Next, Professional Print Business.
Sales of color models in North America rose 10% thanks to efforts to strengthen the sales structure from the second half of the previous fiscal year, in addition to efforts to promote IQ-501 customer value, including automatic inspection functions.
Sales of color units in Europe declined, but sales for commercial printers, which has a significant impact on non-hard, increased.
Hardware sales in China declined due to prolonged negotiations and a decrease in government projects. In India, although sales units declined due to the difficulty of obtaining approvals for leases, non-hard sales rose largely, resulting in an increase in sales. Profitability also improved as a result of improved service efficiency.
In industrial printing, sales of KM-1 grew significantly through direct sales. Sales of label printing equipment grew significantly, partly due to the effects of AccurioLabel 230 introduced in the first half of the fiscal year. Sales of decoration printing equipment also grew substantially, and the Group continued to hold the leading shares in targeted markets. Non-hard sales also grew significantly.
Sales of marketing services unit increased.