Koenig & Bauer publishes preliminary results for 2025 marked, in its words, by a "significant improvement in results against a backdrop of persistently weak macroeconomic conditions and growing uncertainties about trade policy".
Rising sales
Sales for the Frankfurt-listed German manufacturer of printing machinery rose by 2.2% to ?1302.4 million. The Special & New Technologies division (which includes security and security printing, industrial digital printing, coding and marking machines, and certain special packaging technologies) grew by 6.8% to 596.0 million euros.
The Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems division (a segment dedicated to sheetfed offset printing) posted a more contained growth to 741.5 million euros.
Operating EBIT was ?36.6 million, compared with ?15.3 million a year earlier. The manufacturer is within the range announced for autumn 2024. Non-operating exceptional items fell sharply to 5.3 million euros, after 50.4 million linked to the "Spotlight" program in 2024.
The second half shows a more balanced profile than in the previous year. The fourth quarter generates operating EBIT of 30.2 million euros. Cash flow generation improved significantly towards the end of the year. Despite a negative cash flow in the first nine months, annual free cash flow was positive at 7.3 million euros.
An order book " at an all-time high"
Orders totaled ?1,233.2 million, down 12.1% on a high base in 2024 (+8.9%), as forecast.
The Paper & Packaging division limited the decline to 3.9%. Special & New Technologies declined further, penalized by an exceptional volume of US institutional orders last year.
The order backlog at December 31, 2025 remains high, at 970.6 million euros (versus 1,039.8 million euros the previous year), "thus remaining at a historically high level".
In 2026, operational stability
For 2026, Koenig & Bauer is showing measured caution. The group indicates that it "expects continued operational stability in fiscal 2026".
The outlook remains dependent on the international trading environment. "Provided there is rapid clarification of import duties (...) enabling customers to make their investment decisions without trade-related uncertainty", the Group forecasts operating EBITDA of around ?80 million for 2026, in line with the previous year's level.
