Taipei, July 8, 2008 (CENS)--Sale of laser multifunction peripherals (MFPs) in Taiwan in the first quarter declined 3% from the fourth quarter of 2007 to reach 20,408 units, but climbed 28% from the same period of last year thanks to higher volume of A4-sized entry-level models, according to IDC Taiwan.

As the business printer market has matured, the market intelligence firm said, home and small office, home office (SOHO) markets have become major battlefields for laser MFP vendors.

A total of 7,316 A3-size laser MFPs were sold in the first quarter on the island, down 18% from previous quarter but up 8% from the same period of last year. Mainstay products in the segment are models with a printing speed of up to 20 pages per minute.

Prices for lower-level mono-chrome models in the A3-size are too thin to be profitable for vendors, so most of which have gradually upgraded their products` printing speed to 21-30 or 31-44 pages per minute so as to elevate added-values.

IDC Taiwan said that mono-chrome models with printing speed of 21-30 pages per minute have accounted for 30% of the overall A3-size laser MFP market, very close to that of similar models with printing speed of 1-20 pages per minute. Sales of A3-size color laser MFPs, under vendors` aggressive promotions, accounted for 11% of the overall market in the first quarter.

The top-five vendors in Taiwan`s laser MFP market in the first quarter were Fuji Xeros (with a market share of 22%), Konica Minolta (21%), Sharp, Panasonic, and Canon. For color laser MFP segment only, Fuji Xerox won a market share of 50% in the period.

Sale volume of A4-sized laser MFPs in the first quarter was 13,092 units in the first quarter, up 8% from previous quarter and 42% from the same period of last year. Most major vendors have been pushing new entry-level products and carrying out eager sales campaigns, IDC Taiwan said, so the sales of mono-chrome A4-sized models with printing speed of under-20-page per minute accounted for 78% of the segment.

Grace Fu, market analyst of laser MFP at IDC Taiwan, pointed out that the price gap between A4 laser MFP and single-function laser printer has narrowed to some NT$2,000 (US$66 at US$1: NT$30.5), while vendors` sales promotions are expected to continue to drive up sales of laser MFPs in the future.

HP maintained its lead in the domestic MFP market with a market share of 33% in the first quarter, while Samsung Electronics (30%), Panasonic, Fuji Xerox and Brothers made up the top-five list, with the top-five brands accounting for over-90% share in the local laser MFP market.

(by Quincy Liang)