Heidelberger Druckmaschinen is in the midst of a radical overhaul that stretches from digital assistants for the print shop floor to NATO-compatible surveillance drones. The company’s management faced investors on Monday at the mwb research Industrial Technology conference, where the pressure to show concrete progress on the defence pivot was palpable. Shares closed at €1.52 on Friday, up nearly 13% over the past 30 days, but still 25% in the red since the start of the year and far off the 52-week high of €2.54.
The most tangible sign of the new direction came days earlier when the ONBERG joint venture signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Skyeton. The goal is to mass-produce reconnaissance drones based on the proven Raybird platform at a dedicated European facility. To house the effort, the group has already started converting 30,000 square metres of its Brandenburg an der Havel site – formerly a precision-machining plant for print components – into a defence and charging-infrastructure hub under the newly formed subsidiary HD Advanced Technologies. A separate arm, Amperfied, has also launched a subscription model for electric-vehicle charging stations.
Alongside the military pivot, the group is doubling down on digital productivity tools. On Wednesday it will host “HEIDELBERG AI,” an event to showcase new digital assistants designed to optimise the pressroom. This push into software is meant to complement the hardware transformation and give customers a reason to stick with the brand as it shifts away from its traditional cyclical core.
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That core is being slimmed down aggressively. Production of the bestselling Speedmaster line is moving entirely to China, a cost-saving move that also shortens supply chains for Asian clients. At the same time, assembly work is being expanded in North Macedonia. The price at home is steep: around 450 jobs are being cut at the Wiesloch-Walldorf headquarters, and more than 550 employees have already signed severance agreements. The management expects the programme to permanently lower fixed costs.
Financially, the picture is mixed. Full-year revenue inched up to nearly €2.3 billion, and net profit more than tripled to €15 million. But free cash flow turned deeply negative, weighed down by redundancy payments and investment in new technologies. The company is targeting an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 7% for the current financial year. Analysts remain split on the stock’s prospects: Baader Bank sees a price objective of €2.40, mwb research is even more bullish at €2.50, arguing the current price does not factor in the defence potential, while Warburg Research stays cautious with a target of €1.60 and a “Hold” rating. The next proof points come on 23 July with the annual general meeting – where no dividend is expected – and on 19 August, when first-quarter numbers will reveal whether the margin target is on track.
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