Heidelberg has used financial year 2025/2026 to accelerate its transformation into a more broadly based technology company, adopting a dual-use technology strategy to expand into defense, security, energy, charging infrastructure, and industrial system solutions. The company said it has consolidated these activities under a new subsidiary, HD Advanced Technologies, with the aim of building long-term growth alongside its core printing and packaging business.
Defense and dual-use expansion
As part of its defense strategy, Heidelberg established ONBERG, a joint venture with US-Israeli technology company Ondas, focused on autonomous anti-drone defense and security systems. The venture plans to use Heidelberg’s Brandenburg site initially for the sale and distribution of anti-drone systems, with series production to follow. A memorandum of understanding between ONBERG and a Ukrainian drone company regarding a potential partnership is expected to be announced at the ILA Berlin Air Show.
“In recent months, we have significantly accelerated the strategic development of Heidelberg and further raised our profile as a technology-oriented high-tech business,” said Jürgen Otto, chief executive officer of Heidelberg. “We are one of the world’s top companies when it comes to complex, high-precision mechanical engineering. With HD Advanced Technologies and our focus on dual-use technologies, we are leveraging this expertise and capacity to create additional, attractive areas of business alongside our core business in printing and packaging. Thanks to our broad technology base, we are successfully establishing partnerships in attractive growth areas, including service and software. Our goal is clear – to position Heidelberg as a high-performance, high-tech company with sustainable growth in profitability.”
Core business: digital printing and packaging systems integration
Heidelberg said it is expanding its digital printing portfolio, with inkjet market growth cited as a key driver. The company is also extending its role as a systems integrator in packaging production, targeting processes upstream and downstream of printing. It has broadened its strategic postpress packaging partnership with Chinese manufacturer Masterwork beyond the previous sales and distribution arrangement. The company is also expanding in growth regions, including Latin America, Vietnam, and India, and has acquired the brand rights of Polar to strengthen its portfolio.
“The packaging market is a key growth engine for Heidelberg, because it is being driven by global trends such as population growth, urbanization, and the necessity for sustainable business practices. We are systematically extending our solutions to cover the entire manufacturing process in packaging production – from substrate selection, printing, postpress operations, and logistics all the way through to digital integration,” said David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg.
Cost and efficiency measures
The company has relocated production of the Speedmaster CX104 to China and opened a new site in North Macedonia to reduce manufacturing costs. Heidelberg said progress on personnel cost restructuring at its German sites is exceeding internal targets.
Financial year 2025/2026 results
Sales for the reporting period rose slightly to Euro 2,293 million from Euro 2,280 million the previous year. Adjusted for exchange rate movements, sales amounted to approximately Euro 2,362 million. Incoming orders for the full year fell to Euro 2,246 million from Euro 2,433 million the previous year, with geopolitical tensions and negative exchange rate effects of approximately Euro 71 million cited as contributing factors. The fourth quarter recorded the highest incoming orders of the year at Euro 619 million, above the prior-year quarter.
In the Heidelberg Technology segment, both incoming orders and sales rose year on year, and EBITDA improved slightly, though remained negative. In the Print and Packaging Equipment segment, incoming orders declined while sales increased slightly, and adjusted EBITDA fell. The Digital Solutions and Lifecycle segment saw lower incoming orders and a slight decline in both sales and adjusted EBITDA.
The overall adjusted EBITDA margin for financial year 2025/2026 was 6.6%, in line with the revised forecast but below the prior year’s 6.7%. The company attributed the decline to accelerated investment in defense and security activities, the impact of the Middle East conflict on investment demand, tariffs, and exchange rate headwinds that reduced EBITDA by Euro 20 million. Before adjustment for special items, EBITDA increased from Euro 137 million to Euro 145 million. Net profit after taxes tripled to Euro 15 million from Euro 5 million the previous year. Free cash flow was Euro –19 million compared with Euro 51 million the prior year. The equity ratio improved to 27% from 25%.
Outlook for financial year 2026/2027
For the year ending 31 March 2027, Heidelberg forecasts stable group sales at approximately the prior-year level and a noticeable improvement in the adjusted EBITDA margin. The outlook assumes no substantial changes in relevant exchange rates and global economic growth at least in line with current forecasts from economic research institutions.