MANROLAND SHEETFED POSTS LOSS FOR YEAR

Offset press manufacturer manroland Sheetfed recorded a loss for the Jan-Dec 2024 financial year, as orders from China fell short of predictions.

However, the company says orders taken last month arrested the trend, as it took what it says was an ‘unusually high’ order intake. China comprises some 40 per cent of all manroland Sheetfed sales. Parent company Langley Holdings has €1bn in net assets, and €400m cash at hand.

According to Langley Holdings, the market for offset presses remains subdued, with investment in its presses at an all-time low. It says consolidation of capital equipment manufacturers is ‘inevitable’, and says it is looking for acquisition opportunities.

Sales from the Print Technologies division at Langley Holdings were €313m for the year, some €43m lower than the previous year. The Print Technologies division includes manroland Sheetfed, which forms the biggest part and which recorded the losses, along Druck Chemie, and Blueprint, also a print chemicals producer, who were both in the black for the year.

Overall Langley Holdings, which includes power equipment and diverse industrial business, achieved sales of €1.2bn with €125m in net profit.