Canon’s first quarter net sales increase
April 26, 2021
The OEM reports overall sales up 7.7% and profits up 114% as performance stabilises and sales grow for the first time in almost 3 years. For printing sales and profits were down.
Canon has released its first quarter 2021 financial results, stating it has seen a stabilisation in its business performance and achieving sales growth for the first time in 11 quarters, but printing sales and profits were down.
The company reports that in the first quarter of 2021 overall net sales were ¥842.7 billion ($7.82 billion/ €6.47 billion), a 7.7% increase year-on-year. Operating profit increased by 114.6% to ¥70.6 billion ($655 million/ €542 million).
For Printing, even amid weak demand for office print, Canon posted stable profit. The OEM posted a decrease in sales of ¥469.4 billion ($4.36 billion/ €3.6 billion), a 1.8% decrease but profits of ¥53.2 billion ($494 million/ €408 million), only a 4% decrease year-on-year.
In the first quarter, sales for inkjet printers were strong in each region to an extent that it was difficult to keep up with demand for mainly home-use models, Canon added. Sales in the Prosumer Printing segment, which Canon uses to describe the segment which includes its inkjet and small laser models, net sales were up 4.4% year-on-year.
In its analysis, Canon said that the Office MFD market was impacted the second wave of COVID-19, but the company sees that hardware sales will increase as people return their offices as they get vaccinated.
Sales in the Office Printing segment were “somewhat sluggish”, the OEM said, due to lower hardware and non-hardware sales as fewer people were in offices due to lockdowns. Canon said: “Because of this, we did lower our full-year projection, but still expect an increasing number of people returning to the office in the second half of the year, including in the United States which has been slow to recover, thanks to vaccinations. And as a result, we expect overall print volume to return to about 90% of its pre-COVID-19 level by the end of the year.”
To respond to the need for digital transformation in office processes, last year, Canon launched the imageRUNNER ADV DX series. Canon said that this product “has been selling well not only because of its price competitiveness, but also because parts can be easily replaced, and it is environment-friendly through reduced power consumption.”
For the Printing segment, Canon raised its outlook to reflect continued strong home demand for inkjet and laser printers. Net sales projections for the segment for the whole of 2021 have been increased by 8.3% to be ¥1,954.8 billion ($18.15 billion/ €14.99 billion).
Canon concluded: “We are able to flexibly respond to changes in the printing environment caused by COVID-19, through our diverse product portfolio that includes both electrophotography and inkjet technologies, and covers a wide range of applications from business to home use.”
Categories : World Focus
Tags : Business Canon Inc. Financials OEM
