After a strong fourth quarter in 2024 and with a record order backlog, Koenig & Bauer AG is well positioned to continue its favourable operating performance in the currently volatile market environment and to improve its profitability. As expected, the implementation of the “Spotlight” focus programme in line with plans resulted in crucial efficiency gains and structural optimisation effects, which had a positive impact on operating earnings in the year under review.
In 2024, Koenig & Bauer achieved all the targets that it had set itself in November 2024 in a difficult global market environment thanks to a strong final quarter, meeting the updated full-year forecast. With revenue coming to €1,274.4m (previous year: €1,326.8m), operating EBIT adjusted for extraordinary items reached €25.8m (previous year: €29.9m). The adjustments include extraordinary items totalling €50.4m in connection with the “Spotlight” focus programme to strengthen profitability plus one-off costs of €10.5m for participation in drupa. The high Group order intake of €1,402.7m in 2024 (up 8.9% year on year) caused the Group order backlog to widen to €1,039.8m (up 14.1% year on year) with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.10. This marks the highest year-end figure in Koenig & Bauer’s recent history. It provides a solid basis for 2025 and beyond but is not evenly distributed across all segments.
