The Japanese OEM is expected to see a climb of around 20 percent in its operating profit this fiscal year.
The rise, which would take the figure to just over ¥60 billion ($549.2 million/€450.8 million), is due to “a broader line-up of new products” coupled with “strong printer demand in China”, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Sales for the current fiscal year, ending March 2019, are also predicted to increase, to almost ¥1.1 trillion ($10.07 billion/€8.26 billion).
Nikkei also reports that Konica Minolta is expected to strengthen its marketing of colour MFPs in certain European markets – such as Eastern Europe – “where they have been slow to take root.” It also plans to push its products particularly to SMBs which lack dedicated system-management staff, highlighting specific advantages and features such as emailing and merchandise ordering.
Earnings will also be boosted, the forecast suggests, by a lowering of costs, accounted for by warehouse reorganisation and employee retirements. The relocation of MFP production to the OEM’s Malaysian sites, with their higher degree of automation, and the sales of land and “idle assets”, also play a part in the enhanced profitability.
On the other side, Nikkei also predicts a strengthening of the yen against the euro and dollar, and the spending on expanding newly-acquired Ambry Genetics, will prove “potential headwinds”, but it adds that “overall, positive trends will likely absorb negative factors.”
For the previous financial year, Konica Minolta’s operating profit and sales figures both slightly exceed projections, which were ¥48 billion ($439.4 million/€360.7 million) and ¥1 trillion ($9.1 billion/€7.5 billion), respectively.
