Seventy percent of North American printers continue to operate in the black even as top-line challenges in sales remain. Printers participating in this years' Ratios Survey attained average profit rates of 2.6 percent on sales—down slightly from 2.7 percent last year. This is still above the trailing 12-year average profit for all printers of 2.0 percent.
Profit leaders—printers in the top 25 percent of profitability—saw profits increase to 10.3 percent compared to 9.9 percent last year. This rate of profit brings profit leaders to a 12-year high.
According to our 2014 survey results for fiscal year-end 2013, materials, including paper, accounted for the largest single cost category for the typical printer at 35.5 percent of sales. Total materials expenses decreased slightly in 2013 from their previous level of 36 percent in 2012. Paper alone consumed more than one-in-five sales dollars last year.
Other major costs incurred by printers last year included factory payroll (25.1 percent of sales) up from 24.6 percent in 2012. Factory expenses (16.9 percent of sales) saw no change from 2012, and administrative and selling expenses (19.1 percent of sales) were down from 19.3 percent in 2012.
Sales per employee for all printers stood at $150,678. Profit leaders' sales per employee were significantly higher at $167,951.
Sales per factory employee for all printers stood at $202,879. For profit leaders, sales per factory employee averaged $209,331.
Printers use the Ratios reports to evaluate their performance against industry profit leaders. Specific reports are available for various firm profiles by size of firm, printing process, and print market segments.
