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Context: Printer Sales Flat in EMEA, but Inkjet MFPs See Growth

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Unit shipments of printer hardware to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in third-quarter 2017 remained the same as those in the previous year, as sales declined across all categories except for inkjet MFPs, according to data published by CONTEXT, a European IT market-analysis company.

“The Middle East and Africa (MEA) continued to outperform other regions, with unit shipments increasing by 22 percent, following a decline in the quarter last year,” said Zivile Brazdziunaite, imaging market analyst at CONTEXT. “There was positive performance in all categories, and sell-in levels of inkjet MFPs and laser SFPs (single-function printers) were particularly high.”

Sell-in levels of printer hardware in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continued to increase and registered growth of 12 percent year-over-year, driven mainly by inkjet MFPs. There was double-digit growth in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and South Africa on the back of particularly weak performance in third-quarter 2016. Unit shipments of inkjet and laser MFPs lay behind the 25 percent increase in Turkey.

Sell-in to Western Europe (WE) accounted for more than 65 percent of all printer hardware shipments to EMEA and registered a year-over-year decline of  3 percent in third-quarter 2017, after an increase in the previous quarter. Falling sell-in levels of laser hardware, particularly laser SFPs, accounted for most of this, while unit shipments of inkjet MFPs increased by 1 percent. Sell-in levels to most major Western Europe countries declined, but the United Kingdom continued to see a 1 percent increase driven by inkjet MFPs. Germany registered a drop of 8 percent after a sell-in surge during the previous quarter, while performance in France was flat. Shipments to Spain and Italy declined by 10 and 14 percent, respectively, due to weaker demand after strong growth in third-quarter 2016.

Performance in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) mirrored that of Western Europe. The 3 percent year-over-year decline was driven by falling sales of laser hardware, while sell-in levels of inkjet MFPs continued to increase, registering growth of 8 percent. Sell-in to Russia accounts for 45 percent of all printer-hardware unit shipments to Central and Eastern Europe, and inkjet and laser MFPs meant it returned to growth of 5 percent year-over-year in third-quarter 2017. Shipments to most other major countries in the region continued to decline, mainly because of reduced shipments of laser technology devices. However, sell-in levels to Hungary continued to climb, registering an increase of 4 percent year-on-year because of demand for inkjet MFPs.

Country split

 Austria 40%
 Belgium -16 %
 Denmark 8%
 Finland 19%
 France 0%
 Germany -8%
 Greece -21%
 Iceland 67%
 Ireland 24%
 Italy -14%
 Luxembourg -12%
 Netherlands 5%
 Norway 4%
 Portugal -6%
 Spain -10%
 Sweden -7%
 Switzerland -1%
 UK 1%
 Poland -9%

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