Printing press manufacturer Heidelberger Druckmaschinen will have to manage without a dedicated Chief Financial Officer from the beginning of April. CFO Tania von der Goltz does not wish to extend her contract beyond its current term and will step down at the end of the financial year on 31 March 2025, the SDax company announced last week. Heidelberg said that the step is being taken on the best of terms with the company.

Tania von der Goltz joined Heidelberg as CFO at the beginning of 2023, after her predecessor Marcus Wassenberg left the company prematurely. The former Fresenius Medical Care manager was officially appointed until 31 December 2025.

The search for von der Goltz's successor is not a priority at Heidelberg at present: CEO Jürgen Otto will take over the management of the finance department until further notice. With him and Chief Sales and Technology Officer David Schmedding, the Supervisory Board considers itself „ideally positioned to consistently continue implementing the efficiency increases and cost reductions that have been introduced,“ said Martin Sonnenschein, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The mechanical engineering company slipped into the red in its third financial quarter due to a planned reduction in staff and the associated provisions. After tax, the company made a loss of 7 million euros in the three months to the end of December. Over the next three financial years, around 450 of around 4,000 jobs are to be cut at the company headquarters in Wiesloch-Walldorf. The company hopes to achieve savings of around 100 million euros over the same period.

Heidelberg expects sales to stagnate in the current cycle, i.e. again at around 2.4 billion euros. As in the previous year, 7.2% of this is expected to remain as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation adjusted for special items. In the next financial year, the adjusted margin should then be around 8%.

In the coming years, the printing press manufacturer is focusing primarily on the growing packaging printing sector and on digital printing, which it operates jointly with Canon. Regionally, the Group is hoping for impetus from China and other Asian markets.