Yen’s Weakness Drives Growth of HP’s Printing Business

According to The Fool, HP has gained the highest revenue from its printing business in 2013, with printing pre-tax profit increasing 8.5% to around $4 billion. The yen’s weakness in Japan helped HP improve its printing segment margin. HP sources toner and many of its laser printer components from Japan, so a weak yen reduces its costs.

As was reported by The Fool, HP’s printing segment margin increased from 14.6% to 16.3% last year, reaching 17.7% last quarter. HP used the yen’s weakness to offer good deals on printers and cut back on sales of low-end consumer printers. Reporters believe the weak yen will continue to drive HP’s printing unit in 2014. Also, “If the yen-dollar exchange rate remains its current level through 2014, HP will realize additional cost savings.”

The Fool commented that after the second straight annual revenue decline, the growth of the printing segment can be expected as good news for HP’s shareholders.