14 DAY TRIAL // Nippon camera and optics manufacturer Canon has announced today the company's financial results for the 2013 fiscal year for all its business segments.
Regarding the company's imaging business, the last year's financial results show that sales have increased with 3.1% in comparison with last year, but only thanks to the substantial 16.2% growth registered by Canon's InkJet Printers division.
The actual camera sales for FY13 registered a decrease in sales of 1.7% compared with 2012's results. Moreover, the operating profit for 2013 has also registered a negative growth rate of 3.1%, 0.4 percent lower than the initial FY13 projection.
For the upcoming fiscal year, Canon plans to minimize losses with up to 8.6% and, at the same time, maintain the operating profit ratio at the same level as FY13.
“Within the Imaging System Business Unit, interchangeable-lens digital cameras maintained their top market share despite the challenging environment, which was marked by a drop in demand in Europe and China due to the economic downturn, although demand in Japan continued to expand,” said the company officials.
“In particular, the EOS 5D Mark III and 70D advanced-amateur-model digital SLR cameras continued to realize healthy growth. Furthermore, in Japan, the new entry-level EOS Digital Rebel SL1 and T5i cameras proved popular.”
When it comes to the compact camera market, overall sales have declined due to the increasing popularity of smartphones, but the company registered increased sales volumes for compact models such as PowerShot SX50 HS and SX510 HS, which pack larger sensors and longer zoom lenses than the ones current smartphones can offer.
Along with these results, Canon also announced the list of candidates that could be promoted or retired from certain managing positions within the company.
Recently, a few new patents have been discovered, reveal the company's plans for future digital camera and lens models, including: a global shutter, a curved diaphragm, as well as a few new mirrorless and DSLR optics.