Printing Profit Margins Have Dropped To An Eight-year Low, So Why Have Heidelberg And Komori Sold So Well in China?

Printing profit margins have dropped to an eight-year low, so why have Heidelberg and Komori sold so well in China?

In the first half of 2026, the data curve of China's printing industry paints a very heavy picture of reality: the total profits of enterprises above designated size across the industry plunged 13.8% year-on-year, profit margins plummeted to a historic low of 4%, and both revenue and profit fell to the lowest levels seen in nearly eight years.



However, while downstream processing ends, profit squeezes are generally underway, while upstream equipment manufacturing is experiencing a stark contrast to a "booming" scene-the latest financial reports from international offset press giants Heidelberg and Komori show that both orders and sales in Greater China have seen astonishing explosive growth.



On one side is meager processing profits, on the other is the wave of tens of millions purchasing high-end machines. This seemingly contradictory "ice and fire" drama profoundly reveals the survival logic of China's printing and packaging industry in the era of stock production.



The printing industry has fallen to an eight-year low: revenue under pressure and profit margins at historic lows



Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on the operation of large-scale industrial enterprises in the first half of 2026 shows that overall profits above designated size nationwide grew by 18.7% year-on-year, continuing the positive trend. However, against the backdrop of overall market recovery, the printing and recording media reproduction industry (referred to as the "printing industry") remains under deep pressure.



In the first half of the year, printing enterprises above designated size nationwide achieved revenue of 297.12 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year increase of 0.9%; total profit was only 11.98 billion yuan, a sharp year-on-year decline of 13.8%.



Breaking down the data monthly and extending the cycle for comparison, the actual pressure the industry faces becomes more tangible:



On the revenue side: Except for a slight overtaking in June, monthly revenue for the first five months was significantly lower than the same period in 2025, with overall revenue shrinking by 16.99 billion yuan compared to the same period last year. Looking at the first half of eight years from 2019 to 2026, six had annual revenue steadily exceeding 300 billion yuan, while the 297.12 billion yuan in the first half of 2026 not only fell below 300 billion yuan but also became the second lowest in history in the past eight years, only higher than the same period in 2020, and a full 53.89 billion yuan shrunk from the 2022 peak.



On the profit side: The total monthly profit for the first half of the year was all lower than the same period last year, with a cumulative loss of 3.27 billion yuan. Compared to the historical high of 18.32 billion yuan in the first half of 2019, the company lost 6.34 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, marking the lowest level for the same period in nearly eight years.



Profit margin: The industry's half-year profit margin has dropped from 6% in the same period of 2019 to 4% in the first half of 2026, a decline of 2 percentage points, marking the lowest level in eight years.



Offset press giants are surging in China: Komori's orders have doubled, Heidelberg is selling against the trend



In stark contrast to the dismal profit figures of downstream printing companies, the global offset printing equipment giant delivered an extremely enthusiastic report card in the Chinese market.



Heidelberg's financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026/27 (April 1 to June 30) shows that, due to severe disruptions from the expiration of Italy's special investment subsidies, its new European orders plummeted by over 60 million euros, global net sales fell by 13.3%, and global after-tax net losses widened to 32 million euros.



However, in the Chinese market, Heidelberg's performance was remarkable-new orders in China increased by 16 million euros year-on-year in a single quarter, and sales also grew significantly, becoming the core pillar for offsetting declines in Europe and the US.



Japan's Komori performed even more rapidly in the first quarter of the new fiscal year (April 1 to June 30). The financial report shows that, thanks to active investment from Chinese packaging and printing customers and a recovery in export demand, sales of high-performance sheetfed offset presses targeting the packaging industry are exceptionally strong.



Net sales in Greater China surged 73.8% year-on-year to 3.815 billion yen (approximately 162 million RMB); orders on hand in Greater China surged 96% year-on-year to 6 billion yen, nearly doubling.



The Greater China division, covering the Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Taiwan, and Nantong factories, achieved total net sales of 2.947 billion yen during the period (a year-on-year increase of 82.6%), with operating profit of 49 million yen, strongly reversing the previous year's loss of 119 million yen and successfully turning losses into profits.



Why do bosses go crazy buying phones the deeper the industry bottoms?



At the darkest moment when the industry-wide profit margin fell to 4%, why were Chinese printing companies instead spending huge sums to purchase expensive imported printing machines? This seemingly irrational purchasing wave was intertwined with harsh industrial realities and strategic reshaping behind it:



"Efficiency for Survival" in the Stock Game



When processing unit prices cannot increase and gross margins are severely compressed, the high energy consumption, high losses, and frequent color adjustment stoppages of old machines have become black holes that erode the factory's meager profits. The new generation of high-end intelligent offset printing machines have made leaps in automated plate hanging, rapid color presetting, and high-speed operation, enabling printing companies to significantly reduce paper waste during machine adjustment and compress labor costs. In the era of thin profits, only extreme production efficiency and loss control can allow companies to squeeze out survival space amid low-price competition.



Packaging the "hardcore ticket" for major client entry



Currently, the printing industry is experiencing severe structural differentiation, with publishing and low-end commercial printing shrinking sharply, while demand for high-end color boxes, new energy battery packaging, consumer electronics, and branded foreign trade packaging remains strong. However, leading multinational brands and large platforms have imposed almost stringent requirements on suppliers for quality control consistency, rapid response times with short lead times, and digital traceability. Introducing high-end multi-color machines from Heidelberg and Komori not only expands production capacity but also serves as an essential "credit endorsement" and entry ticket for printing companies competing for high-end packaging orders and entering high-quality supply chain systems.



Outdated capacity is being cleared out at an accelerated pace, and leading companies are building counter-cyclical fortifications



Industry profits have fallen to nearly an eight-year trough, essentially an irreversible deep reshuffling. A large number of small and medium-sized workshops lacking capital and relying on low-end equipment for price wars are accelerating their exit from the market. Leading packaging printing companies with risk resistance choosing to invest heavily in advanced equipment during the industry's downturn are essentially launching a "dimensionality reduction strike at the equipment level"-by widening the technological gap with its competitors, it further captures Qing's market share and strengthens its monopoly moat in regional and niche sectors.



The printing industry's revenue and profits fell to an eight-year low, marking the complete end of the era of relying on traditional production capacity for volume; Heidelberg and Komori's counter-trend eruption in Greater China sounded the call for China's printing industry to transform toward high-precision, high-efficiency, and intelligent packaging.



In this intertwined upheaval of ice and fire, equipment procurement is no longer simply about capacity expansion, but a "technological arms race" that determines survival and survival. When the tide recedes, those companies that dare to reshape their core competitiveness with advanced manufacturing equipment during the downturn will ultimately win the greatest survival dividends in the next round of industry cycle restructuring.