Canon Inc. on Wednesday revised downward its full-year earnings outlook for the business year through December, citing flagging sales of digital cameras in China and Europe as well as the negative impact of the eurozone economic slowdown.
The maker of printers, photocopiers and cameras now expects to post a group net profit of ¥260 billion, up 15.8 percent from the previous year, but lower than the earlier forecast of ¥290 billion.
Its consolidated operating profit is expected to rise 17.3 percent to ¥380 billion, down from the ¥450 billion projected in April, while sales are expected to gain 10.6 percent to ¥3.85 trillion, compared with the previous forecast of ¥3.98 billion.
Canon Executive Vice President Toshizo Tanaka said at a press conference in Tokyo that its inventories of digital cameras are increasing even in China, where luxury single-lens digital cameras had been selling well.
Reflecting a slowdown in the global digital camera market, the company slashed its sales target of cameras with interchangeable lenses in fiscal 2013 by 200,000 units to 9 million units, and that of compact cameras by 500,000 units to 14 million units.
For the six-month period through June, Canon posted a group net profit of ¥107.41 billion, down 5.2 percent from a year earlier, due to the adverse effects from the European economic slump as well as declining demand in emerging markets.
It also reported a consolidated operating profit of ¥153.13 billion, down 12.6 percent, on sales of ¥1.78 billion, up 3.2 percent.