Heidelberg Second-Quarter, Six-Month Results in Line with Expectations

“Development in the industry continues to be stable and demand for our products is robust,” said Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach. “Based on the current financial year to date, we are confident we will meet our targets.”

The result of operating activities (EBIT) excluding special items of €1 million was slightly positive in the second quarter as a result of higher sales and therefore higher profit contributions. This is a significant improvement on the first quarter (€-58 million). At €-57 million, EBIT excluding special items in the first half-year was, as expected, down on the previous year’s figure (€-21 million) due to trade show and product launch costs and low profit contributions resulting from the low level of sales in the first quarter. Special items amounted to €22 million in the first half-year and were primarily the result of expenses relating to the Focus 2012 efficiency program.