Koenig & Bauer AG has successfully navigated a turbulent 2025 financial year, reporting a significant boost in both revenue and operating profitability. Despite the pressures of trade policy uncertainties, geopolitical crises, and an overall volatile market environment, the company achieved its set targets for the year, marking a major milestone in its ongoing transformation. The year under review was characterised by the consistent implementation of the group focus and long-term realignment driven by ‘IMPACT’, a bold new strategic framework adopted in late December.
“We are currently experiencing a global industrial and political turning point. The latest developments in the Middle East since the end of February are a clear reminder that volatility has long since become the ‘new normal’,” explains CEO Dr. Stephen Kimmich. “Stability is no longer a static condition that can be relied on. Rather, high organisational responsiveness is essential. We are proving in this phase how stably Koenig & Bauer is positioned: We address the situation with a solid order backlog of €970.6 million, and the experience in flexibly adapting processes to the respective situation. As the new strategic framework, ‘IMPACT’ defines our common direction to actively shape the future of the printing industry and secure operational resilience for the next decade.“
FY25: Pinpoint Accuracy, Positive Cash Flow
Preliminary business figures put Koenig & Bauer group revenue at €1,302.4 million, compared to previous year’s €1,274.4 million. Operating profitability improved noticeably, from €15.3 million the previous year to €36.6 million, which corresponds to an operating EBIT margin of 2.8%. A major factor in this was the significant reduction in extraordinary items to €5.3 million due to the extensive completion of the ‘Spotlight’ focus programme. In the final quarter, Koenig & Bauer achieved a strong cash inflow of €69.1 million, resulting in a positive free cash flow of €7.2 million for the year as a whole. Against the backdrop of a persistently challenging market environment, the executive board and the supervisory board will be proposing that a dividend be omitted for the 2025 financial year.
Resilience and Operational Turnaround
Both segments contributed to profitable growth in the past financial year. The Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems (P&P) segment recorded a slight 0.9% increase in revenue to €741.5 million. Operating profitability improved significantly here; operating EBIT increased to €25 million from €17.1 million, the year before. Order intake proved to be extremely stable at €704 million, following a robust previous year shaped by drupa 2024.
In the Special & New Technologies (S&T) segment, further success was achieved with an operational turnaround. Operating EBIT improved significantly to €9 million, from €-15.4 million the previous year. Segment revenue grew significantly by 6.8% to €596 million, largely driven by performance progress on banknote projects as well as stable service performance. The expected decline in order intake to €558.4 million is primarily attributable to record-high orders from the US federal printing office in the previous year. Special markets and new technologies recorded encouraging dynamism, which confirms the broad positioning of the segment.
‘IMPACT’: New Strategic Framework
The ‘IMPACT’ framework adopted at the end of 2025 replaces the previous strategy and aims at the further development from a classic machine manufacturer into an integrated technology provider. Visually and in terms of content, this new beginning is embodied by a sphere. Koenig & Bauer is not a static but a dynamic company, in which movement is the binding principle: it is found in the cross-section of the precisely rotating printing cylinders just as it is in billions of flying ink droplets in digital printing. A sphere is never static. It embodies the potential to roll, to absorb forces, and to carry the effect further. Real ‘IMPACT’ only arises through acceleration, contact, and compression. This is exactly how Koenig & Bauer translates the principle into its strategy where every decision sets something in motion, every movement follows a clear direction, and every direction generates measurable impact for customers and shareholders.
The eponymous acronym ‘IMPACT’ stands for the six central fields of action, which are designed as an integral system to sustainably strengthen competitiveness. The initiative begins with a deep integration of ‘Intelligence’, embedding AI across all business areas – from the workplace to the machine in software and automation. To drive growth, ‘Go-to-Market’ strategies are prioritised by scaling its existing portfolio and systematically opening up growth markets in Asia, LATAM, and MEA with customised solutions. ‘People’ is the next core area of focus, with the company investing in worldwide teams, promoting further training, and strengthening local organisations as the primary face to the customer. The ‘Adaptability’ pillar emphasises reducing dependencies and increasing adaptability to volatile global markets through expansion of recurring revenue and more flexible internal structures. Furthermore, the company aims to bolster its ‘Competitiveness’ by implementing leaner processes and optimising manufacturing costs to win in highly competitive mid-tech markets. Finally, the ‘Technology’ strategy reaffirms that technological leadership remains the company’s DNA, with continued focus on innovation in workflow and software solutions, digital printing, and automation.
This strategy is driven by the ‘I ACT’ attitude, which translates these strategic thrusts into concrete entrepreneurial action. Based on these fields of action, Koenig & Bauer has set itself a clear strategic target vision up to 2030 and beyond. The company sees a strategic revenue potential of €1.5 billion with an operating EBITDA margin of at least 8% (excluding special effects). To support this goal, the group footprint will be further optimised, which, in addition to the streamlined structure of the two segments, also includes the planned closure of the Albert-Frankenthal GmbH operations.
FY26 Outlook: Stable Performance, Shift in Guidance
Koenig & Bauer expects a continuation of operational stability for the 2026 financial year. At the beginning of the year 2026, the guidance was shifted from operating EBIT to operating EBITDA.
“We achieved a further successful increase in profitability in 2025,” emphasises CFO Dr. Alexander Blum. “At the same time, the positive start to the year underlines our high level of robustness: A solid order backlog paired with good order intake in the first quarter of 2026, which is above the previous year’s level, secures our target achievement for the current financial year.”
Assuming that global economic developments in the relevant markets remain stable and that prompt clarity on US import tariffs is reached, the executive board forecasts group revenue at the previous year’s level as well as an operating EBITDA of approximately €80 million for 2026, consistent with the previous year. The forecast is supported by stable revenue and a slightly reduced operating EBITDA in the P&P segment. For the S&T segment, a significantly higher contribution to revenue and earnings is expected, with profitability supported by progressive scaling in new business areas and stable capacity utilisation in security printing. The forecast is subject to the proviso that there is no further significant clouding of the global investment climate due to persistent geopolitical tensions.
