German printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has reported a pre-tax profit of 2.7 million Euro (CDN$3.6 million) compared to an 87.1 million Euro loss (-CDN$118 million) for 2008. The company reported a net profit after tax of 6.6 million Euro compared to a 101 million Euro loss in 2008.
KBA’s overall sales for 2009 dropped by about one-third to 1 billion Euro (CDN$1.36 billion) from 1.5 billion Euro (CDN$2 billion) in 2008.
“The world economy remains fragile," noted KBA president and CEO Helge Hansen (pictured) in the release. "While productivity-boosting investment among printers no longer declined over the past few months, neither did it soar. With banks and leasing companies continuing to exercise the utmost caution, financing remains an obstacle for many firms. As a result many prospective investors have adopted a watching brief, which has impacted on new orders.
"More limited growth prospects notwithstanding, we remain committed to our core business of press technology, while expanding into other sectors offering additional revenue and development potential. Markets permitting, and provided the current financial and economic instability produces no additional setbacks, we are targeting a modest improvement in group sales and profits for the year.”
Despite a 31% fall in sales KBA states that it was probably the only major international press manufacturer to post a profit in 2009. [Heidelberg has reported that it anticipates its year-end sales (year-end March 31, 2010) to be "significantly" lower than its last fiscal year and its operating loss range between -110 million Euro and -150 million Euro.
KBA’s organizational restructuring due to the economic downturn has been mostly accomplished but is ongoing. The company’s employee count fell by 869 to 6,969 by year end, and once restructuring is complete KBA anticipates a payroll of around 6,000.
