AUSTRALIAN PRINTER MARKET REMAINS UPBEAT

[Anonymous]

Australian Printer Market Remains Upbeat in Q3 2005
NORTH SYDNEY, JAN 06 – The Australian printer market remained quite healthy in Q3 2005, exhibiting only a marginal drop of 2% from the previous quarter and growing by 4% year-on-year, according to the results of IDC’s latest printer market research. The research includes both single-function and multi-function printers (MFPs).
“While consumer buying in Q3 2005 showed signs of moderate improvement over Q2, commercial buying witnessed a relative seasonal drop. The trend was also reflected in a small growth in shipments of inkjet printers and a drop in sales of laser printers”, said Rishi Ghai, IDC Peripherals Analyst.
“Laser printers, which registered better-than-expected performance at the end of the financial year in Q2 2005, fell by 16% sequentially in Q3, in the absence of large orders. However, the drop was notably smaller for colour lasers, compared to that for monochrome lasers. Increasing focus of vendors on colour lasers and declining prices will accelerate the growth of this segment”, added Mr Ghai.
Interestingly, the average selling price of a single-function colour laser printer was down by a significant 29% in Q3 2005 compared to the same period a year ago, according to IDC. The corresponding drop for a multi-function colour laser printer was even steeper at 40%.
Meanwhile, HP maintained its lead in the printer market in Q3 2005 with 27% share. Canon also managed to retain its second rank with 25% share of the market, supported by a consistent performance in the multi-function inkjet printer space. Strong shipments in the single function inkjet printer market helped Lexmark move up to the third position, displacing Epson to the fourth rank. Brother, meanwhile, continued to occupy the fifth position. No change was observed in the ranking of sixth-place Dell. On the other hand, Kyocera entered the Top-7 vendor tally this time, displacing Samsung.
Q3 2005 also witnessed several key vendors such as Lexmark, HP and Canon refreshing their product portfolios. With several new models launched in the early half of Q4 2005, the current quarter is expected to witness strong competition in the lead-up to Christmas.
IDC Top-7 Printer Vendors, Q3 2005:
1) HP: 27% 2) Canon: 25% 3) Lexmark: 16% 4) Epson: 13% 5) Brother: 7% 6) Dell: 4% 7) Kyocera: 2% Others: 6% 

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January 3, 2006 at 12:18 PM