The world’s biggest press manufacturer Heidelberg has taken a hit due to the turmoil in the global money markets, with the company announcing it will make a loss of up to Euro20m in the July-September quarter, in sales down by ten per cent on the same period last year.
The news comes days after rival manufacturer KBA foreshadowed a loss for the year, and will likely be replicated by MAN Roland and the Japanese press manufacturers, as printers around the world, and particularly in the key US market, find capex funds harder to come by.
All the press manufacturers had hoped that drupa would provide a fillip to their sales, and so it seemed at the time, with orders piling in, however some insiders claim that half or more of those orders have since been cancelled or postponed.
Heidelberg says its restructuring costs will also take around E20m from its bottom line, and it has allowed a further E30m for its new partial retirement fund. It will make its full year forecast on November 6.
Writing in Australian Printer magazine local Heidelberg managing director Andy Vels Jensen says that while ‘times are tough’ the business in Australia is enjoying ‘excellent growth’ in many areas while its market share remains ‘above the historic averages’ in Australia and New Zealand.
