KBA Reports Substantial Sheetfed Orders in Q2

WÜRZBURG, GERMANY—August 9, 2013—Compared to the end of March earnings, Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA) have improved considerably after six months. The world’s number two in press manufacturing generated a pre-tax profit of €10m in the second quarter thanks to higher sales, a profitable product mix and cost savings. After the first three months the pre-tax loss stood at –€18.8m resulting from the insufficient sales volume. A pre-tax loss of –€8.8m (2012: +€6.7m) was reported due to the shortfall in sales still noticeable after six months. Group net loss came to –€10.6m (2012: +€3.6m) and corresponds to earnings per share of –€0.64. Management expects earnings to continue to improve in the second half of the year and to achieve positive pre-tax earnings similar to 2012 despite ongoing restructuring measures.

Media shift and economy strain order intake
KBA’s strong position in packaging printing and successful trade fairs in China and Turkey pushed new sheetfed orders to €161m in the second quarter. However, over the full six months orders in this division were down by 19.3 percent to €293.8m compared to last year’s high figure boosted by the global trade fair drupa. Despite several orders from Germany, France and the Middle East, KBA has felt the reluctance of newspaper and commercial printers to invest in web presses. This reservation has been driven by media shifts and intensified by a weak economy in some markets. After the extraordinary high in 2011, the order volume for special presses has fallen back to the average level, even though significant restraint is currently noticeable and new project conclusions are delayed. Thus the volume of new orders in the web and special press division stood at €150.8m, 30 percent lower than the previous year. To sum up after six months group order intake of €444.6m was 23.3 percent down on last year’s figure. At 30 June group order backlog came to €590.4m.