Canon Sees Flat Sales of Printers in 3Q2014

According to Canon’s third-quarter results, its net sales decreased 4.5% year on year (YOY) to ¥872.2 billion (US$8,002 million). Operating profit fell by 20.7% YOY to ¥71.8 billion (US$659 million). Net income declined by 1.0% YOY to ¥58.2 billion (US$534 million).

Sales for the Office Business Unit totaled ¥482.3 billion (US$4,424 million), registering a YOY decline of 2.4%, while operating profit totaled ¥57.9 billion (US$531 million), decreasing 13.7%. Among laser printers, although color multifunction models recorded sales growth, total sales volume decreased slightly owing to the decrease in demand for monochrome models. Also, sales of consumables declined from the year-ago period, which had recorded strong sales.

Within the Imaging System Business Unit, for the market contraction due to the delay in economic recovery, especially in Europe and Asia, sales volume of inkjet printers for the quarter remained at the same level as the previous year while sales of consumable supplies increased from the year-ago period. As a result, third-quarter sales for the business unit decreased by 9.4% to ¥315.8 billion (US$2,898 million) YOY, while operating profit declined 23.9% to ¥43.3 billion (US$398 million).

The OEM predicted, “Demand for MFDs is projected to continue to expand moderately, mainly for color models, while demand in the laser printer market is expected to remain at the same level as the previous year. Looking at inkjet printers, demand is expected to contract from last year’s level due to the delayed recovery of the global economy.”