HEIDELBERG , GERMANY—  Heidelberg is expecting a strong end to its financial year on the back of incoming orders up 8.3% in the third quarter. Heidelberg says the three months to 31 December 2024 brought “significant improvements” in performance, with an increase in incoming orders to €550m ($814 million) on the prior year, and described as “much better than the current developments in the mechanical and plant engineering sector as a whole”. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter jumped from 5.7% to 9.2%, although the nine month figures were impacted by low sales and losses during Q1. For the nine months, adjusted EBITDA fell from €135m to €86m. On the back of a successful showing at last year’s Drupa, Heidelberg said its high order backlog of €903m ($1.3 bn CAD)) should result in a strong final quarter. Incoming orders at its Packaging wing were up 11% to €959m ($1.4 bn CAD) for Q1-Q3; while Print division orders were up 4.4% to €858m ($1.3 bn CAD).