Despite suffering from one of the most severe crises in the print media industry since the Second World War, Heidelberg could return to its old profitability in the medium term, even at lower sales levels, through streamlining its costs, said Schreier.

He quoted industry insolvency figures from Germany and the US where, he said, 10% of printers had become insolvent.

The total number of presses shipped in the US had fallen by 30% in the past three years, he added.

Future growth would come from threshold countries in Asia and Eastern Europe where printing was enjoying relatively buoyant growth.

Heidelberg would also launch around 50 new products at Drupa next May, said Schreier, with digital workflow being a key area. More than 200 of the firms software engineers were working on the developments of components for the groups Prinect system, he said.

Schreiers speech did not make any reference to Heidelbergs talks with Goss International over the future of its Web Systems division, revealed in PrintWeek last week (PrintWeek, 11 September).

Heidelberg also decided not to issue a dividend due to its loss in the last financial year.