Heidelberg is to increase its position in the markets of packaging and digital, as the German printing equipment manufacturer reports a positive result for the 2022/2023 financial year despite ‘a difficult economic environment’.
Heidelberg has in fact stated that the company, ‘exceeded its targets in the challenging financial year 2022/2023.’ This saw it generate sales of €2.4 billion compared with €2.2 billion in the previous year, which represents an increase of around 12%. The adjusted operating result rose from 5.1% to 7.2%. Boosted by a strong final quarter, sales in the most recently completed financial year were slightly higher than the forecast level of €2.3 billion. Strong growth in the company’s Packaging Solutions segment also made a particular contribution to the result. Order backlog as of 31 March, 2023, remained high at around €848 million, although down year-on-year.
The Packaging Solutions segment now accounts for around half of the company’s sales, a proportion that has gradually increased in recent years.
With global demand for packaged goods continuing to increase, packaging and label printing continues to grow, ‘making it an important core segment for Heidelberg’, as noted by the company. It has a well-established market presence in packaging via sheet-fed offset offerings – such as the latest generation of the Speedmaster XL 106 platform. Heidelberg is now to expand beyond this with new package printing technology and penetration into new markets. Recent developments such as the introduction of the new Boardmaster flexographic web printing system for folding cartons and the Gallus One digital press highlight how Heidelberg sees packaging and printing as central to its future vision. Heidelberg has stated that it intends to use such technology to ‘support its strategy and growth’.
Heidelberg CEO Dr Ludwin Monz (left) and company CFO Tania von der Goltz (right)
Heidelberg CEO Dr Ludwin Monz commented, ‘We achieved a good outcome in a challenging environment in the financial year just closed. Faced with further cost increases and a level of profitability that remains low, Heidelberg is initiating a value creation programme.’
The aim is to further boost the company’s financial strength and increase investments in growth areas. To deliver such innovations and the associated growth, Heidelberg is now looking to ‘significantly’ increase its free cash flow in the medium term. This will provide the company with the necessary resources, whether to further strengthen its product portfolio in the packaging sector or to fund a development budget for expansion in digital printing.
‘We will provide and redistribute the resources for growth through our own internal efforts so as to successfully implement our growth strategy,’ explained Heidelberg CFO Tania von der Goltz.
Heidelberg is shortly to mark Gallus’ centenary with the official opening of the Gallus Experience Centre in St Gallen, Switzerland.
