Region’s printer and MFP markets see fourth consecutive quarter of growth in the first quarter of 2014.
IDC’s latest Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals (HCP) Tracker has found that the Western European HCP market has once again seen growth in the first quarter of 2014 (1Q2014), with printer and MFP markets growing 7.1 percent year-on-year and shipments totalling 5.36 million units – a growth of over 350,000 units compared to 1Q2013.
The results mark the region’s HCP market’s fourth quarter of continuous growth, with market value also increasing year-on-year by 1.7 percent to $2.66 billion (€1.9 billion). According to IDC, this growth was “fuelled by strong growth in the colour laser, colour inkjet, and high-speed inkjet segments”.
MFPs continued to outnumber the printer market in terms of shipments; accounting for 78 percent of all shipments, with growth recorded in both inkjets and colour laser markets. Meanwhile the printer market saw mixed results, with inkjet shipments “slightly higher” but colour and monochrome laser markets contracting.
Total inkjet markets increased 13.4 percent year-on-year, with business inkjet showing the most growth at 23.6 percent and consumer markets also “bounc[ing] back”. While printers declined overall by 5.7 percent, IDC noted that there were “pockets of growth”, including high-speed inkjet production and labels and packaging production.
In terms of country results, the German market increased 4.3 percent year-on-year, with inkjet markets growing 12.7 percent but laser markets contracting by 5.6 percent, with the only increase in the laser segment coming from colour MFPs. Higher than expected inkjet shipments has been attributed as the main cause of growth in the country, with both consumer printers and MFP shipments increasing, while business inkjet shipments grew based on MFP devices but a slight decline was seen in printer models.
A strong market increase was recorded in France during the final quarter of 2013, resulting in a minimal growth of 0.1 percent in 1Q2014. Inkjet markets came out strongest as business inkjets increased 35.9 percent, although consumer markets remained flat. Overall, inkjet increased 3.2 percent, but both colour and monochrome laser shipments decreased in both printer and MFP markets, leading to an overall laser decline of 6.8 percent.
Finally, the UK showed “one of the strongest growth patterns” in 1Q2014, with the HCP market increasing 22.4 percent. A strong growth of 32.1 percent year-on-year was recorded for the inkjet market, although this was compared to a poor quarter in 1Q2013. Consumer markets saw the most growth, while business markets were found to be “more muted but still positive”. Laser markets contracted 1.4 percent as the only growth recorded was in colour and monochrome MFP markets. Compared to other Western European countries, the UK’s high-speed inkjet production market was “particularly strong”, while the labels and packaging production market doubled compared to 1Q2013.
Commenting on the results, Phil Sargeant, Program Director of IDC’s Western European Imaging Hardware Devices and Document Solutions group, said: “A solid start to 2014 shows that the printer and MFP growth patterns are following the trends and forecasts made by IDC over recent quarters. Commercial markets are showing strong demand for colour laser products and business inkjets continue to exhibit strong growth patterns. SMB and enterprise customers are investing in printing and document management, while consumer markets also bucked the trend with higher year-on-year sales.”