The year 2022 is nearly finished, and with that, the major OEMs of the print and imaging industry have reported their financial performances for the last time this calendar year. The following analyses and summaries represent the reports of those OEMs that make up almost 90% of worldwide industry revenue.

*NOTE: Average yen to the dollar exchange rate for analysis and summary is based on averaging the daily ¥ to $ exchange rates during the quarter as provided by Macrotrends. Therefore, some of the USD $ conversions and $ percentage increases or decreases summarized may or may not align with what is reported by individual OEMs.

HP

HP issued its quarterly financials for the third calendar quarter of 2022 (HP Fiscal 4Q for FY2022) on November 22.

Consolidated Quarterly results for Personal Systems (computers and peripherals) and Printing:

Total quarterly revenue was $14.8B, off 11.2% from the same period in 2021. Operating profit declined at a slightly higher rate of 16.8%. From a Personal Systems standpoint, that business made up 69% of total revenue ($10.3B) but 34% of quarterly operating profit. While a mix shift occurred toward higher-value categories in commercial premium products and peripherals Notebook unit sales were still down by 26% and unit sales of Desktop units declined by 3% when compared to 2021. HP explained that market softness and supply chain challenges affected these results. Printing business results are below.

Results for the Printing business segment:

Printing segment quarterly revenue represented 31%, or $4.5B, of HP’s total revenue. That was a little more than 7% lower than the same quarter last year. Details underneath these Print segment revenue numbers include that HP+ and Big Tank printers represented 55% of printer shipments for the quarter; Consumer printing unit sales were down 4% driving Consumer print revenue down by 7%; Commercial unit sales increased 5% over the same quarter of 2021 with Commercial print revenue up by 1%; and total supplies revenue was down 10%. Operating profit for this business segment was up almost 9% over the same quarter of 2021 and represented 66% of total company operating profit during the quarter. Operating profit margin for the Printing business segment was 19.9%.

Looking to the future, HP announced the Future Ready Transformation Plan. This is expected to attain cost savings of at least $1.4 billion by the end of fiscal 2025 through “digital transformation, portfolio optimization and operational efficiency.” Additionally, the company estimates it will take charges of $1.0 billion in labor and non-labor costs related to restructuring and other charges. Approximately $600M of that will occur in fiscal 2023 with the rest taken between fiscal 2024 and 2025. Another action planned is reductions between 4,000 and 6,000 in global headcount by the end of 2025.

Ricoh

Ricoh released its quarterly financials on November 4.

Consolidated Results:

Consolidated net yen sales for Ricoh saw a 22.8% YoY increase when compared to the same period in 2021. This is approximately a 2% decline in USD $ due to the weakening yen. Ricoh attributed this “modest” sales recovery and growth to increasing sales in the Americas offset by material component shortages and production slowdowns. Consolidated quarterly operating profit was almost 86% higher than the quarter a year ago converting into a 48% increase in USD $ value. Ricoh said the ability of its individual business units to control pricing by passing through certain increased costs, along with its continued restructuring efforts in development and manufacturing helped drive the operating profit increase.

Combined results for print industry-related business segments (Digital Services, Digital Products, and Graphic Communications):

The three business segments of Ricoh that are directly related to the print industry represented 90% of the company’s consolidated sales revenue (before Eliminations and other Corporate adjustments). These three segments of the company reported almost 20% higher sales during the quarter than in the same period last year. With a weaker yen, this converts to an almost 5% decline in USD $ values. For products and services focused on the office market, Ricoh cited good sales performance in the office services business with “robust” sales of security-related services in the Americas; increased A3 MFPs, parts, and supplies sales; and increased non-hardware sales; all of which offset a shortage of A4 MFPs. Commercial sales increased as the company found alternative components in the market to secure production volumes, and Ricoh-manufactured print industry components such as inkjet print heads and textile printers saw sales increases. Additionally, the Commercial segment also saw increased non-hardware sales with these sales recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Operating profit from these three segments increased 67% YoY (33% in USD $ value). Ricoh said that increased production and sales of high-value-added products, along with cost-reducing reforms in development, manufacturing, and service activities, offset the sharp rise of material prices. These segments represented 100% of Ricoh’s consolidated operating profit (before Eliminations and other Corporate adjustments).

Ricoh revised its consolidated sales and profit outlook upwards for FY2022 (year ending March 31, 2023), showing a 19.4% increase over FY2021 sales results and a 112% improvement in consolidated operating profit. In the combined Digital Services, Digital Products, and Graphic Communications segments, Ricoh is now forecasting a 14% increase YoY in net sales.

Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta reported results for the second quarter of its fiscal year (third calendar quarter of 2022) on November 2.

Consolidated results:

In consolidated results, Konica Minolta reported a significant 31.4% improvement in net sales revenue over the same quarter as last year. Even with a weakened yen, this translates to a 4.8% increase in USD $ value. The company attributed this to its efforts in securing parts and materials, increasing production and supply of products, and improving logistics and transportation, which enabled it to clear the backlog of orders from previous periods. All regions of the company reported sales revenue growth. Through its continued control of SG&A expenses as well as improving gross profit due to revenue growth, Konica Minolta enjoyed a ¥5.9B consolidated operating profit for this quarter compared to the ¥4.7B operating loss from the same period last year. The company mentioned it recorded a ¥3.6B one-time expense to support the structural reforms being implemented, primarily in the Digital Workplace Business, to accelerate its profitability improvement.

Results for Digital Workplace Business and Professional Print Business segments are below. These business segments apply to the print industry:

In the business segments specific to the print industry, Konica Minolta reported an almost 43% growth in sales revenue over the same period last year. The company cited much-improved production and shipping capabilities in both segments as reasons that increased hardware sales volume in its major regions as the company was successful in working down backlogs. In the office, A3 MFP orders continued their recovery, and in Production Print demand for digital printing presses remained steady, with sales of the inkjet press AccurioJET KM-1 increasing in Europe and Japan. Non-hardware (consumable and services) sales revenue in the Digital Workplace segment increased as workforces resumed working in offices. In the Production Print segment, Konica Minolta saw a surge of non-hardware revenue in its areas of inkjet press, label press, embellishment press, and textile press.

Konica Minolta updated their FY2022 forecast (FY year ending March 31, 2023) by increasing consolidated sales revenue outlook by almost 10% but is not forecasting any increase in consolidated operating profit. In the Digital Workplace segment, the company is increasing its sales revenue outlook by ¥96B and operating profit outlook by ¥4.5B. The Professional Print segment revenue outlook is increased by ¥8B with operating profit forecasted to be ¥3B higher than previously forecasted.

Kyocera

On October 31, Kyocera published the second-quarter results of its fiscal year 2023 (third-calendar quarter of 2022).

Consolidated results:

All business units, except for the Communications Unit, experienced YoY sales revenue growth for the quarter, extending Kyocera’s record-breaking consolidated sales growth trend. Total consolidated net sales increased a little more than 14% when compared to the same quarter as last year. However, the substantial depreciation of the yen translates to a 9% decline in USD $ value. Due to increases in raw material prices, continued supply disruptions, and instability in certain regions of the world, Kyocera’s consolidated quarterly profit fell 19% when compared to last year. Again, due to the weaker yen, this translates to an almost 36% decline in USD $ values.

Document Solutions Unit results (Printers and MFPs make up this business unit):

The Document Solutions Unit of Kyocera’s Solutions Business continued to represent approximately 20% of consolidated sales revenue, making it the largest business unit within the company. With net sales of ¥104.9B for the quarter, its sales revenue was almost 18% higher than the same quarter last year. Converted based on foreign exchange, this results in a 6.3% decline in USD $ value. This was the fifth sequential quarter the Document Solutions Unit experienced yen sales revenue growth. As for operating profit, the unit saw almost a 30% fall from last year’s same-quarter results but only a 7% decline sequentially. Kyocera noted this was due to increased costs in components and higher logistical costs.

Looking ahead, Kyocera did not change its consolidated sales revenue or operating forecasts. However, Document Solutions Unit sales revenue for the fiscal year was revised up from the last forecast in April by ¥20B while operating profit for the unit was revised down by ¥6B.

Epson

On October 28, Epson released results for the second quarter of its FY2022 (FY ending March 2023).

Consolidated results:

Epson reported that consolidated net sales revenue and operating profit in yen increased 25% and 14% over the same quarter as last year. Based on foreign exchange rates these translate to less than a 1% decline in USD $ sales but almost a 9% reduction in USD $ value in operating profit compared to the same period as last year. Epson pointed out it attained growth in these areas due to higher selling prices for its products, sustained market demand in its devices business, and reductions in advertising and promotion spending.

Printing Solutions (Includes Office & Home and Commercial & Industrial Printing segments):

In Printing Solutions, Epson showed a 17.6% increase in net yen sales over the same quarter last year. This translates to a decline of just over 6% in USD $ value. Office & Home revenue increased even as unit sales were flat when compared to the same period as last year. A decline in ink cartridge printers and consumables was offset by expanded sales of high-capacity ink tank printers and ink tank consumables. Dynamic pricing based on actual demand and supply also contributed to maintaining higher revenue. Additionally, Commercial & Industrial saw revenue growth due to increased sales of products used for signage and textiles along with higher revenue in printheads to Chinese printer manufacturers. Print Solutions was challenged by rising material and logistics costs resulting in operating profit being down 34.3% from a year ago (down 47.6% in USD $ value). The Printing Solutions business revenue represented 64% of consolidated revenue and 67% of Epson’s consolidated operating profit for the quarter.

Epson raised its consolidated revenue forecast for the year to ¥1,390 billion, up by ¥30 billion from the previous outlook. Consolidated business profit outlook remained unchanged. In Printing Solutions, although the company is lowering unit installation expectations to only an 8% growth over the previous year, it is raising revenue outlook in this business by ¥16 billion over the previous forecast. Epson is lowering the segment profit forecast for this business by 3.4% from the previous forecast, which would be 3.3% lower than the previous year.

Canon

On October 26, Canon released its third-quarter financial review.

Consolidated Results:

Even with inflation concerns, interest rate increases, and persistent impact on Europe due to the Ukraine crisis, all business units of Canon experienced higher net sales for the third quarter of 2022 than for the same period in 2021. The company reported a 19.5% consolidated sales increase due to high demand for semiconductor lithography equipment, solid demand for mirrorless and network cameras, recovered demand for medical diagnostic products, and a steadily recovering demand for office MFDs. However, due to the continued weakening of the yen, this translates to a decline of 4.7% in USD $.

Through what Canon described as “promotion of efficiency for operations,” operating costs appear to have been well managed, which resulted in a consolidated operating profit increase of almost 39% in yen or 10.5% in USD $ value. Canon is optimistic that sales and operating profit growth will carry on through the end of the year and increased its consolidated revenue forecast by ¥10B to ¥4,090B. The company is forecasting that 90% of that revenue increase is expected to go to the bottom line and raised operating profit forecast from ¥376B to ¥385B.

The results for the Printing business unit, covering office, prosumer (laser printers and business inkjet), and production printers, were as follows:

The Printing Business Unit of Canon reported an overall increase of ¥92.3M in net sales revenue (+20.1%) over last year, with all three segments of the unit reporting revenue growth. Due to the weakness of the yen and foreign exchange, this translates to a 4.3% USD $ decline. Operating profit declined 32.7% (¥19.7M) caused by higher parts and logistics costs as well as “the increase in the ratio of hardware caused by stabilization of production supply.”

Significant to the revenue growth was a 35% growth of Office MFD unit placements of products like the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX series C5800, and increases in Office services and consumable sales as workers came back into the office. This growth offset a decline in laser printer and inkjet printer unit sales as well as consumable sales due to lowering demand as work from home slowed down. Strong sales of the varioPRINT iX series of high-speed cut-sheet color inkjet presses, along with increased services revenue, pushed Production revenue up 34.4%.

Looking ahead to the end of the year, Canon has reduced the Printing Business Unit’s net sales revenue forecast by ¥25.3B and its operating profit forecast by ¥18.2B from the previous forecast. However, citing increasing demand for products and services and saying they “will promote steady production, delivery, and installation to facilitate our plan of achieving the highest sales volume in several years” and expecting print volume to return to about 80% of pre-COVID levels, Canon’s Printing Business Unit revenue forecast remains 18.4% better than 2021 and its operating profit remains forecast at 3.5% higher.

Xerox

Xerox reported its third-quarter results October 25:

Xerox’s total sales revenue for the third quarter was $7M or 0.4% lower than the same period last year. Xerox reported that equipment sales increased slightly, with YoY declines in black-and-white installations offset by higher YoY color machine installations. Post-sale revenue was positively impacted by a strong quarter in consumable sales due to the ongoing, albeit gradual, recovery of print-related activity along with Xerox’s recent pricing actions in this area. While the Print and Other segment showed a slight sales increase over last year, the Financing (FITTLE) segment showed a 12.3% revenue decline for the same period resulting in an overall net sales decline for the company. Xerox reported an Operating loss (reported as Loss/Income before taxes and equity income) of $380M this quarter. This was attributed to an unfavorable equipment sales mix, “slower-than-expected easing of supply chain constraints”, and high inflation rates. While not noted by Xerox management, this is the fourth quarter in a row the company has suffered operating profit losses. Management noted that while Xerox will continue to invest in FITTLE, CareAR, Novity, and Mojave, its HVAC business, the company has shut down Eloque, and scaled back its 3D initiatives – two of the key initiatives in recent strategic plans to “commercialize innovation”.

Looking ahead Xerox maintains there is “resiliency in demand” for its office products, especially A3 devices. However, the company has begun to see longer project deployment times and lower page volume commitments as well as slower-than-expected recovery in overall page volumes. Due to these headwinds, the weakening of the euro and British pound, along with uncertainty for other global exchange rates, Xerox reduced their full-year revenue guidance from at least $7.1B to a range between $7.0B and $7.1B and significantly reduced their free cash flow guidance from at least $400M to at least $125M.

From a yen valuation standpoint, all the Japanese OEMs reported net sale revenue growth over the third quarter of last year in their print and imaging businesses. However, that was mostly due to the significantly depreciated yen, which meant that most of the OEMs experienced a decline in USD $ revenue. The outlier was Konica Minolta, whose size of yen net sales growth translated to double-digit USD $ revenue growth. Operating profits for Konica Minolta and Ricoh showed positive YoY growth, while Canon, Kyocera, and Epson reported declines. For the most part, these Japanese OEMs have handled the increasing materials and logistics costs through product price actions and/or structural changes in production and delivery. Due to recovering demand, improved production and delivery, and continued pressure on the yen, they have increased their full-year forecasts for revenue in their print and imaging businesses.

Addressing Xerox and HP separately, sales revenue was once again lower than in the same period of last year. In addition, this is the fourth quarter in a row that Xerox has reported an operating profit loss which means that since the fourth quarter of 2021, the company has suffered a little over $1.1B in operating losses. Despite upbeat reporting from management that there is a “resiliency in demand” for their office products and services, Xerox reduced its full-year revenue guidance and significantly reduced its free cash flow guidance, a hallmark in its past promises to deliver value to shareholders. On the other hand, HP, while experiencing a revenue decline in print, has produced $3.6B in operating profit from this segment since the 4^th quarter of 2021.

For the print and imaging industry, challenges remain and may get tougher in the foreseeable future. We may be seeing supply chain and component cost issues recede but overall inflation, continued geo-political conflicts, and recession worries will continue to put economic pressure on end-user customers, ultimately affecting all manufacturers and resellers of the industry. However, innovative ways to address such issues have already been put in place by most manufacturers, and optimism continues to be the mindset of the industry.

Comparisons of 2022 calendar year-to-date revenue and operating profit in the industry:
(YTD 2022, almost two-thirds of worldwide revenue generated by three companies: Canon, HP, and Ricoh)

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