An industrial company specializing in daily newspaper printing requested an external analysis from us to accurately understand what was happening in its market and, above all, what real implications it had for its business. The assignment was not looking for “opinions”: it needed a rigorous, comparable, and defensible vision that would help make decisions with sound judgment, separating cyclical noise from structural trends.

From the outset, the starting point was clear: the paper press industry is undergoing a profound change in consumption habits, with an acceleration of digitization that has altered demand, the value proposition, and the competitive balance of the sector. This creates a scenario in which printing operators are “trapped” between a contracting demand and a cost structure that does not adjust at the same rate.

In parallel, the macro and raw materials environment adds tension: energy, paper, and other key inputs have shown relevant volatility and price increases, putting pressure on margins and making it more difficult to plan capacity, prices, and production. In a capital and energy-intensive business, this combination has a direct effect on profitability and the ability to sustain investments.

With that context, the objective was to ground the analysis in the reality of the company: measure the evolution of its productive activity and its revenue mix, and verify the extent to which it was exposed to the most vulnerable core of the market. The study showed a relevant reduction in volume in its main activity and a high concentration of revenue in the product most affected by the structural decline, which increases vulnerability to any loss of print runs, headers, or commercial changes in the market.

In addition, we contrasted that situation with the average picture of the sector to avoid “vacuum” analyses. The pattern was consistent: the newspaper printing business presents structurally weak or negative operating profitability, and the return on assets indicators reflect a loss of efficiency that is not explained only by a bad year, but by a transformation of the business model.

The final result for management was a very clear message: it was not just about “enduring” a slump, but about addressing a transition: adjusting capacity, redesigning the industrial proposal, and reducing dependence on the main product, with a roadmap that prioritized decisions with a measurable impact on costs, productivity, and commercial risk.

Our methodology was based on a key idea: define the sector well before measuring anything. We do not analyze “graphic arts” as an administrative aggregate, because mixing activities with different dynamics distorts conclusions. Instead, we delimited the correct economic perimeter: daily newspaper printing as a specific sector, comparable and autonomous.

From there, we combined public sources and financial databases to build a 360º vision: audience and habit metrics (to capture demand), sector reports (for the “outlook”), and financial comparables by homogeneous classification (for profitability and returns). In particular, the profitability analysis was based on a strict segmentation by equivalent economic activity, avoiding biases due to business mixing.

Finally, we grounded the diagnosis to the company through productive and economic analysis, connecting the evolution of its production and its revenue structure with the dynamics of the sector, to identify actionable levers and not remain in generic conclusions.

The differential value of martinsdelima was to convert a complex context into a deliverable that management could use from day one: an objective, comparable, and decision-oriented diagnosis, which explained the “why” (structural trends), the “where it hurts” (mix exposure and cost rigidity), and the “what to do” (clear priorities to protect margins and reduce risk).

Thanks to that approach, the company was able to reorder priorities with sound judgment, align internal expectations, and make strategic decisions with a solid base: correct market segmentation, realistic reading of the future of the sector, and a direct translation to its income statement and operation. That is the type of work we seek: technical rigor that becomes a competitive advantage.