HEIDELBERG closed the past financial year with a high order intake. At over € 600 million, incoming orders in the fourth quarter were up on the previous quarters of the financial year. The basis for this is also the company's global and diversified positioning, which enables HEIDELBERG to benefit from the different growth dynamics in each region. The significant increase in incoming orders in the EMEA region in the fourth quarter deserves special mention, while the Americas region showed a slight improvement at a still subdued level. 

After several previous quarters of strong growth, the Asia/Pacific region's performance was below the previous year's level, primarily due to the reluctance to invest ahead of the China Print trade fair. Both segments in the core business achieved an increase in orders thanks to strong development in the Sheetfed product area, with the Packaging Solutions segment accounting for the higher growth. Preliminary order intake for the year as a whole therefore totaled approximately €2.430 billion, which was around 6 percent higher than the previous year's figure of €2.288 billion. 

Overall, the improvement is evident across both segments, with Packaging Solutions accounting for approximately 52 percent of the year's order intake. Compared to the previous year, order intake in this strategically important segment increased by around 7 percent. "Our global presence in over 170 countries around the world is paying off, especially in economically uncertain times," said Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology & Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG. "Thanks to the rising order situation, we expect a better start to the new financial year compared to the previous year."