The increase in the financial year to 31 March was 4.9% excluding foreign exchange fluctuations.
Ricoh said that although expenses increased, the depreciation of the yen had helped boost operating profits, which rose by 6.2% to ¥15.4bn.
The Japanese manufacturer said it had “completely revamped our product line-up” in the financial year.
“In the commercial printing business, sales of production printers continued to grow, primarily in the Americas,” Ricoh stated.
“Non-hardware sales also increased because the rise in the number of market operational units of higher-end models contributed to higher printing volume.”
At its industrial printing business there was a rise in demand for signage and other products “leading to strong growth in sales of inkjet heads”.
Ricoh also reported higher sales of inkjet heads in the Chinese market.
Overall group sales rose 10.1% to just under ¥2,349bn, but group operating profit fell 21.2% to ¥62bn due to one-off income that boosted the prior year figure, and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses.
Regarding the outlook for the current financial year, Ricoh said that prospects remained uncertain “for several reasons such as persistent global economic stagnation stemming from ongoing international tensions, surging resources prices, inflation, and the yen’s depreciation”.
“While the operating climate will remain challenging into next fiscal year, we are committed to steadily implementing the Enterprise Value Improvement Project to make our profit structure suitable for a digital services company.”
Ricoh expects the Graphic Communications wing to continue to grow, and also plans to “systematically transform the office printing business” via a new joint venture with Toshiba TEC Corporation that will come into effect over the summer.
Toshiba TEC has a separate agreement with Riso, which is in the process of taking over Toshiba Tec’s inkjet business.
Ricoh is planning to wow visitors with the Henkakuverse, a “spectacular immersive experience” at the upcoming Drupa expo, which will also mark the European debut for its Pro Z75 B2 perfecting inkjet press.
