July 27, 2006 –Today, the camera giants Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. released their quarterly summaries for the period of April 1 – June 30, 2006, reporting increases in sales and operating profits.
Canon, the largest digital camera manufacturer, made sales of 1.03 trillion yen ($8.65 billion) in their second quarter (April to June), an increase of nearly 13 percent from the previous quarter, stated Canon’s report. Ranking as the second largest digital camera maker, Nikon reported 172 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in their first quarter (April to June), with a slight 10 percent increase from the pervious quarter, according to Nikon’s report.
Operating profits also increased in the last three months for both manufacturers. Canon’s operating profits rose almost 33 percent with a profit of 168.34 billion yen ($1.46 billion). Nikon’s operating profits jumped an overwhelming 74 percent with 24.2 billion yen ($200 million) this quarter.
Even with Nikon’s surge in profits, the company has not changed its predictions for the year, according to the Nikon press release. Nikon, which released the D200, D70s, and D50 last year, along with the newest D2Xs last month, maintains the same profit estimates due to the company’s concerns with oil prices and U.S. demand, according to Reuters.
Canon, on the other hand, has predicted expanded yearly operating profits to 690 billion yen ($6 billion) from the previous estimate of 680 billion yen ($5.89 billion) Canon, which released the EOS 30D this year, predicts steady digital camera demands in the U.S. and Europe and increasing interest from Russia, China, India, and Brazil, according to Reuters.
"Going into the second half, a slowdown in the U.S. and other global economic factors remain a concern, but we expect sales of digital cameras and laser printers will continue to rise," said Canon Senior Managing Director Toshizo Tanaka to Reuters.
