Sales of Xiangzhou-based Ninestar Corp printer brands Pantum and Lexmark grew rapidly in the first half of this year despite the negative impact of COVID-19 and a drop in total operating income.

Pantum, China's first laser printer brand with independent technology, recorded a year-on-year increase of 50 percent in global shipments during the January-June period. The shipment of related original consumables consequently grew by 60 percent from last year.

Pantum printers for commercial use sustained growth of more than 80 percent in profit against the global downward trend, and a year-on-year increase of over 30 percent in sales due to expanding overseas business.

Lexmark printers, another brand under the management of Ninestar, increased 290.62 percent in net profit compared with the previous year, despite a year-on-year decrease of 8.26 percent in overall company profits due to the epidemic.

Ninestar production workshop [Photo by Cheng Lin / Guanhai App]

Such outstanding performance cannot be set apart from the overall increase of Ninestar competitiveness. Headquartered in Nanping Science & Technology Industrial Park, the enterprise expanded production lines through strategic cooperation. Its self-developed medium and high-end black-and-white and color printers debuted in the first half of this year.

In the bigger picture, the trend of working and studying at home in China and elsewhere during the COVID-19 outbreak kept the market demand for low-end inkjet and laser printers strong.

In recent years, Ninestar has become the only company worldwide to realize an entire printing industry chain through the acquisition and controlling share of multiple renowned consumable parts, chip design, and consumable enterprises, including the acquisition of US leading printer and imaging products manufacturer Lexmax in 2016.

Looking ahead, construction of the Ninestar Laser Printer Hi-Tech Equipment & Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park -- the first of its kind in the country -- in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone, is well underway. Upon completion, it will be able to produce 4 million Pantum and Lexmark printers annually with output value of more than 20 billion yuan ($3 billion).

Occupying 600,000 sq m (148 acres), the first phase will be able to produce 2 million printers when it comes into operation in March or April next year.