The German press manufacturer claimed that it would likely post a pre-tax loss in its half-year results, due in August, as sales for the first five months of 2010 came in below expectations, at €332m due to delays in projects scheduled for November 2009 to February 2010.

The company also said that aggressive pricing of Heidelberg presses cut into sales in its sheetfed division during the period.

For the first five months of the year, KBA reported €500m in orders – up 23% year-on-year – while the order backlog jumped €160m to €500m.

The group said it expected to make substantial savings during 2010, including reducing staff count from 6,465 to 6,100, and it was targeting savings of €582m by 2012.

KBA director of marketing Klaus Schmidt said the company was also looking to expand its footprint further into niche markets through potential acquisitions or partnerships as he said it was unlikely that the traditional print market would return to pre-recession levels.

He added that KBA was looking at companies with turnovers of between €50m-€100m in growing markets, such as digital and specialist packaging areas, and confirmed that it was currently in negotations with an inkjet company, with details of a potential deal expected to be revealed later this year.