Heidelberg Posts High Semestral Profits; Sales Up 22%

During the second quarter of the financial year 2021-2022, the German company Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) posted high sales growth in its main markets, particularly in China, which patronizes its printing equipment, EV charging stations, and other products.

Photo Insert: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Market recovery continued in virtually all regions and contributed much to improving the operating result. The group’s half-year sales increased by 22 percent to €983 million compared to the previous year’s €805 million.

The EBITDA figure of €75 million was also up on the previous year (€67 million), even though the first half of the previous year was positively influenced by earnings from the restructuring of retirement provision amounting to €73 million, the sale of a subsidiary (€8 million), and the widespread use of short-time working, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Heidelberg benefited from rising sales, far better cost-efficiency, and earnings of over €20 million from the sale of docufy GmbH. The global logistics bottlenecks throughout the industry were already making themselves felt during the first half of the year.

However, close collaboration with suppliers and the approval of alternative components prevented more serious negative effects during this period.

“The highly positive developments in our growth areas and our improved cost-efficiency shows Heidelberg is doing very well. We also see great potential for the future thanks to our leading position in China and in the areas of digital business models, e-mobility, and packaging printing. In addition to all this, our break-even point will continue to fall. Despite the clearly evident problems in the supply chain at present, we are therefore confident about this year and the years to come,” commented Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer.

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