Chairman Tony Langley said that despite overall order intake at its businesses reaching a record high, the results to 30 June came in slightly below target. 

Langley noted that supply chain issues “continue to dog virtually all of our businesses and rising inflation, which started around a year ago, continues at a level not seen since the nineteen seventies and eighties”. 

This has resulted in margin erosion in a number of the group’s operations.

“Although Covid-19 no longer poses a serious health threat to most of us, the increased virulence of recent strains has meant that Covid-19 related absenteeism across our workforce is currently at an all-time high, weighing further on the group’s performance,” Langley stated. 

The group acquired the substantial €250m (£209m) turnover Bergen Engines business from Rolls-Royce at the start of the year. 

The buy contributed to a 49% jump in first half revenue to €542.6m, while operating profit increased from €12m to just under €20.7m.

The group’s Print Technologies division encompasses Manroland Sheetfed, and pressroom chemicals firms Druck Chemie and BluePrint. 

“There are approximately three thousand components in a modern offset litho printing machine so understandably Manroland has been particularly affected by supply chain issues,” Langley noted. 

“This, together with especially high absenteeism, has meant the factory in Germany has significantly under-recovered in the first half.

“However, management are responding to the challenges and the works council have agreed to support them in radical changes to working practices. I expect to see an improvement in the second half.”

Manroland's Offenbach manufacturing facility is an integrated site with its own foundry. 

Privately-owned Langley Holdings had net assets of €844.4m and net cash of €254.8m at the period end. 

Langley said he was confident in the group’s forecasts for the full year. The war in Ukraine is likely to reduce sales by about 10%, 

“Like many, I am deeply saddened by the war, particularly by the human cost on the civilian population of the Ukraine,” Langley said. 

“Russia and the Ukraine are amongst the group’s many overseas markets and the war is inevitably impacting those of our business which export to those countries.”

None of the group’s businesses have permanent infrastructure in either country.