The manufacturer said that despite a challenging environment characterised by supply chain constraints and an associated increase in material and energy costs, which it was not possible to pass on to customers in full, the EBIT of €22m (£19.4m) exceeded the company’s own forecast of €15-20m.

It was additionally driven by the accelerated implementation of the P24x efficiency improvement programme, the company said.

At €1.186bn, group revenue reached the upper end of the projected range of €1.16bn to €1.19bn. The operating EBIT margin therefore came to 2%.

In the previous year, group revenue was €1.116bn while EBIT, which had been favourably influenced by the adjustment to the P24x restructuring provisions of around €23m, reached €28.5m.

CEO Andreas Pleßke said: “It became clear from the third quarter in particular that we were able to make the right strategy adjustments very quickly in response to the changed market environment. In addition, we intensified our already successful P24x efficiency enhancement programme.

“The massive rise in some raw material and energy prices also led to higher material costs in 2022, which it was only possible to pass on in part and with a delayed effect by increasing prices.”

In Q4 in particular, Koenig & Bauer said it achieved a significant increase over the same period in the previous year, with revenue of €380m (previous year: €328.4m) and EBIT of €25m (previous year: €11.8m).

Digital & Webfed reduced its negative earnings contribution in 2022, posting EBIT of €–19m (previous year: €–38.5m) on revenue of €140m (previous year: €121.4m). The improvement was attributed to the company’s promising business in industrial digital printing, the versatile corrugated board sector, and the growing market for flexible packaging.

Revenue in the Sheetfed segment climbed from €642.4m to €672m, with segment EBIT coming to €19m (previous year: €24m), meaning that it is still on a profitable growth trajectory.

The Special segment, meanwhile, generated revenue of €417m in 2022 (previous year: €390.2m), achieving EBIT of €23m (previous year: €34.9m).

Order intake amounted to €1.3bn at the end of 2022 (previous year: €1.29bn), therefore meeting expectations. The order backlog was valued at around €950m at the end of 2022.

For the current year 2023, Koenig & Bauer’s management board is expecting revenue of around €1.3bn, accompanied by an EBIT margin of roughly 3%.