Koenig & Bauer: Strong Q4 secures 2024 target achievement – higher profitability expected for 2025

• Preliminary figures: Strong Q4 with operating EBIT of €46.5m (previous year: €32.0m) and a strong positive free cash flow achieved
• Preliminary figures: Revenue of €1,274.4m, operating EBIT adjusted for “Spotlight” and drupa of €25.8m in 2024 achieved
• As expected, extraordinary items for “Spotlight” and costs for drupa burden the Group EBIT, while laying the foundations for future profitability
• Strong order intake yielding the highest year-end order backlog in the company’s recent history, providing a strong basis for 2025 and beyond
• Outlook for 2025: Higher profitability with a slight increase in revenue
• Target achievement in 2026 highly dependent on global economic and geopolitical developments

On the basis of its preliminary and as yet unaudited figures, Koenig & Bauer AG, Würzburg (“Koenig & Bauer”, WKN: 719 350 / ISIN: DE0007193500) closed the 2024 financial year with a historically strong final quarter as planned in a challenging global economic market environment, thus reaching all the targets defined in November 2024 required to meet the updated full-year forecast.

As forcasted, achievement of the 2024 annual targets underpinned by a historically strong final quarter

Operating EBIT of €46.5m (previous year: €32.0m) and a strong positive free cash flow were achieved in the fourth quarter. This resulted in a positive free cash flow for the year as a whole, although it remained negative at €-35.8m in the first nine months.

As forecasted, operating EBIT of €25.8m adjusted for extraordinary items for the “Spotlight” focus programme and costs for the drupa trade fair was achieved for 2024 with a revenue of €1,274.4m. This was also due to the above-average contribution of €24.0m to operating profit from the Special segment in the final quarter, mainly as a result of the strong order intake in Q4 2023, as well as the efficiency benefits harnessed under “Spotlight”.

After drupa, the Sheetfed segment did not see any decline in demand, posting an order intake of €220.8m (+45.5% YOY) in the final quarter, which was also the strongest quarter of the year. This also resulted in a high Group order intake of €1,402.7m (+8.9% YOY) in 2024 and and increased the Group order backlog to €1,039.8m (+14.1% YOY) with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.10. This marks the highest year-end figure in Koenig & Bauer’s recent history and provides a strong basis for 2025 and beyond.

As CEO Dr. Andreas Pleßke summarises,“the achievement of our targets testifies to our company’s performance and flexibility and highlights our operational resilience as well as the success of our “Spotlight” measures,” adding that “we used drupa to demonstrate our innovative strength and to intensify relations with our customers. However, spending restraint, geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts continue to pose challenges. The fact that we are operating in the less volatile packaging markets is paying off. Packaging of all kinds is always needed, especially in the food, pharmaceutical, beverage and consumer goods markets."

Consistent implementation of the “Spotlight” focus programme in the drupa year

In addition to the costs of €10.5m for the world’s leading trade fair drupa, extraordinary items for the “Spotlight” focus programme amounting to €50.4m placed a burden on Group EBIT in 2024, while simultaneously laying the foundations for profitable growth in the coming years.

As a result, extraordinary items for the “Spotlight” programme have already exceeded the upper end of the target corridor of €30-45m, resulting in Group EBIT of € -35.1m. The extraordinary items mainly comprise expenses arising from cost adjustments for material and personnel within the “BNSx” projects already announced to boost profitability in banknote business and within the “D&W 2.0” project to rectify the ongoing loss situation in Digital & Webfed, as well as measures to enhance the holding company structures.

In the course of the ongoing implementation of the "Spotlight” programme, Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint GmbH identified additional need for action and further potential. In the “Metal 2.0” project, the Management Board decided to discontinue the CS-MetalCan project for 2-piece beverage can printing in addition to the personnel and material costs adjustments already agreed. Launched in 2012 and announced in 2017, the project failed to reach the defined goals and the anticipated market potential as of the end of 2024. This caused the above-mentioned difference of approx. €5.4m. Looking forward, MetalPrint will focus on the growth field of digital printing in addition to maintaining its market-leading position in offset printing presses and coating lines for the metal printing market.

In the course of the final implementation of all measures under the “Spotlight” focus programme, further expenses in the low single-digit-million-euro range are expected in the first half of 2025 to complete the project and underpin the Group's sustainable earnings growth.

Dr Stephen Kimmich, CFO and Deputy CEO adds: “Our priority is to operate profitably in every area. We do not build machines for the sake of building machines – what doesn't achieve the desired success, we consistently discontinue.”

Mixed business performance in the segments

Order intake in the Sheetfed segment rose by 20.8% to €732.5m in the drupa year. This performance was driven by the strong final quarter, which, contrary to expectations after drupa, did not see any decline in demand, and at €220.8m was in fact the strongest quarter of the year (+45.5% YOY). The time-delayed effect of the relatively muted order intake in Q3 2023 was the main reason for a 5.8% decline in revenue to €734.8m. Sequentially, however, revenue improved from quarter to quarter, coming to €268.4m (+8.1% YOY) in Q4. With a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0 (previous year: 0.78), the order backlog fell to the previous year’s level of €407.0m. Operating EBIT adjusted for drupa came to €24.3m, translating into an operating EBIT margin adjusted for drupa of 3.3%.

In 2024, the Digital & Webfed segment was not yet able to fully recover from the temporary weakness of the corrugated board market. Thanks to a strong final quarter, a further sequential improvement was achieved, with the order intake of €160.6m falling short of the previous year's figure by 10.7%. Revenue fell by 8.4% to €157.8m at the end of the year, reflecting the exceptionally high revenue recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The company has also prepared for lower revenue by implementing measures in the “Spotlight” focus programme. With the book-to-bill ratio of 1.02 on a par with the previous year (previous year: 1.04), the order backlog increased slightly year on year to €122.6m. Operating EBIT adjusted for drupa came to €-25.5m, translating into an operating EBIT margin adjusted for drupa of -16.2%.

After the high figure achieved in the previous year, the Special segment was able to increase its order intake by 0.6% to €541.9m. Orders received by Coding and Kammann were down on the previous year. On the other hand, orders received by MetalPrint were higher. At Banknote Solutions, order intake repeated the previous year’s pleasingly high figure and again included tenders for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). Revenue fell slightly by 2.0% to €405.6m, the reason for this being a lower percentage of completion (POC) in deliveries in the Banknote Solutions business unit compared to the previous year. With the book-to-bill ratio of 1.33 on a par with the previous year (previous year: 1.30), order backlog increased by 35.5% to €513.0m and is spread over several years. Operating EBIT adjusted for drupa came to €10.7m, translating into an operating EBIT margin adjusted for drupa of 2.6%.

Outlook for 2025: Higher profitability with a slight increase in revenue

Despite difficult and uncertain global economic and geopolitical conditions, Koenig & Bauer sees itself well positioned for 2025. Thanks to a historically high order backlog and additional savings from the “Spotlight” focus programme, the Management Board anticipates a slight increase in revenue to €1.3bn, accompanied by higher operating EBIT in a corridor of between €35m and €50m. Within this corridor, target achievement is highly dependent on actual global economic and geopolitical developments over the next few months.

Target achievement in 2026 highly dependent on global economic and geopolitical developments

Koenig & Bauer continues to project Group revenue of roughly €1.5bn in 2026, accompanied by an operating EBIT margin of around 6%. Due to the global economic and geopolitical uncertainties and, resulting from this, the limited forward planning visibility, Group revenue is currently expected to come to between €1.4bn and €1.5bn, with the operating EBIT margin reaching 5-6%.

The company will be publishing its audited financial statements and annual report for 2024 on 26 March 2025. On the same day, Koenig & Bauer will be holding a conference call (in English) for analysts and investors. The conference call will be subsequently available on the website.

Overview of preliminary figures remuneration for 2024