According to the latest distribution data published by CONTEXT, sales of printer hardware through distributors in Western Europe were flat at -0.1% year-on-year in Q4 2018.
Sales of multifunction printers were up by +2.2% year-on-year with continued growth for both laser and inkjet MFPs (sales were up by +4.1% and +1.7%, respectively). However, this was offset by the negative performance of single function printers of which sales were down by -10.1% (-20.6% for inkjet and -7.2% for laser).
Mono and A3 MFPs were still driving inkjet growth with sales +42.2% and +13.8% higher than the previous year. Laser MFP volume sales were up by +4.1% in Q4 2018 driven by the exceptional performance of consumer-targeted devices (sales up by +111.6%), primarily because the ASP is continuing to decrease. The business-targeted models, which account for 72.1% of laser MFP sales and 89.4% of revenue, registered a sales drop of -13.2%, mainly because the ASP is continuing to increase, and which suggests businesses are replacing entrylevel business-targeted models with mid and high-level consumer-targeted devices.
