The VariJet 106 B1 digital press previewed at drupa 2016 is a joint venture with Xerox
The recently renamed Koenig & Bauer (formerly known as KBA) has announced that strong third quarter results put it on track to meet its growth and earnings targets for 2017.
The press manufacturer, which celebrated its 200th anniversary this summer, posted an increase of 3.9% in orders in the year to date versus the same period in 2016, at €903.4 million, complemented by a 2% increase in revenue to €848 million. The primary growth drivers were the sheet-fed and (analogue) packaging segments; order intake in the digital and web-fed segment was down 8.8% on the previous year, largely due to fewer new contracts for newspaper and commercial web presses.
‘In addition to our expanding service business, the increase in new orders was underpinned by gains in the growth fields of packaging and digital printing,’ said CFO Mathias Dähn.
CEO Claus Bolza-Schünemann reported on a first order for the newly developed digital CorruJet sheet-fed press, which is targeted at the growing market of digital printing of corrugated board. The CorruJet attracted great customer interest at a trade event in Vienna in October, according to Mr Bolza-Schünemann.
Looking ahead to the year-end, Mr Bolza-Schünemann added, ‘The numerous press deliveries and service orders in the fourth quarter will trigger a surge in revenue and earnings. In view of this business concentration, which is challenging due to the high capacity utilisation but not unusual, we expect an organic growth of up to €1.25bn in group revenue and an EBIT margin of around 6% in 2017.’
