MAN Roland Maintains Its Position In a Difficult Market
2003-03-04
The MAN Roland Druckmaschinen Group was able to maintain its position in an exceptionally difficult market during the 2002 financial year. Internationally, the situation in the graphic arts industry remains tense. Weaker demand means that competition and pricing pressures will continue to be tough. The underlying cause of the current situation is the slump in the advertising market that has made many printing companies and publishing houses put their investment plans, if only temporarily, on hold.
New orders fell from EUR 2 billion to EUR 1.5 billion, with sales falling from EUR 2.1 billion to EUR 1.8 billion. Orders on hand came to EUR 0.9 billion, down from EUR 1.3 billion. A decline in sales and the cost of restructuring efforts mean that pre-tax earnings of EUR 10 million are significantly lower than the previous year's figure of EUR 89 million. MAN Roland has launched a package of measures designed to save the group of companies around EUR 130 million over the next few years. The measures affect each of the three business sectors of the world's second largest printing systems manufacturer and market leader in newspaper printing: savings of EUR 80 million are expected to be achieved in the sheet-fed press sector, EUR 35 million in the web press sector, and EUR 15 million in the trade and services sector and the international sales network.
The package is designed to continuously strengthen the MAN Roland Group's earning power and improve its market position. Fundamental objectives are to streamline the organization and thus accelerate reaction time to changing market conditions. Looking at the 2003 financial year, MAN Roland expects new orders and sales to be roughly in line with last year's levels. A significant improvement is anticipated for 2004 because of more favorable economic conditions, the push from the drupa 2004 trade fair, and the positive effects of the efficiency improvement program and its streamlining measures.
MAN Roland Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft
The Executive Board