Office equipment maker Xerox has announced fourth-quarter profits rose 15 per cent, fuelled by solid demand for new digital colour printers and document services.
Xerox, best known for its copiers, said fourth-quarter net income, after paying preferred dividends, rose to $226 million, or 24 cents a share, from $197 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts had forecast a profit of 23 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose 1 percent to $4.33 billion, including a benefit of 3 percentage points from the weak US dollar.
Equipment sales grew about 3 percent in the fourth quarter and revenue from colour systems surged 21 percent.
Fourth-quarter revenue from Xerox's targeted growth areas - office digital, production digital and value-added services - grew 5 per cent and now represents about 76 per cent of the company's revenue.
Looking ahead, Xerox forecast first-quarter earnings in a range of 17 cents to 20 cents per share.