Incoming orders for the first six months of the year to 30 September were at €1.08bn, compared with €1.9bn the previous year, although this was positively impacted by a strong showing at Drupa 08.

The company's order backlog was also down almost 50% year-on-year, with the most significant drop – a decline of 55.4% – reported for its post-press products.

The decline in sales resulted in a pre-tax loss of €74m for the quarter and a pre-tax loss of €139m for the first half, €122m of which was in its press division.

Sales in Asia were the strongest for the first half of the year, down 13% from H1 2008, however, this was "not sufficient to fully compensate the downturns in the other regions", chief executive Bernhard Schreier said.

Eastern European sales were the hardest hit, down 49.7% year-on-year for the first half, reflecting the impact that the financial crisis has had on the region. EMEA sales were down 32.6%.

Schreier said: "We can only expect to see an improvement in production values and capacity utilisation in the print industry when the economy as a whole shows signs of a lasting recovery which, in turn, will encourage a greater readiness to invest."

The company has embarked on a significant cost reduction programme, which has so far resulted in a reduction of 2,400 employees. At the end of the half year, the company had a workforce of 18,201. In total 4,000 will be made redundant as a result of the reorganisation.

In August, Heidelberg secured a new €1.4bn credit line with a loan and guarantee package from the German government.