Heidelberg Druck's Make-or-Break: A Dividend Cut, a Drone Bet, and a Stock at 1.42 Euros
27.06.2026 - 14:07:25 | boerse-global.de
Investors have made their verdict on Heidelberger Druckmaschinen's radical restructuring plan, and it is not a favourable one. The shares closed Friday at €1.42, down nearly 30% since the start of the year and 44% below the 52-week high of €2.54. That leaves the stock trading about 17% below its 200-day moving average of €1.72 — a clear sign the market sees more downside than upside in the 175-year-old engineering group’s pivot from printing presses to autonomous drone defence systems.
The next big test arrives on 23 July 2026, when shareholders gather online for a virtual annual meeting. On the agenda is management’s proposal to scrap the dividend entirely after a year in which the company eked out a net profit of just €15 million but burned €19 million in free cash flow. Looking ahead, the board forecasts a net loss in the low double-digit millions for 2026/27, with revenues flat. Analysts expect no payout before 2029 at the earliest.
The cash squeeze is real. Heidelberg has already extended a €436 million syndicated credit facility until 2030 to shore up liquidity, but the margin for error is wafer-thin. That explains the urgency of a multi-pronged restructuring that touches almost every part of the business.
550 Severance Deals and a Factory Move to China
Cost-cutting is in full swing. The company has signed more than 550 severance agreements and is relocating production of its flagship Speedmaster CX 104 press entirely to China. Meanwhile, a new assembly site in North Macedonia will handle post-press systems and selected modules, with the goal of lowering manufacturing costs and lifting profitability. A separate deal to acquire the service business of insolvent rival manroland sheetfed adds roughly 600 employees and 35 sales companies worldwide, along with the rights to the large-format Roland 900 press.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Heidelberger Druckmaschinen?
None of this has arrested the revenue decline. Sales slipped from €2.435 billion in 2023 to €2.293 billion in the most recent fiscal year, and the adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 6.6% — well below the company’s own target. The market’s verdict: the core print business is shrinking faster than management can cut costs.
ONBERG: The €300 Million Dream That Is Still a Dream
The most dramatic element of the transformation is the new joint venture ONBERG, launched on 14 April 2026 in Brandenburg an der Havel. Heidelberg owns 49%, with US-Israeli partner Ondas holding the rest. The venture is focused on autonomous drone-defence systems for airports, military bases, and energy utilities — a world away from the company’s traditional sheetfed offset printing roots.
ONBERG has already signed a non-binding letter of intent with Ukrainian manufacturer Skyeton to produce NATO-standard reconnaissance drones. CEO Jürgen Otto has set a long-term revenue target of €300 million, but admits the first production run could be “six months or a year and a half” away. For now, the defence arm contributes less than 2% of group sales. Up to 200 employees are being redeployed from the print divisions to defence, a shift that underscores just how little time management believes the legacy business has left.
The Technical Picture: Testing Patience
At Friday’s close, the stock sat just 10% above its 52-week low of €1.29. The relative strength index of 45 indicates neither oversold territory nor any momentum towards recovery. If the restructuring fails to show tangible margin improvement in the first-quarter results due shortly after the AGM, the €1.00 psychological level could come into play. For now, Heidelberg Druck is a bet on a make-or-break transformation — and the market has priced it as a long shot.
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