Xerox treads water while preparing shift for new areas

Xerox has strategic plans to enter expanding markets, packaging included, and is currently recording falling sales in production print areas.

Increasing sales of Versant and inkjet presses were not able to offset declines in iGen and ColorPress installations during Xerox’s third quarter.

The production print division recorded a 10% decline in revenues as sales of high end toner machines fell compared to the equivalent quarter in 2016. That period had been boosted by Drupa sales deals, says the company. As a consequence equipment revenue from the high end in the quarter fell from $108 million to $97 million at the high end.

The company performed better in its office and mid range areas, but overall revenues for Xerox were 9.16% lower at $2.5 billion ($2.63 billion) for the period. It means too that year to date revenues are $7.58 billion ($8.04 billion) showing the impact of intensely competitive environment. The company has launched new products in the office area and these ConnectKey devices are performing well.

And looking to the future, Xerox is preparing for growth in inkjet, printed electronics, the Internet of Things and especially packaging. None is significant enough to be reported separately as yet. It notched sales of both Brenva sheetfed inkjet and Trivor continuous feed inkjet machines at the Print17 trade show as well as for the more established Rialto inkjet machines. It used the event to add white to the additional colours its iGen5 can carry, something consider crucial for packaging areas.

All in all, CEO Jeff Jacobson hailed the “great progress in optimising our balance sheet” and told analysts: “Overall, we delivered a solid quarter. Revenue decline improved sequentially and earnings expanded year-over-year, with margins and cash flow both in line with our expectations. We still have work to do, but we’re making headway on our strategy.”

The high end sector was hit also by the continuing transaction away from mono printing, down 32% compared to 2016.

The company is now in the final quarter of the year, one that traditionally has been the best quarter for sales and this will again be the case, says Jacobson.