Asian Pacific sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 decreased by 53%, compared to the corresponding period in fiscal year 2022, and included an unfavorable currency impact of 5%, when translating foreign sales to U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. The decrease in Asian Pacific sales primarily resulted from a reduced volume of shipments of Hurco and Takumi machines in China, Southeast Asia, and India.
Orders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 were $53,230,000, a decrease of $17,625,000, or 25%, compared to the corresponding period in fiscal year 2022, and included an unfavorable currency impact of $3,310,000, or 5%, when translating foreign orders to U.S. dollars.
The following table sets forth new orders booked by geographic region for the first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands):
| | | | |
| Three Months Ended |
| January 31, |
| 2023 | 2022 | $ Change | % Change |
Americas | $ 19,687 | $ 22,116 | $ (2,429) | (11%) |
Europe | 29,886 | 40,665 | (10,779) | (27%) |
Asia Pacific | 3,657 | 8,074 | (4,417) | (55%) |
Total | $ 53,230 | $ 70,855 | $ (17,625) | (25%) |
Orders in the Americas for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 decreased by 11%, compared to the corresponding period in fiscal year 2022, primarily due to decreased customer demand for Hurco and Milltronics machines.
European orders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 decreased by 27%, compared to the corresponding prior year period, and included an unfavorable currency impact of 7%, when translating foreign orders to U.S. dollars. The decrease in orders was driven primarily by decreased customer demand for Hurco and Takumi machines in Germany and France, partially offset by increased customer demand for Hurco machines in Italy and the United Kingdom.
Asian Pacific orders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 decreased by 55%, compared to the corresponding prior year period, and included an unfavorable currency impact of 4%, when translating foreign orders to U.S. dollars. The decrease in Asian Pacific orders was driven primarily by a decrease in customer demand for Hurco and Takumi machines in China, Southeast Asia, and India.
Gross profit for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 was $12,718,000, or 23% of sales, compared to $16,907,000, or 25% of sales, for the corresponding prior year period. The year-over-year decrease in gross profit as a percentage of sales was primarily due to the lower volume of sales of vertical milling machines across all sales regions, particularly the European sales region where we typically sell more of our higher-performance, higher-priced VMX series machines. Additionally, gross profit was negatively impacted by the allocation of fixed costs on lower sales and production volumes.
Selling, general, and administrative expenses for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 were $11,484,000, or 21% of sales, compared to $11,697,000, or 17% of sales, in the corresponding fiscal year 2022 period, and included a favorable currency impact of $581,000, when translating foreign expenses to U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes.
The effective tax rate for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 was 31%, compared to 32% in the corresponding prior year period. The year-over-year decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to changes in geographic mix of income and loss that includes jurisdictions with differing tax rates and a discrete item related to stock compensation.