Canon Inc. Reports Profits Up For 4th Quarter
January 27, 2010 - Fueled by sales of digital cameras and ink-jet printers, particularly in Asia, Canon Inc. of Japan has reported a net profit of 61.56 billion yen ($686.6 million) for its fiscal 2009 quarter, a net profit that is over five-times greater than the net profit of 11.62 billion yen it reported for 4th quarter 2008.
Operating profit for the 4th quarter was 92.13 billion yen--or twice that of the 35.83 billion yen the company report for 4th-quarter 2008 , while revenue was 954.06 billion yen, down 4.1 percent.
Canon attributes its surge in profits to sales of its consumer business segment, which includes cameras and ink-jet printers, in Asia and the Americas. The segment's operating profit surged 84 percent to 75.14 billion yen, due to cost cuts and sales of digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.
In the consumer-products market, Canon says that while demand for compact digital cameras remained sluggish and prices continued to decline, demand for (SLR) digital cameras enjoyed solid growth, especially in overseas markets. In the ink-jet printer market, although demand continued to be slack, which led to a reduction in market size compared with the previous year, Canon says conditions started to improve toward the end of the year.
For the entire 2009 fiscal year, Canon posted a 57-percent decline in net profit, and a 56-percent drop in operating profit, with the yen's strength hurting much of its sales overseas. Total fiscal 2009 revenue declined 22 percent.
With its encouraging 4th-quarter results, however, Canon remains positive for fiscal 2010, and expects continued strength in digital-camera sales and a gradual recovery in printer and MFP sales. The company expects a 52-percent rise in net profit for fiscal 2010 on revenue up 7.5 percent.
The company also says it's continuing on schedule to acquire Dutch printer maker, Oce, and hopes to complete its acquisition by March 2010. To date, Cano has purchased approximately 20 percent of Oce shares through the market.