Canon Inc. announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2015 (2Q 2015).
Net sales of JPY ¥974.4 billion（USD $7.9 billion）shows an increase of 5.1%, compared to the same period last year, while net sales for the six months ending on June 30, 2015 totaled JPY¥1,831.9 billion（USD &14.8 billion）, a year-on-year increase of 2.0%.Gross profit, which represented 51.7% of sales, increased 4.2% year-to-year (YTY) to JPY ¥503.8 billion（USD $4.1 billion）. The gross profit ratio remained at a high level due to highly profitable new products and ongoing cost-cutting activities. Operating profit declined by 5.3% YTY to JPY ¥104.7 billion（USD $847.6 million）, as operating expenses increased 7.0% year on year to JPY ¥399.1 billion（USD $3.2billion）. In the second quarter, Net income was JPY ¥68.2 billion (USD $552 million), down 15.7% compared to the same period last year.
Other income (deductions) saw a decline of JPY ¥7.9 billion (USD $64 million), resulting in a year-on-year decline in income before income taxes of 11.7% to JPY ¥103.2 billion (USD $835 million) and a decrease in net income attributable to Canon Inc. of 15.7% to ¥68.2 billion (USD $552 million). Operating profit for the first half of the year decreased by 11.5% to ¥170.9 billion (USD $1.4 billion) while income before income tax decreased by 16.1% to ¥164.5 billion (USD $1.3 billion) whilst first-half net income attributable to Canon Inc. decreased by 20.5% to ¥102.1 billion(USD $827 million).
Results regarding market segments indicated that office multifunction devices (MFDs) and laser printers continued to show strong demand, particularly for color models. Despite the steadily growing demand for color models, total sales volume for laser printer decreased due to weak sales of monochrome models. As a result, sales for Office business unit totaled JPY ¥537.0 billion (USD $4.3 million), up 2.8% year-on-year, while operating profit for the unit declined of 9.9% to JPY ¥79.4 billion (USD $643 million), due to the increase in R&D and other expenses.
Forecasts for the third quarter indicates that demand for MFDs (color models in particular) and color multifunction models in the laser printer market continue to expand. Considering the weak market conditions in Southeast Asia countries, inkjet printers, as indicated, will see a year-on-year decline in sales.
