Koenig Bauer Q1 Report 2024
At €242.9m as of 31 March 2024, order intake was 19.4% below the pre- vious year’s figure of €301.2m, in line with expectations. As forecast, the Sheetfed segment in particular saw a further sequential improvement fol- lowing the muted order intake in the third quarter of 2023. Order intake in the Digital & Webfed segment reflected the current temporary weakness in the market for corrugated board. Following the orders received in the Banknote Solutions business unit in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing, order intake in the Special segment was significantly lower.
Highlights
- As expected, Group revenue of €253.2m (previous year: €281.0m) and EBIT of €-10.2m (previous year: €-3.2m) in the first quarter of 2024 lower than in the previous year in a challenging market environment
- Sheetfed with an encouraging sequential improvement in order intake, Digital & Webfedwith a slight increase in revenue, Special set to benefit from a high order backlog as the year continues
- “Spotlight” focus programme particularly aims at enhancing earnings and efficiency in the Digital & Webfed and Special segments and requires governance adjustments
- Further “Spotlight” measures planned for Group-wide projects and at the Holding
- Improvement in free cash flow achieved
- At €242.9m as of 31 March 2024, order intake was 19.4% below the previous year’s figure, in line with expectations
- Strong order backlog of €901.2m (previous year: €970.6m) provides a solid basis for further growth in 2024The overall book to-bill ratio stood at 0.96 in the first quarter of 2024, just below the previous year’s figure of 1.07
- Outlook for 2024 confirmed: operating EBIT margin and revenue stable at the previous year’s level; “Spotlight” will also help the Group achieve its EBIT margin target of 6-7% by 2026 on Group revenue of €1.5bn
