KBA posts a lower Q3 profit in face of economic gloom

KBA, the German packaging printing press manufacturer, is to axe 600 staff after the recent economic downturn caused kit orders to fall by 12.5% to EUR1bn (£856.5m) in the third-quarter of 2008.
The company said new orders for sheetfed presses fell by 16% and orders for web and special presses dropped by 9% in the quarter.

It posted an 81% fall in operating profit to €7.9m, while its net profit of slid to €7.8m in the period, a fall of 74%.

Albrecht Bolza-Schunemann, president and chief executive, said: "With market pressures forcing a consolidation of our factories in Radebeul near Dresden (Germany), Modling (Austria) and Dobruska (Czech Republic), we shall have to trim the existing payroll by some 600 employees. Details are still being negotiated with workers' representatives."

The company said subsidiaries focusing on niche markets such as metal decorating, industrial coding and security printing have so far been unaffected by staff cutbacks.

www.packagingnews.co.uk

( Source: PackagingNews )