Middle East Printer Markets See Slight Decline

International Data Corporation (IDC) found in their latest research, that the overall situation of the Middle East printer markets hit a year-on-year (YOY) decline in both volume and value in the first quarter of 2015（Q1 2015）. Just over a million units were shipped for a total value of $330 million, which dropped by 5.7% and 8.6%, respectively, although Saudi Arabia and UAE were meant to withstand low global oil prices to keep strong unit growth year on year (YOY).

Affected by the lower global oil prices and currency fluctuation, the printer markets of the Middle East began to show signs of decline in 2015. Turkish and Egyptian markets were the two main indicators of this change.

Research manager for imaging, printing and document solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey Roberto Alunni said: “Despite the overall decline, shipments of mono laser devices remained flat year on year, indicating that demand from the SMB and enterprise segments of the market remains steady.” He further explained that, “Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to support the region’s HCP market, particularly its laser segment, although the relatively low and volatile global oil prices may pose a threat to large-scale projects for oil-exporting economies in the short term.”

As pointed out in Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, Inkjet shipments across the Middle East declined to 400,000 units in the first quarter of 2015, with a corresponding fall in value to just over $40 million. A3 inkjet devices targeting the SMB segment showed strong growth, despite of the decline in overall technology growth.

Laser shipments remained flat year on year, totaling 585,000 units; however, value slightly declined to $280 million approximately due to growing competition. Opposite to the YOY decline of the entry-level devices, demands from business and government tenders recorded growth at the higher end of the market.

Serial dot matrix (SDM) shipments declined significantly in the first quarter of 2015 to approximately 29,000 units worth just under $12 million. Transition to newer and more efficient technologies was still a major priority for SDM vendors.

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