Heidelberg exceeded its targets in the challenging financial year 2022/2023. The technology company generated sales of €2.435 bn compared with €2.183 bn in the previous year, which represents an increase of around 12%. The adjusted operating result rose from 5.1% to 7.2%.
“We achieved a good outcome in a challenging environment in the financial year just closed,” says Dr. Ludwin Monz, CEO. “Faced with further cost increases and a level of profitability that remains low, Heidelberg is initiating a value creation program,” he adds.
Left to right: Ludwin Monz (CEO) and Tania von der Goltz (CFO).
The new business strategy will lay the foundation for future investments. With its dual- track strategy, Heidelberg is pursuing two key strategic approaches.
Firstly, the company is looking to make an impression on the printing market beyond its business with sheetfed offset presses, especially in the packaging market and digital printing. And, secondly, as it has already done with its wallbox business, Heidelberg will be unlocking new markets alongside its core business.
To deliver innovation and, in particular, the associated growth, Heidelberg requires the necessary resources – whether to further strengthen its product portfolio in the growing packaging sector or to fund a development budget for the successful expansion of digital printing. With this in mind, the company is looking to significantly increase its free cash flow in the medium term. “We will provide and redistribute the resources for growth through our own internal efforts so as to successfully implement our growth strategy,” explains Tania von der Goltz, CFO. That particularly applies to the market environment, which remains challenging and shapes the outlook for 2024.
Thanks to a strong final quarter, sales in financial year 2022/2023 were slightly higher than the forecast level of €2.3 bn, amounting to around €2.435 bn (previous year: €2.183 bn). Strong growth in the Packaging Solutions segment made a particular contribution to the result. The order backlog on March 31, 2023, remained high at around €848m (previous year €901m).
