The Japanese manufacturer’s sales for the period were ¥1,159bn (£5.9bn) (compared to ¥1,130bn a year ago) while its operating profit was ¥26,091m (compared to an operating loss of ¥95,125m a year ago).

The business made a small pre-tax profit of ¥13,566m, compared to a pre-tax loss of ¥101,872m a year ago.

The business said it employed 40,015 staff in the period, up by 240 on the prior year, although it has recently said that 2,400 jobs would be affected by the implementation of global structural reforms to achieve its ‘Medium-term Business Plan’ goals for its fiscal year 2023 through to 2025, and sustainable growth beyond 2025.

The company said its increased revenue was partially contributed by the continuing depreciation of the yen. It said the increase of 2.6% year-on-year was the highest ever since the management integration of Konica and Minolta in 2003.

By region; Europe, North America, and Asia (excluding China) recorded increases in revenue of approximately 5%, 3%, and 8% of the prior year levels, respectively, while Japan and China suffered decreases of approximately 2% and 1%, respectively, year-on-year.

“Revenue and gross profit increased year-on-year, thanks to the effect of foreign exchange rate, despite the rebound to a temporary increase in sales in the previous fiscal year due to the elimination of backlog orders caused by semiconductor shortages,” the company stated.

All of the group’s businesses, including the Digital Workplace Business, the Professional Print Business, the Healthcare Business, and the Industry Business, experienced increases in revenue.

“In the production print unit, the impact of restrained investment caused by the economic slowdown in Europe and China and a rebound to a temporary increase in sales due to the elimination of backlog orders in the previous fiscal year, along with the office unit, resulted in a decrease in sales volume of digital printing presses,” the company said.

“The sales volumes of digital printing presses for colour models, monochrome models, and all models in the current fiscal year were at 96%, 84%, and 92% year-on-year, respectively. On the other hand, overall sales of digital printing presses were upward due to the growth in the sales volumes of the Heavy Production Print (HPP) with the fastest print speeds, which the group focuses on, by 131% year-on-year, as well as the impact of foreign exchange rates.

“The revenue of non-hardware, such as consumables and services, saw an increase due to the increased printing demands in some regions, such as China and India, and the impact of foreign exchange rates. As a result of these factors, the production print unit posted a year-on-year increase in revenue.

“In the industrial print unit, the sales volume of inkjet digital press (AccurioJet KM-1e), label press, and embellishment press increased. The non-hardware revenue went up by the expanded number of presses in operation in the market and the increased proportion of digital printing among customers. As a result, the industrial print unit saw an increase in revenue year-on-year.

“In the marketing services unit, gross profit increased year-on-year although revenue decreased year-on-year due to the deconsolidation of domestic sales subsidiary, Konica Minolta Marketing Service Pty Limited.”

Based on the above, the company said the Professional Print Business recorded revenue of ¥263.3bn (an increase of 4.3% year-on-year) and a business contribution profit of ¥13.8bn (a decrease of 8.3% year-on-year) due to an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses “affected by soaring labour costs”.

An impairment loss of France-based MGI Digital Technology during the fourth quarter and other factors led to an operating profit of ¥11.6bn (a decrease of 14.3% year-on-year), resulting in an increase in revenue and a decrease in profit in the Professional Print Business as a whole.

Last month KM and Fujifilm Business Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding to begin a feasibility study for a strategic alliance covering production printers, multifunction printers, and office printers encompassing procurement, toner development, and production efficiencies.