KBA expresses cautious outlook

Koenig & Bauer AG, even as it posted a 2008 loss of $134 million and projected an additional 20 percent drop in sales this year, said it expects its 2009 financial performance to stabilize, provided demand doesn’t deteriorate further.
The vendor said much of the loss was fueled by restructuring charges in addition to a sharp drop in sheetfed press sales. Sales of web and specialty presses partially offset the downturn, the company said.. All told, KBA said revenues fell 10 percent to $1.9 billion in 2008, with sheetfed sales dropping more than 22 percent.
The vendor said it continued to ship presses worldwide, although the percentage of machines sent to the United States dropped to 9.4 percent. KBA attributed the decrease to U.S. printers’ “continued reluctance to invest” in new machinery.
For 2009, KBA projects an additional 20 percent drop in sales, but expects that it will be able to get its expenses in line and avoid any further losses.