Driven by multi-function devices, unit shipments of printer hardware to EMEA have stabilised in Q1 2017 showing an increase of 1% year-on-year compared to a fall of 8% in Q1 2016, according to market analysis company Context.
“The Middle East and Africa (MEA) outperformed other regions with unit shipments increasing by +7%, following the double-digit decline last year”, says Zivile Brazdziunaite, Imaging Market Analyst at Context. “All categories, except for laser MFPs, registered positive performance over the first quarter of 2017.”
In UAE, although sell-in levels of laser hardware shrunk, overall sell-in levels increased by +19% due to the strong performance of inkjet technology devices. Despite a percentage point decline in printer hardware shipments to Turkey, because of weak performance of single-function devices, sell-in levels of multifunction laser and inkjet hardware increased. Unit shipments to Saudi Arabia continued to decline, while sell-in levels to South Africa improved, registering an increase of +3%.
Sell-in to Western Europe (WE) accounts for almost 70% of all printer hardware shipments to EMEA and performance in Q1 2017 was flat – an improvement on the -6% decline in the same quarter last year. Unit shipments to most major WE countries increased, mainly driven by multifunction devices. For France and the UK, the increase was a single percentage point and mainly down to inkjet technology devices, while laser hardware accounted for +2% year-on-year growth of unit shipments in Italy. Spain and the Netherlands registered double-digit growth of printer hardware sell-in. In contrast, unit shipments to Germany continued to shrink and were down by -5% with the decline spread across all categories except laser MFPs: shipments of these during the quarter increased by +12% year-on-year.
Performance in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) mirrored that of WE, remaining flat over the quarter. Sell-in to Russia returned to growth of +4% year-on-year, driven by laser MFPs, while printer hardware shipments to Kazakhstan and Belarus continued to register strong performances mainly driven by laser technology devices. By contrast, sell-in levels to Poland and the Czech Republic declined.