LEXMARK RESELLER SIGNS DEAL WITH STATE

[Anonymous]

Lexmark reseller signs deal with state
EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT VALUED AT $3 MILLION
Lexmark
International announced this week that a reseller of its products has
signed an exclusive deal to provide Lexmark printers to Kentucky state
government agencies and cabinets.The contract with Pomeroy IT
Solutions, also based in Kentucky, is estimated to have an annual value
of more than $3 million, Lexmark said.The deal is for one year
initially, but may be renewed annually for up to five more, said Jill
Midkiff, spokeswoman for the state Finance and Administration
Cabinet.Since the contract was signed in November, the state has
purchased $274,000 in Lexmark printers, Midkiff said.Local governments,
public schools and state colleges and universities also may buy
printers under the contract.Previously, state offices could purchase
Lexmark and Hewlett-Packard printers from three resellers, including
Pomeroy, Lexmark said.

In other Lexmark news
•
A major holder of Lexmark stock disclosed this week in a Securities and
Exchange Commission filing that it has divested its holdings.
Franklin
Mutual Advisers, a unit of Franklin Resources Inc., held more than 6
million shares of the company’s stock as of Dec. 31, 2005, or about 5.3
percent of Lexmark’s outstanding shares at the time.In the filing this
week, the group noted it no longer had any shares. It did not say when
the shares were sold. The company declined to explain the
sell-off.Lexmark officials also declined to discuss the move.Shares of
Lexmark stock closed 2005 at $44.83 a share. They closed 2006 at
$73.20, a 63.3 percent increase.The company’s shares have declined
during the last two weeks, and the stock closed yesterday at $63.95.
Investors presumably were disappointed by muted forecasts for Lexmark’s
first quarter and might also have been curious about the effect of a
printer alliance between IBM Corp. and Ricoh Co. Lexmark makes printers
for IBM.Executives of IBM and Ricoh have since said the companies plan
to maintain the existing relationship with Lexmark, and possibly expand
it.

• In printer industry news, research and advisory firm
Gartner, Inc. issued a report last month that worldwide shipments of
printers and inkjet multifunction products increased 2 percent during
the third quarter of 2006, compared with the same period a year
earlier.The firm said the increase was driven by “strong sales of
flatbed inkjet products.” It also noted, though, that the average
selling price declined 5 percent year-over-year and end-user spending
fell 3 percent.Gartner researchers did not break down the gains by
manufacturer, but did offer regional analyses.Although Europe, Latin
America and the Middle East and Africa were sources of strong growth,
the United States saw a drop in shipments of 7.4 percent from a year
earlier.The company attributed the drop to “poor sales of photo
printers” because printer vendors began to cease bundling free printers
with computers and cameras. In addition, customers began to print more
pictures at retailers.Sales in Latin America, which, at 20.2 percent,
saw the highest growth, were attributed to, among other things, a
“booming PC market with many first-time users.”

[Author]

February 12, 2007 at 11:40 AM