In his last annual meeting before he retires, Siewert repeated an earlier prediction that sales would fall 10% this year, mainly because of newspaper publishers postponing major investment projects.

Negotiations with employee representatives over the closure of assembly plants in Berlin and Kusel were still continuing, he said.

KBAs preliminary figures for the first six months of 2003 show a 10% drop in new orders, while sales have fallen by 30%. It also expects to make a "small loss" at the close of the second quarter.

But KBA expects sales to pick up in the second half due to a major security contract that will be awarded in July and more orders for web presses, said Siewert.