A Review of Second Quarter 2022 Financials

The financial reporting of the major print and imaging industry OEMs for the second calendar quarter of the year has ended. All OEMs except HP have reported their performance, with HP scheduled to report August 30.

Below are summaries of major print and imaging OEMs who, along with HP, represent about 85% of worldwide industry revenue.

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

Canon

Canon released its second-quarter results July 26.

Consolidated Results:

The company reported that all business units achieved higher sales and profit than the same time last year, providing the consolidated growth in yen as reported. However, when converted to USD $, consolidated net sales reflect a decline from the same time as last year. On the other hand, operating profit showed a growth rate of 7% in USD $ over last year. Canon attributed the profit improvement to increased pricing, increasing the product sales mix to include higher priced products such as full frame cameras and medium- to high-speed color MFDs, along with controlling expenses.

The printing business unit, which now comprises all printing devices such as office MFDs, LBPs, refillable inkjet, and production print, reported the following results:

As in the consolidated financials, Canon reported year-over-year growth in sales and operating income based on yen values. However, exchange rates caused a decline in both sales and operating income when converted to USD $.

The company remains bullish on workers returning to the office, but due to product shortages during the quarter, Office MFDs experienced a decline in unit placements. For the quarter, Prosumer (LBPs and refillable ink tank models) showed unit sales growth with production unit installs constrained due to high order fulfillment demand. The company projects hitting a 13% growth rate for Office MFDs for 2022, Prosumer installs continuing to grow and achieving 20% growth in production print units by the end of the year. Although print volume recovery has been slower than Canon expected, it expects to reach about 80% of pre-COVID print volumes by the fourth quarter.

Ricoh

Ricoh released Fiscal 1^st quarter (2^nd calendar quarter for 2022) on August 3.

Consolidated Results:

Ricoh reported a consolidated net sales increase YoY. However, the company stated, “sales increased mainly due to the impact of the depreciation of the yen.” When converted to USD $, a YoY dollar revenue decline existed. Regarding operating profit, Ricoh experienced growth YoY in both yen and USD $. The company noted that sales in the Americas increased almost 25% or a little more than 5% when excluding foreign currency exchange fluctuations.

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

Speaking to the individual segments, the company reported that Digital Services segment sales were up 6% YoY while operating profit of this segment was up 120% (-11% and +85%, respectively, when converted to USD $). It’s interesting to note that Ricoh has targeted this segment to contribute over 60% of sales by FY2025, and during this quarter, it appears to have contributed approximately 66% of total consolidated sales and 21% of operating profit. The yen value of Digital product sales increased 11% due to higher production of A3 MFPs (-7% in USD $ value), with that segment’s operating profit increasing approximately 36% or 14% in USD $ terms. Commercial printing segment business sales increased 22% (+2% in USD $) with an operating profit increase of 134% (96% based on USD $).

Konica Minolta

On August 2, Konica Minolta reported its quarterly results (1^st Q of FY2023; 2^nd calendar quarter of 2022).

Consolidated results:

Reporting in yen, the company reported an increase in consolidated sales. However, due to the yen’s depreciation from the same time last year, this translates to an almost 10% decline in USD $ value. Increased cost of sales and SG&A expenses in the Digital Workplace Business unit, higher materials and logistics costs, and a one-time business structural reform expenses of ¥3.5B resulted in an operating loss for the period.

Results for those business segments applicable to the print industry (Digital Workplace Business and Professional Print Business):

These two business units represented almost 75% of total company revenues and approximately 60% of the operating profit loss. Konica Minolta reported that A3 MFPs continued showing signs of recovery even as continued challenges due to COVID-related shutdowns delayed product production and shipments. The company also reported that unit volumes of both color and monochrome models were less than in the same quarter of 2021. As employees are returning to offices the company is seeing print volumes recover. The Professional Print Business unit experienced steady demand but was also challenged with production and shipping delays. Color production sales increased over last year, and non-hardware revenue increased as print volume recovered, albeit at a slower than expected pace.

Konica Minolta’s outlook is that there will continue to be “robust hardware demand and increased demand in non-hardware with continuing supply constraints and possible impact due to rising interest rates within the Digital Workplace unit. In Professional Print, the company expects a 7-10% growth due to the accelerated shift from analog print to digital and as the economies of North America and Europe begin to “normalize.”

Kyocera

Kyocera reported its quarterly results (1^st quarter of FY 2023; 2^nd calendar quarter of 2022) on August 1.

Consolidated results:

Kyocera reported record high consolidated sales for the quarter with a substantial increase in operating profit YoY. Due to the impact of a weaker yen sales results translate to a 2% decline in USD $ however, operating profit is up 7.3% in USD $ value.

Kyocera printers and MFPs are in the company’s Document Solutions Group unit with the following reported results:

As with all other overseas manufacturers, the yen increases in sales and profits, as reported by Kyocera, were affected by the weaker yen. When converted to USD $ both revenue and operating profit of the unit resulted in declines from a year ago. The Document Solutions Group represented 20% of Kyocera’s consolidated sales revenue and 17% of operating profit for the quarter.

Xerox

Xerox reported 2nd quarter results July 26, 2022. At the beginning of the year, Xerox changed to report financial information based on two business segments – Print and Other, and Financing (FITTLE). The consolidated highlights for comparison purposes with the other OEMs in this article are below:

The company reported strong demand for print equipment and MPS with a slight increase in print volumes. While the company reported that entry-level color A4 MFP and color production print installs were up 66% and 13%, respectively, these did not offset the decline in the monochrome counterparts or the decline in A3 mid-range color/monochrome units. This resulted in the Print and Other segment experiencing a 2.3% decline in revenue as compared to the same quarter last year. Xerox reported that FITTLE had a 140% increase in third-party equipment and services volume, which only partially offset a decline in captive originations resulting in FITTLE experiencing a 14.7% revenue decline from the previous year. Xerox reported Print and Other operating profit declined almost 84% from a year ago while FITTLE operating profit increased by 13%.

Key Takeaways

Here are some key takeaways from the financial reports of these OEMs

• All print industry manufacturers were affected by ongoing supply chain constraints, continued challenges in production due to lingering COVID lockdowns of production facilities in China, inflation, and other geopolitical events across the world. While some of these challenges will continue to exist through the rest of the year it’s expected they will begin to lessen, helping companies catch up on production, shipments, and installations.
• The weakening of the yen can make it appear there is growth. However, when adjusted for exchange rates, the market exhibited an approximate 4% decline in USD $. For the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2021 that decline is approximately 6%.
• Growth in revenue during 2021 was due to pent-up demand from the COVID year 2020, and the year 2022 is shaping up to be a “normal” year for the industry with a return to historical or below historical YoY revenue declines.
• Canon and Ricoh continue to be two of the three “300-pound” revenue gorillas in the print and imaging industry – HP is the other and will report August 30.
• Based on first half comparisons and the emergence of the industry from the COVID 2020 year, it appears there are clear winners in the efforts to control and manage costs to maximize operating profit.

The bottom line is that the print and imaging market continues to face challenges to revenue growth and profit attainment. As always, the above OEMs are meeting these challenges in different and creative ways. As the year progresses it will be interesting to watch how those initiatives affect future financial performance.