Incoming orders rose 43% year-on-year to €786m (£652m) for the three months ending 30 June 2010, with incoming orders for the UK doubling off the back of the Ipex tradeshow in May and rising 100% in Brazil following the ExpoPrint exhibition in June.

George Clarke, managing director of Heidelberg UK, said: "Ipex was a good show for us in the UK and, by-and-large, we have been able to follow up on that.

"This year is much improved on last year and trading is moving back to normal as a result. However, this year will still prove demanding and it will be hard to achieve our plans for the 12 months."

The rise in activity boosted the group's order backlog to €810m – its highest level since September 2008.

Revenue rose 9.5%, from €514m to €563m, although some €36m of this was attributed to exchange rate movements, while pre-tax figures improved from a loss of €86m to a loss of €56m.

Heidelberg said that it expected a break-even operating result for the year, although it claimed growth in financing costs would put it on course for a "marked net loss again".

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that Manroland shareholder Allianz Capital Partners had spurned the advances of rival press manufacturer KBA to open merger talks.