Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: Heidelberg surpasses forecast based on preliminary financial figures for financial year 2020/2021

DGAP-Ad-hoc: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: Heidelberg surpasses forecast based on preliminary financial figures for financial year 2020/2021

27-Apr-2021 / 18:16 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

According to preliminary figures (unaudited), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has exceeded its own forecast in terms of net sales and operating margin for the financial year 2020/2021 just ended (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021). Thanks to a strong final quarter, sales of around € 1.913 billion were slightly above the forecast range of € 1.85 billion to € 1.90 billion. Due to rising demand particularly in China, parts of Europe and, in the final quarter, also in the US, incoming orders rose to a high level of around € 2.0 billion by the end of the financial year. In the fourth quarter alone, the order intake improved significantly to €579 million, from € 462 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The order backlog thus increased to a level of € 636 million, providing a favorable basis for the new financial year.

'With a strong final spurt, we have been able to continue our recovery in business volume since the Corona-induced low in the summer,' said Rainer Hundsdörfer, Heidelberg's CEO. 'The upturn in the regions makes us confident that we will be able to continue our upward trend in net sales and margin in the future.'

As a result of the positive effects realized under the transformation program and the higher sales volume in the final quarter, the operating return exceeded the company's own forecast. At € 146 million, EBITDA excluding restructuring result in financial year 2020/2021 was significantly higher than in the previous year (€102 million). The EBITDA margin of around 7.6 percent exceeded the company's own forecast of around 7 percent, even though the expected income from the sale of land at the Wiesloch site will only be recognized in the new financial year.

'The consistent and rapid implementation of our transformation program has stabilized Heidelberg during the pandemic and, with the tailwind of the market recovery setting in, provides the foundation for profitable growth,' said Marcus A. Wassenberg, the company's CFO.

As expected, the preliminary result after taxes in financial year 2020/21 has improved significantly year-on-year. Due to the favorable final quarter, the loss is expected to be somewhat lower than previously anticipated. Thanks in particular to the sharp reduction in net working capital and income from asset management in the reporting period, free cash flow for the financial year as a whole will be clearly positive and net financial debt will be kept at a low level.

The company will publish its financial statements and annual report for financial year 2020/2021 on June 9, 2021.

Image material, and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.

Heidelberg IR now on Twitter:
Link to the IR Twitter channel: https://twitter.com/Heidelberg_IR
On Twitter under the name: @Heidelberg_IR

Further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Corporate Communications
Thomas Fichtl
Phone: +49 6222 82-67123
Fax: +49 6222 82-67129
E-mail: Thomas.Fichtl@heidelberg.com

Investor Relations
Robin Karpp
Phone: +49 6222 82-67120
Fax: +49 6222 82-99 67120
E-mail: robin.karpp@heidelberg.com

Important note:

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimations by the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the Management Board is of the opinion that those assumptions and estimations are realistic, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the macro-economic situation, in the exchange rates, in the interest rates, and in the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft gives no warranty and does not assume liability for any damages in case the future development and the projected results do not correspond with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Preliminary key figures FY 2020/2021 at a glance

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