However, the company said that it remains confident that the market, which is currently hamstrung by the weak advertising sector, will be buoyant in the medium and long term.

In the first six months of the year MAN Roland achieved sales of 539.7m (850m), a 12% decrease on the same time last year. While pre-tax earnings for the same period fell 66% to 7m.

The company predicted that its operating results for the entire year would be around half of last years figure, which was 56.5m. New orders taken fell 34% to 491m.

MAN Roland said that the printing press manufacturing sector remained tense, with pressure on pricing policies. It added that a sweeping recovery is not foreseen in the near future.

The company adjusted capacity in its sheetfed business at the beginning of the year, taking full advantage of its flexible workforce, and has been able to deal with market fluctuations without making redundancies.

Story by John Davies