The company has released its first quarter results, reporting that revenue and profit increased in printing solutions.
Epson reported revenue for the first quarter was ¥314.8 billion ($2.26 billion/ €2.05 billion), an increase of 5.7% year-on-year, however, overall business profits were down 31.1% year-on-year. Whereas revenue and profit in printing solutions and visual communications increased due to the easing of supply constraints and foreign exchange effects.
For the printing solutions segment, Epson reported that revenue was ¥215.1 billion (1.54 billion/ €1.4 billion), up 8.8% year-on-year. Sales increased mainly in commercial and industrial printing. In the Home & Office segment, unit sales of inkjet printers were down by 7%, but revenue was flat year-on-year. Epson said that this is due to model mix improvement and positive foreign exchange effects.
Inkjet sales increased by 9% due largely to an increase in the number of high-capacity ink tank printers in the field. Inkjet printer unit sales fell short of the internal plan, but revenue was in line with the plan thanks, in part, to foreign exchange effects.
Epson added that office shared printer revenue increased due to sales growth of new mid-speed products, easing of supply constraints, and an increase in ink sales.
Epson revised the 2023 fiscal full-year financial outlook based on changes in its assumptions about the business environment. The company expects demand will be lower than initially expected due to inflation and other factors that are causing hesitancy to buy and invest. Inventory adjustments are taking longer than expected in the microdevices market, and the outlook also reflects this.
