HEIDELBERG is setting the course for future growth with a number of strategic initiatives. Besides expanding its core business by taking over manroland sheetfed lifecycle business and POLAR production operations, the company is also tapping into additional potential by taking advantage of new market opportunities arising from energy storage systems and the European defense sector.
Integration of the manroland sheetfed Group's lifecycle business and global sales and service companies, together with full acquisition of POLAR postpress systems, has further enhanced the strategic position of HEIDELBERG as a systems integrator in its core business. As part of the manroland sheetfed transaction, HEIDELBERG has also secured the intellectual property rights for the Roland 900 / Cartonmaster in the large-format sheetfed offset segment. The first press of this model has already been sold, and HEIDELBERG is currently looking into further production and development options for this system at a low-cost location. In this way, the company is reinforcing its leading position in the printing and packaging sector.
Live Hub opened to demonstrate integrated drone defense
At the recent international aerospace trade show ILA Berlin, ONBERG signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a further joint venture – with the Ukrainian drone developer Skyeton. The Skyeton portfolio includes high-tech, combat-proven surveillance drones, which are being combined with the HEIDELBERG unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to create an autonomous system of systems. The unmanned air-ground systems that are currently being developed in rapid innovation cycles in Ukraine are increasingly regarded as a future defense solution. In July, ONBERG opened a Live Hub to demonstrate integrated counter-UAS capabilities at its Brandenburg site, where decision-makers from public authorities, operators of critical infrastructure, the armed forces, and industry can see exactly how integrated protection from enemy drones works in practice.
The move by HD Advanced Technologies into the production of sodium-ion battery storage systems is also opening up new potential. The company has teamed up with Swiss business PHENOGY to collaborate on a technology and industry platform in this sector. As an initial step, HD Advanced Technologies will start handling the industrial manufacturing of complete energy storage systems for PHENOGY – from procurement and production through to rollout, installation, service, and maintenance. The two companies are also laying the groundwork for a joint venture focusing on the development and industrial manufacturing of sodium-ion battery cells based on PHENOGY's cell chemistry and a specific printing process from HEIDELBERG.
"This financial year at HEIDELBERG is all about investments in line with our strategic agenda. We are looking to further strengthen the company's market position and tap into new potential. This will create the basis for profitable growth and sustainable value enhancement in the coming years," says Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG.
Solid start to FY 2026/2027
During the first quarter of financial year 2026/2027 (April 1 to June 30, 2026), underlying conditions continued to be challenging for HEIDELBERG. Despite this, the incoming orders figure of € 537 million was only slightly down on the equivalent quarter of the previous year (€ 559 million) and therefore laid a solid foundation for further business development. The phasing-out of a state-subsidized investment program in Italy had a massive impact in the first quarter, reducing incoming orders there by over € 60 million compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The positive developments in China and the rest of Asia only partly compensated for this.
Sales totaled € 404 million and, as expected, were therefore below the figure for the equivalent period of the previous year (€ 466 million). Sales were significantly higher in China, the UK, and Brazil, but lower elsewhere, especially in the EMEA region. Adjusted for special items, the EBITDA margin for the first quarter of financial year 2026/2027 was 0.2 percent (corresponding quarter of previous year: 4.4 percent), primarily due to the lower volume of sales. As is normally the case at this point in the financial year, the free cash flow after the first three months was negative, at € -77 million (equivalent period of previous year: € -68 million). The net result after taxes for the first quarter amounted to € -32 million (corresponding period of previous year: € -11 million).
The HEIDELBERG Technology segment's incoming orders and sales after three months exceeded the level recorded in the equivalent period of the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA remained stable at € -4 million. A partly expected downturn in the EMEA region was a particular factor contributing to the Print & Packaging Equipment segment's lower incoming orders and sales. In the Digital Solutions & Lifecycle segment, incoming orders after three months were around 5 percent up on the equivalent quarter of the previous year, while sales matched the previous year's quarterly figure.
"In our core business, we are targeting our investments toward growth markets, which is also boosting our service, consumables, and spare parts business," says Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG. "At the same time, we can increase the proportion of repeat sales and better balance out new machine business, which tends to depend on economic trends," he adds.
Forecast for financial year 2026/2027 confirmed
The forecast for financial year 2026/2027 remains unchanged. The company is expecting stable Group sales matching the previous year's level in financial year 2026/2027 and a noticeable improvement in the adjusted EBITDA margin compared with the previous year. It is assumed that there will be no substantial changes in relevant exchange rates for business activities.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About HEIDELBERG:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is a leading technology company that has been standing for innovation, quality, and reliability in mechanical engineering worldwide for 175 years. With a clear focus on growth and as a total solution provider, HEIDELBERG is driving further development in the core areas of packaging and digital printing, software solutions, and lifecycle business with service and consumables so that customers can achieve maximum productivity and efficiency. The company is also focusing on expanding into new business areas such as high-precision plant engineering with integrated control systems, automation technology, robotics, and the growing green technologies sector. With its strong international presence in approximately 170 countries, the creative power and expertise of its roughly 9,500 employees, its own production facilities in Europe, China, and the USA, and one of the largest global sales and service networks, the company is ideally positioned for future growth.
Image material and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations portal and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.
Important note:
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the overall economic situation, in exchange and interest rates, and within the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability for future developments and results deviating from the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
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