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

As at September 30, 2010, Heidelberg had 16,228 employees worldwide. The workforce fell by a total of 268 in the first half-year.

Business results in the divisions
In the Heidelberg Equipment Division, incoming orders for the first half-year were 49 percent up on the previous year (41 percent after adjustment for exchange rate effects) at EUR 875 million. Medium- and large-format sheetfed offset presses enjoyed particularly strong growth. Incoming orders in the second quarter were down on the figure for the first quarter because the start of the financial year was boosted by positive special items such as the Ipex and ExpoPrint trade shows. Sales in the first half-year were up 21 percent on the previous year (15 percent after adjustment for exchange rate effects) at EUR 649 million. The operating result excluding special items for the first six months was EUR 34 million better than the previous year at EUR -87 million. The savings achieved by the program of cost-cutting measures and the company's reorganization had a positive impact on this result.