14 February 2020

Q4 disappoints as orders and output only marginally outperform restrained forecast

Q4 DISAPPOINTS AS ORDERS AND OUTPUT ONLY MARGINALLY OUTPERFORM RESTRAINED FORECAST - MORE HOPE FOR Q1 AS EXPECTATIONS FOR PRINTING INDUSTRY CONFIDENCE STRENGTHEN

UK printing experienced a marginally better than expected fourth quarter. Following a subdued forecast for the period both output and orders just outperformed expectations, as the industry experienced a very slight upturn, aided by some election-related activity. Orders and output are now expected to recover further in Q1.

The latest Printing Outlook survey reveals that 34% of printers increased output levels in the fourth quarter of 2019. Slightly more respondents (38%) held output steady, whilst 28% experienced a decline in output. The resulting balance (the difference between the ups and the downs) was +6, marginally greater than +5 in Q3 and the Q4 forecast (+2).

The worst Q3 report for three years, since the aftermath of the shock EU referendum result, has now been followed by the worst Q4 report for seven years.