Heidelberg posts solid first-half growth as profitability strengthens

GERMANY – Heidelberger Druckmaschinen has reported stronger sales and a significant improvement in profitability for the first half of the 2025/2026 financial year, signalling that its ongoing strategic measures are taking effect despite a challenging global print market.

The press manufacturer posted sales of €985 million (US$1.14bn), up 8% from €915 million(US$1.06bn) in the previous year, with particularly strong performance in Europe and Asia.

The company’s adjusted operating result doubled to €63 million (US$73.22m) from €31 million (US$36.03m), lifting its adjusted EBITDA margin to 6.4%, compared with 3.4% in the same period last year.

Heidelberg attributed this to improved production efficiency and lower overall working costs.

Incoming orders remained robust at €1.11 billion (US$1.29bn), matching last year’s strong post-drupa momentum.

The company also achieved substantial success at Labelexpo in September, securing orders worth double-digit millions of euros, reinforcing the growing strategic importance of its label printing portfolio.

“Heidelberg is holding up better than the competition in a very challenging market environment and is once again demonstrating that our strategy is working and bearing fruit,” said Jürgen Otto, CEO at Heidelberg.

“The significant improvement in our profitability is particularly encouraging: a clear sign that our measures are proving effective.”

In its Print & Packaging Equipment segment, Heidelberg generated sales of €463 million (US$538.14m), up from €395 million 9US$459.11m) the previous year.

The Digital & Lifecycle segment continued its strong momentum, reaching €493 million (US$573.01m), buoyed by a major order from a Chinese customer for ten Jetfire 50 digital printing systems and several Gallus digital label presses.

The Technology Solutions segment contributed €29 million (US$33.71m).

The company also progressed on cash flow, reporting negative €63 million (US$73.22m) in free cash flow, an improvement from negative €102 million (US$118.55m) last year.

The net result after taxes reached break-even, a notable recovery from the €35 million (US$40.68m) loss posted in the comparable period.

Industry peers have likewise highlighted selective areas of resilience. Earlier this quarter, Koenig & Bauer reported stable demand for its flexo and folding carton equipment despite macroeconomic pressures, while Komori pointed to increased activity in packaging and security printing as key drivers in its latest financial update.

Together, these trends reflect a broader industry shift toward packaging, labels, and digitalization as growth engines.

Heidelberg reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting sales of around €2.35 billion (US$2.73bn) and an adjusted EBITDA margin of up to 8 percent for 2025/2026.

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