Ninestar, the Chinese printing technology group, reported a drop in first-quarter profit as weak overseas printer sales and subdued chip revenues weighed on performance, despite pockets of growth in key domestic segments.
Net profit attributable to shareholders decreased 69.64% year-on-year to RMB84.4 million ($11.6 million/ €10.9 million), while revenue fell 5.79% to RMB5.93 billion ($812 million/ €765 million).
Ninestar’s Pantum printer division saw revenue dip 3.3% to RMB992 million ($136 million/ €128 million), with net profit halving to RMB97 million. Unit sales declined by 6.79% overall, as international shipments decreased by 27.1% due to “procurement rhythm” issues in certain overseas markets. However, domestic sales were more robust, with commercial printer volumes up 7.1% and A3 device sales surging 51%. Sales to China’s ‘Xinchuang’ market — the state-led technology localisation sector — rose 11.2%.
Lexmark, the US-based printer OEM owned by Ninestar, posted a 4.9% revenue fall to $513 million (€483 million), with net profit of $2.5 million (€2.4 million). Unit sales fell 13.64%. Ninestar is currently in the process of selling Lexmark to Xerox, in a deal approved by its board and pending regulatory clearance.
The group’s semiconductor arm, Geehy, reported a 19.7% fall in revenue to RMB254 million ($34.9 million/ €32.8 million) and a 70.4% drop in profit. Nonetheless, non-consumable chip sales grew 58.5% year-on-year.
Consumables revenue was flat, down just 0.6% in volume, generating RMB1.32 billion ($181 million/ €170 million) in sales and RMB16 million ($2.2 million/ €2.0 million) in profit.
Ninestar said it would continue to invest in R&D, branding, and offline service channels, though no outlook was provided.
