German printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer has reported a 2.7% decline in its revenue to €538.9m for the first half of this year, compared to €553.9m for the same period last year.
The company's EBIT stood at €16.3m and order intake was €602m with an order backlog of €621m.
For the sheetfed segment, its orders increased by 12.2% to €326.3m because of increased service business and more orders being placed for medium-format presses.
Flatbed die-cutters for postprint processing of cardboard and corrugated are claimed to have made significant contribution to its growth.
Revenue for the segment increased by 5.5% to €307.8m from the previous year’s figure of €291.7m.
KBA stated that it received an order intake of €85.7m for the digital & web segment. The company's packaging printing solutions experienced a drop in revenue to €216.3m from €269.5m last year.
Last year, the company received major security press contracts. At €189.2m, the segment showed a fall in revenue, compared to previous year, at €222.9m. EBIT for the segment was €14.5m.
Koenig & Bauer CEO Claus Bolza-Schünemann said: “The successful trade shows Print China in Beijing, interpack in Düsseldorf and METPACK in Essen contributed to a substantial year-on-year increase in order intake in packaging solutions for cardboard, metal decorating, marking and coding and glass and hollow container printing.
"Despite this growth and the expansion of service business, the order intake of €601.9m was slightly down on the previous year’s figure of €618.8m, which had been spurred by major security press orders."
