Kyocera’s Latest Earnings: The Good and the Bad

The Good:

Document Solutions sales grew 4% despite challenges in other divisions.

Overall revenue held steady at ¥1.49 trillion (~$10 billion USD).

The Bad:

Profits took a huge hit—operating profit dropped over 84%.

Electronic components sales struggled, dragging down overall performance.

Kyocera lowered its full-year forecast, signaling more challenges ahead.

Kyocera’s Latest Earnings: What Does it Mean for Office Equipment Resellers?

Kyocera has released their latest earnings, and while the overall numbers aren’t great, the Document Solutions division—which includes printers, MFPs, and copiers—is currently holding steady. Here’s a look of What’s Happenin’ and what it means for office equipment resellers.

Breaking Down the Numbers

Kyocera reported sales of ¥1.49 trillion ($10 billion USD) for the first nine months of its fiscal year, which is about the same as last year. Profits are way down. Operating profit fell 84.6%, and net profit is down almost 80%. A big reason for this is slower demand for Kyocera’s electronic components, especially for some products for which demand has “bottomed out” according to their earnings report.

The Document Solutions group grew slightly compared to last year, up 4%.

What This Means for Office Equipment Resellers

The earnings report does not decipher whether the Document Solutions group’s growth has come from dealers or from Kyocera’s direct branch operation. While it is likely a mix of both, it would be interesting to see in future reports what the increase/decrease is for the Kyocera dealers and branch operation each year. If sales ever started shifting towards direct sales from dealer sales, that would something to keep an eye on.

If you sell for Kyocera, they are still strong in print, but the company currently has challenges.

If you sell against Kyocera, their financial struggles might be a talking point, though their MFP business isn’t the weak link here.

SOURCE Industry Analysts Inc.

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