Heidelberg Druck Stakes Its Future on Drones — and Shelves the Dividend

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen is steering into a transformation that leaves no corner untouched: the printing press maker has scrapped its dividend, warned of a net loss for the current year, and thrown its weight behind a defence technology pivot that includes a newly signed drone partnership with Ukraine’s Skyeton. The message to shareholders is blunt — the cash that would have gone to them is now funding a radical overhaul.

The restructuring is already in full swing. Management has concluded more than 550 severance agreements with staff, while the production of the flagship Speedmaster CX 104 has been relocated entirely to the Qingpu plant in China. A new manufacturing site in North Macedonia is scheduled to begin construction in 2026. To backstop the programme, Heidelberg refinanced its syndicated credit line, lifting it to €436 million and extending the maturity to 2030.

The financial picture is strained. For the 2025/26 fiscal year, net profit more than tripled to €15 million, but group revenues of €2.293 billion missed the company’s own forecast by 2.4%, largely due to currency headwinds. Order intake declined, and free cash flow swung deep into negative territory at minus €19 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin fell from 7.1% to 6.6%. For the current year, the board anticipates stagnant sales and a net loss in the low double-digit millions — with free cash flow staying negative as investment in the defence business weighs on the books.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Heidelberger Druckmaschinen?

The centrepiece of the new strategy is ONBERG Autonomous Systems, a joint venture in which Heidelberg holds a 49% stake alongside Ondas Autonomous Systems. At the ILA Berlin air show, ONBERG signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian drone maker Skyeton to explore series production of NATO-compatible reconnaissance drones. The venture already operates out of the Brandenburg an der Havel plant, and up to 200 employees from the core print business are expected to transfer into the defence unit. Heidelberg has also joined forces with VINCORION in a separate partnership. The company has bundled defence, energy, and charging infrastructure activities into a standalone subsidiary, targeting medium-term revenue of €300 million — though the unit currently contributes less than 2% of total sales.

The market has not been forgiving. Heidelberg’s stock trades at €1.41, roughly 44% below its 52-week high of €2.54 and down nearly a third since the start of the year. Short sellers are circling: WorldQuant holds 1.03%, Citadel Advisors 0.93%, and Quble Research & Technologies 0.79%.

The virtual annual general meeting on 23 July will ask shareholders to approve the dividend cancellation, formally channelling all available funds into the turnaround. Analysts at Warburg Research and mwb research still recommend buying the shares, pointing to the steady, high-margin revenue stream from spare parts and software. The first hard evidence of whether the restructuring is working will come with the quarterly report on 19 August — and with it, the earliest clue as to whether the drone pivot can offset the bleeding in the core business.

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