Shareholders were battered with the grim post-mortem of the company's 2008/2009 full-year results, which included a 20% slump in incoming orders to €2.91bn (£2.5bn), following a freefall in order volumes in the third and fourth quarters.

Heidelberg said that in the second half customers "slammed the brakes down hard" on investments, with the average processed order volume over the two quarters almost halving from €940m the previous year, to €520m.

However, despite warning that the company did not expect conditions to improve much in the current financial year, Schreier did have a few words of comfort for Heidelberg's investors.

"There are some signs, albeit small ones, of a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Schreier revealed that in the last three months incoming orders have stabilised at the low level of the previous two quarters, however, he added that it was too early to tell whether this represented a turning of the tide.

Heidelberg's chief executive was also at pains to point out that the "extremely unfavourable underlying conditions" for the manufacturer's customers were the "sole cause of results being down on the previous year".

"As things stand, our market share has not decreased in any market," he said.

Some 1,700 shareholders attended the AGM in Mannheim, where they were briefed on the company's financial performance, its new financing structure and future strategy.

More to follow...