Pre-tax profits of €10m generated in the second half of the year brought the first quarter losses of €18.8m, recorded at the end of March, down to €8.8m but were not enough to bring 2013 in line with the €6.7m pre-tax profits achieved at the same point last year. Delivering the company’s interim results KBA chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann said that he expected the trend in reduction of pre-tax losses to continue, predicting a return to pre-tax profit this year, similar to those achieved in 2012. KBA’s interim report shows order intake across the group contracted by 23.3% to €444.6m (2012: €579.3m). Sheetfed orders totaled €161m in the second quarter, boosted by trade fairs in China and Turkey, but half year figures were 19.3% down on 2012 at €293.8m. Sales for the division showed a modest 1.6% increase to €246.8m. Meanwhile new orders in the web and special presses division were down 30% year-on-year to €150.8m, while sales for the first half of the year were down 26% on the same period in 2012, to €255.4m. Bolza-Schünemann said the figures mirrored a “slump in economic momentum” caused by numerous factors, including the ongoing Euro-zone crisis, the realignment of Chinese policy and instability across the Middle East and Latin America. He said that the demand for web presses was declining faster than expected and pointed at the continued scaling back of KBA’s web division and further expansion of its digital printing and packaging activities. He added: “Along with the capacity adjustments already carried out and those still necessary, management is considering which business model could make the web press business more profitable in the longer term, even at a significantly reduced volume.” Given market trends in the web press sector, Bolza-Schünemann said that further consolidation was “indispensible” and that potential workforce reductions would be negotiated. KBA’s acquisition of Italian press manufacturer Flexotecnica is set for completion in September and Bolza-Schünemann said its performance over the next three months would play a crucial role in helping the business match sales of €1.3bn achieved in 2012. He warned that a single-digit percentage decline on 2012 sales could not be ruled out....

Marsh will assume responsibility for the Slough facility, which trades as Print.uk.com, on top of his role as commercial director for the CFH group, a position he has held since 2006. At the time of its acquisition last year, the Slough transactional mailing operation had an annual turnover of £4.5m and Marsh said that the business will have grown that to £8m by November this year. He added: “In the last eight months we have been able to develop the synergies between the CFH and Print.uk.com businesses, maintaining and growing our client base. “This is a very positive time for us all. We have had some significant business wins, and we are looking ahead to developing the business even further.” Looking ahead, Marsh said that he intended to push the 33-staff company’s presence in the digital market and would focus specifically on its electoral print contracts. The acquisition in October was the second for CFH in 12 months after the business bought Livingston, Scotland-based transactional mailing business FST in 2011. CFH managing director, Dave Broadway, said the acquisitions formed part of a strategy to buy a series of regional transactional mailing businesses with turnovers of around £2m-£6m through which he intended to roll out the company’s Downstream Access service, Docmail....

The five-staff business-to-consumer division was supported by a £70,000 investment in Fastbind photobook finishing equipment from Ashgate Automation and Taopix software, said chairman Robin Sumner. “Romax started in 1997 and DM was the largest part of our income,” he said. “But we wanted to broaden our horizons and see Photoleaf as another pillar to our business. We anticipated the average order to be £35, but it is more than double that at £78. “We have had 200 orders, around 10 a day, which is healthy. We budgeted for a £90,000 turnover but we hope to make between £100,00 and £150,000 this year. Within three years we hope to have a turnover of £1m.” New equipment for the business includes a Fastbind Elite XT large-format perfect binder, a Casematic H46Pro casemaker, a FotoMount F46e large format lay-flat binder, a BooXter Trio staple binder for books with narrow spines. The company also bought a Lamiat 470 pressure roller from Ashgate. Standard delivery times for the web-based photobook service is three to five days, but the division has the capacity turn around urgent jobs by the next day if requested, said Sumner. Greenwich-based Romax has 32 full-time staff and turns over £4.5m. It made its name in design, digital colour print and mailing, specialising in database management and distribution....

Pre-tax profits of €10m generated in the second half of the year brought the first quarter losses of €18.8m, recorded at the end of March, down to €8.8m but were not enough to bring 2013 in line with the €6.7m pre-tax profits achieved at the same point last year. Delivering the company’s interim results KBA chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann said that he expected the trend in reduction of pre-tax losses to continue, predicting a return to pre-tax profit this year, similar to those achieved in 2012. KBA’s interim report shows order intake across the group contracted by 23.3% to €444.6m (2012: €579.3m). Sheetfed orders totaled €161m in the second quarter, boosted by trade fairs in China and Turkey, but half year figures were 19.3% down on 2012 at €293.8m. Sales for the division showed a modest 1.6% increase to €246.8m. Meanwhile new orders in the web and special presses division were down 30% year-on-year to €150.8m, while sales for the first half of the year were down 26% on the same period in 2012, to €255.4m. Bolza-Schünemann said the figures mirrored a “slump in economic momentum” caused by numerous factors, including the ongoing Euro-zone crisis, the realignment of Chinese policy and instability across the Middle East and Latin America. He said that the demand for web presses was declining faster than expected and pointed at the continued scaling back of KBA’s web division and further expansion of its digital printing and packaging activities. He added: “Along with the capacity adjustments already carried out and those still necessary, management is considering which business model could make the web press business more profitable in the longer term, even at a significantly reduced volume.” Given market trends in the web press sector, Bolza-Schünemann said that further consolidation was “indispensible” and that potential workforce reductions would be negotiated. KBA’s acquisition of Italian press manufacturer Flexotecnica is set for completion in September and Bolza-Schünemann said its performance over the next three months would play a crucial role in helping the business match sales of €1.3bn achieved in 2012. He warned that a single-digit percentage decline on 2012 sales could not be ruled out....

Marsh will assume responsibility for the Slough facility, which trades as Print.uk.com, on top of his role as commercial director for the CFH group, a position he has held since 2006. At the time of its acquisition last year, the Slough transactional mailing operation had an annual turnover of £4.5m and Marsh said that the business will have grown that to £8m by November this year. He added: “In the last eight months we have been able to develop the synergies between the CFH and Print.uk.com businesses, maintaining and growing our client base. “This is a very positive time for us all. We have had some significant business wins, and we are looking ahead to developing the business even further.” Looking ahead, Marsh said that he intended to push the 33-staff company’s presence in the digital market and would focus specifically on its electoral print contracts. The acquisition in October was the second for CFH in 12 months after the business bought Livingston, Scotland-based transactional mailing business FST in 2011. CFH managing director, Dave Broadway, said the acquisitions formed part of a strategy to buy a series of regional transactional mailing businesses with turnovers of around £2m-£6m through which he intended to roll out the company’s Downstream Access service, Docmail....