Heidelberg Notes Significant Rise in Incoming Orders in Half-Year Report

Growth continued in the Asia/Pacific region, above all thanks to the continued positive developments in China. In the second quarter, incoming orders were up 33 percent on the previous year at EUR 228 million. Although this did not match the high level of incoming orders in the first quarter, over the first six months as a whole it represents a 24 percent increase over the same period the previous year after adjustment for exchange rate effects. Net sales in the first half-year were 26 percent up at EUR 398 million, once again after adjustment for exchange rate effects.

Outlook
For the current financial year 2010/2011, Heidelberg is still expecting to see a modest growth in sales. The result of operating activities will benefit from increasing profit contributions and the savings achieved so far. Heidelberg is looking to achieve a break-even operating result in the current financial year, provided the economic situation remains stable. The forecast of economic developments reflected in the company's financial year planning takes into account the respective product mix prevalent in the individual markets. We continue to focus on limiting the commitment of funds; the previous huge increase in financing costs and the non-recurring expenditures linked to the repayment of financial liabilities from the proceeds of the capital increase will have a very negative impact on the financial result. However, the repayment of liabilities made possible by the successful capital increase will have a mitigating effect in the remaining months of the current financial year. During the current financial year, a marked net loss is still expected.

Source: Company financial release.