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Koenig & Bauer Continuing on its Recovery Trajectory with its Figures for the First Quarter of 2021 With machines from Koenig & Bauer, the full diversity of printed products becomes visible - not just in packaging.
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Strong order intake with double-digit growth in Sheetfed segment and improved earnings despite lower revenue
5.3% increase in order intake, particularly underpinned by double-digit growth in the Sheetfed segment
Covid-19-induced decline of 7.8% in Group revenue – but better than the industry average of a 13.5% drop according to VDMA
P24x efficiency programme spurring earnings, €8.1m improvement in EBIT despite lower revenue
The Koenig & Bauer Group (“Koenig & Bauer”) entered 2021 on a strong note, posting a 5.3% increase in order intake over the previous year to €286.0m. This was particularly due to a double-digit increase in orders in the Sheetfed segment, of which around 60% can be attributed to the sharp growth in the more pandemic-resistant packaging printing market. This enabled Koenig & Bauer to additionally expand its position in the market for sheetfed offset presses for packaging printing.
As Dr Andreas Pleßke, the CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, explains, This favorable order intake shows us that our customers’ spending reticence is beginning to dissipate in many areas. Nevertheless, some new investments are being postponed due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This mainly concerns digital decor and corrugated board printing as well as metal decorating, although we are still seeing noticeable interest on the part of our customers, and corrugated board printing, for exa