200 years after the first cylinder press was unveiled by company founders Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer in London, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) will be the only traditional press manufacturer to launch an own-brand digital inkjet press at Drupa 2012, the definitive print media trade fair in Dusseldorf
Group sales were marginally lower than in 2010 (1,179.1m EUR) following slacker demand in the second six months and delays to shipments in the fourth quarter. However, at more than 1.5bn EUR, the volume of new orders surpassed the prior-year figure by over 20%, primarily due to brisk demand for special presses. The order backlog at year’s end topped the 800m EUR mark, exceeding the prior-year figure of 440.8m EUR by over 80%. As management indicated at an analysts’ conference on 9 December 2011, while the world’s second-largest press manufacturer failed to achieve its growth targets for sales and earnings, its performance was once again above the industry average. A major contributory factor was the group’s balance of high-volume and niche products.
KBA reports a good start to 2012 in terms of sales and new orders. The official figures for 2011 will be released on 30 March.