EQS-News

HEIDELBERG achieves targets and closes financial year 2023/2024 successfully

EQS-News: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results/Annual Results HEIDELBERG achieves targets and closes financial year 2023/2024 successfully 15.05.2024 / 07:40 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Preliminary business figures show positive development: Sales and adjusted EBITDA margin stable at € 2.4 billion and 7.2 percent in 2023/24 despite market challenges Free cash flow excluding special items at highest level for 10 years Incoming orders recover at the end of the financial year Innovations at drupa: Broad customer base as a strength Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is well prepared for the upcoming drupa trade fair (May 28 to June 7). This is shown by the preliminary figures for the past financial year 2023/2024, which met the company´s forecast. Despite challenging economic and geopolitical conditions as well as cost pressure on materials, energy and personnel, HEIDELBERG succeeded in keeping sales stable at around € 2.4 billion (previous year: € 2.435 billion) and the adjusted EBITDA margin at 7.2 percent. Free cash flow reached around € 50 million, whereby no special items, such as from the sale of non-operating assets, were included in the reporting year. This means that the highest free cash flow in over 10 years was achieved in the past financial year if the free cash flows of previous years had been adjusted for the special items contained therein. These figures underline the successful implementation of the value enhancement program, which has further improved the company's financial resilience. CEO Dr. Ludwin Monz says: "We were able to achieve our financial year targets in a difficult economic environment. HEIDELBERG's financial performance was solid. Our value enhancement program is an important building block in positioning HEIDELBERG for the future." Value enhancement program: More financial leeway for the further development of the company As part of the value enhancement program, HEIDELBERG has identified more than 250 measures to increase productivity and strengthen the financial base, which are being implemented on an ongoing basis. In the 2023/2024 financial year, the measures initiated at an early stage successfully compensated for the considerable negative impact on earnings from declining production volumes and rising costs. Measures to specifically optimize net working capital also had a positive impact on free cash flow.