Koenig & Bauer Continues Previous Year’s Growth Path in FY 2023

Koenig & Bauer AG remained on the previous year’s growth path in the financial year 2023.

“We continued on our path of steadily improving operating earnings in a persistently challenging market environment. Nevertheless, we are aware that Koenig & Bauer needs to be more profitable,” said Dr, Andreas Pleßke, CEO of Koenig & Bauer.

“It is time to profitably leverage the results of the product and market initiatives of recent years, and this is what we are focusing on with ‘Spotlight’, added Dr. Stephen Kimmich, CFO and deputy CEO. In addition to his existing duties, Dr. Kimmich will also be assuming responsibility for the Special segment from April 1, 2024 following the reallocation of duties.
Revenue and EBIT margin above the previous year

In 2023, group revenue increased by 11.9% to €1,326.8 million, reaching the upper end of the guidance of around €1.3 billion. As in the previous year, almost 30% of revenue was generated by service business.

The three segments contributed to the favorable business performance as follows: while Sheetfed revenue rose by 16%, Digital & Webfed posted an increase of 23.2%. In Special, revenue was down on the previous year by 0.8%. Overall, revenue was thus far above the industry average for printing presses, which declined by 1% in 2023 according to industry association VDMA.

The final quarter again saw high revenue of €435.7 million (previous year: €380 million), allowing the company to remain on the growth trajectory that it had adopted in the first half of 2023, despite a more muted third quarter.

Notwithstanding the ongoing challenging global economic environment, which is additionally being exacerbated by a number of factors such as higher energy, material and personnel costs, group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached €29.9 million (previous year: €22 million), translating into an EBIT margin of 2.3% (previous year: 1.9%).

This places EBIT close to the middle of the forecast range of €25m to €35m, which had been adjusted on 8 November 2023. The segments contributed the following EBIT in the year under review: Sheetfed €29.8 million, Digital & Webfed €–23.9 million and Special €23 million. The fourth quarter of 2023 showed its usual strength again with EBIT of €32 million, which again marks a significant improvement compared to the same period in the previous year (€25 million).

At €1,287.9 million, order intake was, as expected, down 3.1% on the previous year’s historically high figure of €1,329.3 million. The following picture emerged in the segments: While Sheetfed order intake was down 25.5% on the extremely high figure recorded in the previous year, Digital & Webfed posted a slight increase of 9.9%. In Special, a significant increase of 37.1% was recorded.

Overall, order intake in the Koenig & Bauer Group was thus far above the industry average for printing presses, which declined by 17% in 2023 according to industry association VDMA.

Outlook for 2024: Operative EBIT margin and revenue stable at the previous year’s level
Koenig & Bauer continues to face a challenging macroeconomic environment in 2024. Even so, the Management Board expects the EBIT margin and revenue to remain stable at the previous year’s level in 2024. A

Accordingly, it projects operating earnings of between €25 million and €40 million and revenue of around €1.3 billion. However, Group EBIT for 2024 will be burdened by up to €10 million as a result of spending on drupa, the world’s largest trade fair for the printing and graphics industry, which will be taking place in Düsseldorf from the end of May until the beginning of June, resulting in Group EBIT of between €15 million and €30 million after this one-off effect.

As Dr. Pleßke explains, “As the chairman of the drupa committee, I am expecting a spectacular trade fair with countless highlights. In my role as CEO of Koenig & Bauer, I look forward to presenting our latest products and digitalization and sustainability innovations to visitors.”