Heidelberg has started financial year 2026-27 by continuing its transition toward a more broadly based technology company, with several strategic initiatives aimed at future growth. Alongside expanding its core business through the takeover of manroland sheetfed’s lifecycle operations and Polar’s production operations, the company is also pursuing opportunities in energy storage systems and the European defense sector.
The integration of manroland sheetfed Group’s lifecycle business and its global sales and service companies, together with the full acquisition of Polar postpress systems, has strengthened Heidelberg’s position as a systems integrator in its core business. As part of the manroland sheetfed transaction, Heidelberg has also secured the intellectual property rights for the Roland 900/Cartonmaster in the large-format sheetfed offset segment. The first press of this model has already been sold, and the company is examining further production and development options for the system at a low-cost location, a move it said reinforces its position in the printing and packaging sector.
At the recent ILA Berlin aerospace trade show, Onberg signed a memorandum of understanding for a further joint venture, this time with Ukrainian drone developer Skyeton. Skyeton’s portfolio includes surveillance drones described as combat-proven, which are being combined with Heidelberg’s unmanned ground vehicle to form an autonomous system of systems. Unmanned air-ground systems currently being developed in rapid innovation cycles in Ukraine are increasingly viewed as a future defense solution. In July 2026, Onberg opened a Live Hub at its Brandenburg site to demonstrate integrated counter-UAS capabilities, where representatives from public authorities, critical infrastructure operators, the armed forces, and industry can view how integrated protection against drones works in practice.
HD Advanced Technologies’ move into sodium-ion battery storage systems production is also opening new potential, according to the company. It has partnered with Swiss company Phenogy to develop a technology and industry platform in this sector. As an initial step, HD Advanced Technologies will handle industrial manufacturing of complete energy storage systems for Phenogy, covering procurement, production, rollout, installation, service, and maintenance. The two companies are also laying groundwork for a joint venture focused on developing and manufacturing sodium-ion battery cells, based on Phenogy’s cell chemistry and a specific printing process from Heidelberg.
“This financial year at Heidelberg is all about investments in line with our strategic agenda. We are looking to further strengthen the company’s market position and tap into new potential. This will create the basis for profitable growth and sustainable value enhancement in the coming years,” said Jürgen Otto, chief executive officer of Heidelberg.
Solid start to FY 2026-27
Underlying conditions remained challenging for Heidelberg during the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 (April 1 to June 30, 2026). Incoming orders totaled Euro 537 million, only slightly down from Euro 559 million in the equivalent quarter of the previous year, which the company said laid a solid foundation for further business development. The phase-out of a state-subsidized investment program in Italy had a significant impact in the first quarter, reducing incoming orders there by more than Euro 60 million compared with the same quarter last year. Positive developments in China and the rest of Asia only partly offset this decline.
Sales totaled Euro 404 million, below the Euro 466 million recorded in the equivalent period of the previous year, in line with expectations. Sales rose significantly in China, the UK, and Brazil, but declined elsewhere, particularly in the EMEA region. Adjusted for special items, the EBITDA margin for the first quarter was 0.2%, compared with 4.4% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, primarily reflecting the lower sales volume. As is typical at this point in the financial year, free cash flow after the first three months was negative at Euro -77 million, compared with Euro -68 million in the same period last year. The net result after taxes for the first quarter was Euro -32 million, compared with Euro -11 million a year earlier.
Incoming orders and sales in the Heidelberg Technology segment exceeded the equivalent prior-year period, with adjusted EBITDA remaining stable at Euro -4 million. The print & packaging equipment segment’s lower incoming orders and sales were attributed in part to an expected downturn in the EMEA region. In the Digital Solutions & Lifecycle segment, incoming orders after three months were around 5% higher than in the equivalent quarter of the previous year, while sales matched the prior-year quarterly figure.
“In our core business, we are targeting our investments toward growth markets, which is also boosting our service, consumables, and spare parts business,” said David Schmedding, chief technology and sales officer at Heidelberg. “At the same time, we can increase the proportion of repeat sales and better balance out new machine business, which tends to depend on economic trends,” he added.
Forecast for financial year 2026-27 confirmed
Heidelberg’s forecast for financial year 2026-27 remains unchanged. The company expects Group sales to match the previous year’s level and anticipates a noticeable improvement in the adjusted EBITDA margin. It has assumed no substantial changes in relevant exchange rates affecting business activities.
