Koenig & Bauer has its core sheetfed press business to thank for pushing its orders beyond €1 billion, a new record for the business.
However, slow orders a year ago and reorganisation costs mean that year to date Ebit is in the red to the tune of €55.6 million. Operating Ebit in Q3 came to €4.2 million.
The order boost in the company’s Q3 reflects orders placed at Drupa that will be booked as sales during the next financial year. The order backlog is 21.6% higher than at this point in 2023.
As a result the company says it is confident of hitting its €1.3 billion revenue target for the year, though earnings will be “at the lower end of expectations”. This is because Drupa expenses of €10.5 million and costs incurred by its Spotlight programme of €24.4 million have dented the bottom line. The benefits of Spotlight are expected to reach €15 million this year and will have real impact on the figures in 2026.
However, the web and digital division, subject of some shareholder criticism at the company’s AGM, has again been bumpy. Order intake has been below 2023’s period while sales were slightly higher the company says.
It has sold a RotaJet, the company’s flagship inkjet web press in North America while rotary die cutters for corrugated production from Celmacch have been sold to Korea, Kenya and into Europe. This is a first order since the current round of mergers put a stop on new investment in the sector.
Orders from the special segment were up 44.3% thanks to further business for banknote production with the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A first press will be tested in the second half of next year with more machines to be delivered over subsequent years.
New orders for the sheetfed segment grew 12.6% to stand at €511.7 million for the first nine months, €160.9 million of this booked in the quarter.
CEO Andreas Pleßke says: “The nine-month figures show that we are headed in the right direction with the implementation of our Spotlight focus programme. The macroeconomic environment remained exceptionally challenging in the third quarter of 2024. So, it is all the more encouraging that we were able to significantly boost our operating earnings in Q3 over the previous quarter. Thanks to a record order backlog, we can expect a strong final quarter and confirm our previous forecast for 2024 as well as our medium term outlook for 2026. Spotlight will make a decisive contribution to achieving our profitability targets and further strengthening our competitiveness.”
It will need to, otherwise a minor shareholder rebellion this year may grow to unwanted levels.
