in the web and digital press division. Both commercial and newspaper press business remains depressed while uncertainty afflicted inkjet sales to home decor and post print corrugated customers.
The company hopes to reap demand for its CorruCut and CorruFlex presses following a reorganisation to improve sales and support in North America.
But China is currently the land of opportunity for Koenig & Bauer. It enjoyed a record influx of business from the China Print show at the end of June, which is expected to convert into orders in the second half of the year. It introduced the Rapida 105 at the show and found that consumer electronics companies are driving demand for the Rapida 145 and Rapida 162 large format sheetfed presses.
There is some caution in forecasts for the rest of the year. The company is being affected by rise in the global demand for raw materials as lockdowns across the world come to an end. This means there is still limited visibility due to Covid, and while some live presentations are happening, travel restrictions continue. It anticipates slight growth for 2021 with a revenue increase for the year of around 7-10%. CEO Andreas Pleßke remains confident, noting in the letter to shareholders that “the global economic engine is increasingly gaining momentum, allowing Koenig & Bauer to face the future with confidence”.
