The positive net result represents a near €115m improvement on last year's net loss and comes in spite of an 11% drop in sales, down from €2.7bn in 2012/13, further evidencing the firm's pledge to focus on margin over volume, as stressed in its Q3 results.
"Heidelberg is once again making a net profit, which was our number one priority," said chief executive Gerold Linzbach. "Despite the weak sales situation, we have significantly improved our company's profitability. This impressive achievement lays the foundation for further positive developments at the company."
Though small, the anticipated €4m profit would mean that the company had achieved its primary financial target for the year in posting its first full-year net profit since 2007/08, when it made €141.5m on sales of €3.7bn.
Since then the world's largest press manufacturer has recorded net losses totaling €946.1m, including losses of: €248.7m in 08/09; €228.5m in 09/10; €128.9m in 10/11; €230.1m in 11/12; and €109.9m in 12/13.
"The big improvement in the result after tax to a net profit demonstrates the success of our strategic reorientation, even with difficult underlying conditions," said Linzbach. "This now puts us in a position to press ahead with reorganising the company by optimising our portfolio."
Linzbach added that the firm's medium-term target of achieving an EBITDA margin of at least 8% remained unchanged.
Meanwhile a positive free cashflow of around €20m is expected to reduce net financial debt to approximately €240m (2012/13: €261m). "We have thus achieved our goal of reducing the leverage (net debt divided by EBITDA) to less than two for the first time in many years," said Heidelberg chief financial officer Dirk Kaliebe.
Heidelberg said that exchange rate movements had contributed to the expected fall in group sales (without which it would have made €2.5bn) and that all of its result-related KPIs were far better than the previous year.
These include EBITDA (excluding special items), which although flat for Q4 at €76m is expected to finish up 78.8% for the year at €143m in 2013/14 versus €80m in 2012/13, as well as the operating result (EBIT excluding special items), which is expected to come in at €72m this year versus a €3m loss last year.
Heidelberg has also continued to trim its global workforce, which stood at 12,539 at 31 March, down from 13,694 at the same time last year and marking a further reduction of more than 300 employees in the quarter (Q3 employees: 12,851).
Heidelberg's share price fell marginally yesterday, closing at €2.48 (previous close: €2.50) but recovered this morning to €2.58. The firm will publish its audited FY 2013/14 accounts on 11 June.
