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Posts Tagged ‘Division’

Canon Q2 financial results: Camera division still profiting, but down 93.9% year-over-year

31 Jul

Canon has published its second-quarter (Q2) financial results, which covers from the beginning April 2020 through the end of June 2020, and, as you would expect in these difficult times, the camera division isn’t looking all that great.

Canon made it clear in its first quarter (Q1) results that things would get worse before they got better; and Q2 numbers are the first concrete evidence of just how much the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt the camera division in an already-declining market.

Across all of its divisions, Canon reported a loss of ¥8.8 billion ($ 83.3M), marking the first time in its 82 year history the company has been in the red on a quarterly basis. Canon says in its investor presentation that the ‘impact of global economic stagnation [due to the COVID-19 pandemic] was inevitable as we faced rapid drops in actual demand in various businesses and were confronted with limited business activity.’

As for the imaging division, Canon reported net sales of ¥141.7B ($ 1.35B) and an operating profit of just ¥800M ($ 7.65M). While seeing any operating profit is good news in this environment, the numbers are still a stark contrast to Q2 2019. Net sales were down 30.8% and operating profit was down 93.9% year-over-year (YoY).

In the Imaging System breakdown, Canon attributes the decline in net sales to there being ‘fewer image capturing opportunities, such as travel and other events.’ due to COVID-19. Canon says it ‘will take time for sales to recover as cameras are considered a luxury item,’ but it’s projecting the entire market to be down 40% to just 5.4M units and its own unit sales down by the same proportion, to 2.5M.

In addition to Canon elaborating on its cameras being used as webcams for video conferencing and communication, Canon also says it plans to ‘enhance’ its concept camera initiative, with new models expected to be out before the end of the year.

Despite the big fall in Q2, Canon is expecting operating profit to only fall 66% for the full year, and sales by value only 20%. This suggests it expects models such as the R5 and R6 to make up for some of the poor Q2 performance. The company says these models and the RF lenses will ‘solidify our position in the full-frame camera market.’

Compared to Canon’s end-of-2019 projections, which anticipated total sales of ¥787B and an operating profit of ¥53.7 for the 2020 fiscal year, its new Q2 2020 projection for total sales of ¥643.9B and operating profit of ¥16.1B is a drop of 19% and 70%, respectively.

As for how it intends to handle the direction of its camera division post-COVID-19, Canon says it will ‘accelerate measures to streamline operations’ and ‘expand business areas that utilize optical technology.’ Specifically, Canon says it will ‘work to facilitate our aim of switching business domains, leveraging the optical technology we have cultivated so far, and reallocating resources to new fields such as automobiles and industrial-use sensors.’

Although acknowledging that the camera market has declined faster than anticipated (pre-COVID-19), Canon emphasizes that its position – that ‘sooner or later the market will settle down and consist solely of users that are particular about imaging’– has not changed.

Summed up, the numbers are down across the board, but they aren’t all that surprising considering the current state of the camera (and global) market. Canon expects to further expand the use of its sensor and optics technology to industrial and automotive use, but still plans to streamline its operations to make the most of its ILC and compact camera products.

You can read all of the financial results by visiting Canon’s investor relations webpage.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Report: Kodak Alaris has sold off its paper and chemical division to its largest Chinese distributor

13 Jul

According to Australian photo industry publication Inside Imaging, Kodak has sold its ‘Paper, Photochemicals, Display and Software’ business unit to its largest Chinese distributor, Sino Promise Group (Sino also distributes Canon, Epson and Noritsu photo printers and scanners) and transferred its film business to its Kodak Moments business unit.

The confirmation from Inside Imaging comes on the heels of a report that an announcement of the proposed sale was distributed internally within the company.

Sino has been manufacturing Kodak photochemicals as well as silver halide photo paper and dye-sub paper destined for the Asia Pacific market in its Xiamen factory since 2015 and has been manufacturing Kodak medical X-ray film, industrial film, photographic film, photographic paper and photochemicals at its Wuxi factory since 2016.

A screenshot from the ‘About’ section on Sino Promise Group’s website.

We reported back in February 2019 Kodak Alaris was looking to offload its paper and film division, estimated to be worth roughly $ 34 million at the time. Kodak Alaris went so far as to say in its 2019 financial report (page 16) that it expected ‘the successful completion of the sale of [its] PPF business in the next year.’

According to Inside Imaging’s report, there were multiple entities interested in the division, including Sino, Eastman Kodak (separate entity from Kodak Alaris) and even Chinese film company Lucky Film. In the end, it was Sino Promise Group that sealed the deal. Sino Promise Group was originally planning to purchase more of Kodak Alaris than just the paper and chemistry business, says Inside Imaging, but ‘withdrew at the last minute […] due to concerns with the accounts of the document scanning business unit.’ There’s no information on exactly how much the final deal was worth.

We have contacted Kodak Alaris ourselves to independently confirm this information and will update accordingly if we receive a response.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Ricoh spins off its 360-degree camera division, announces new ultra-compact selfie camera

10 Mar

Ricoh has announced it’s spinning off its 360-degree camera division into a new startup called Vecnos and simultaneously releasing the first product from the Ricoh-backed venture.

The Vecnos venture started back in 2018 when Ricoh decided, as part of its new business development initiatives, to create a team tasked with creating ‘specialized cameras for a new generation of consumers.’ This new team, led by Shu Ubukata (now Vecnos’ CEO), proved entrepreneurial enough to Ricoh that it decided to turn it into a separate startup, with Ricoh as the investor.

There’s not much information about Vecnos, aside from a bare Twitter account, but to drum up some interest, Vecnos has announced its first product, a 360-degree ultra-compact camera that’s designed to ‘reinvent the selfie for social media natives.’

Specifications are scarce for the prototype camera, but Vecnos does say it will feature a proprietary four-lens optical system with a single lens on the top and three lenses around the perimeter of the wand-like device. Vecnos says the camera will work with an upcoming mobile app that will allow users to ‘users can easily enhance and share their images and videos on social media platforms.’

Based on the above promotional video, the camera appears to function almost identical to the Ricoh Theta cameras, with the ability to capture 360-degree photos and video and recompose the content as you see fit using the accompanying mobile app. The device itself features a power button, a shutter button, a dedicated button for switching between still and video mode and a what appears to be a pair of holes for an internal stereo microphone.

No pricing information has been shared, but Vecnos says the camera will be available in 2020.

Ricoh spins out Vecnos to focus on consumer 360-degree camera segment

First product aims to reinvent the selfie for social media natives

MARCH 10, 2020, YOKOHAMA, Japan – Vecnos Inc., the visual revolution company, today unveiled its vision to be a leader in the consumer 360-degree camera market and announced its first product, an ultra-compact camera that aims to reinvent the selfie for social media natives. Vecnos is a new startup venture spun out of and funded by Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Vecnos was founded by the core team that designed and launched the pioneering Ricoh Theta 360 camera in 2013. At Vecnos, the team—led by CEO Shu Ubukata—will leverage its expertise in optical and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to develop new approaches to 360-degree and other specialized cameras, software and apps with a goal of making advanced imaging accessible to and enjoyable for broad consumer audiences.

“Enabled by advances in technology, combined with new social networking platforms, we are building a new generation of cameras, with our first product designed to reinvent the selfie and be used by a younger consumer,” explained Ubukata. “Our objectives are to combine ease of use with advanced capabilities for shooting, enhancing and sharing images, in beautiful and elegantly designed products that people will want to use. We aim to inspire a new generation.”

Vecnos’ first product will be a 360-degree camera that achieves new levels of miniaturization in a sleek and sophisticated design. A proprietary four-lens optical system, with three lenses on the side, and one on the top, enables the camera to be ultra-slim and pen-shaped. Using the Vecnos app, users can easily enhance and share their images and videos on social media platforms. The 360-degree camera and app will be available in 2020.

Emerging from Ricoh’s new business development initiatives, Vecnos was founded on the principles of open innovation and leveraging third-party knowledge, said Ricoh Company, Ltd. President and CEO Yoshinori “Jake” Yamashita. He explained: “Ricoh has always been committed to supporting innovation in visual communications. As part of our new business development initiatives, a team led by Shu Ubukata was formed in 2018 to create specialized cameras for a new generation of consumers. Ultimately, we all realized that it made sense for this highly entrepreneurial team to be spun out into its own venture. And with that, Vecnos was born. Ricoh is proud to be the lead investor in a young company with a Ricoh pedigree and a vision to build revolutionary products.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown

29 Nov

The post News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

olympus denies shutdown rumors

Olympus photographers, look out:

Over the past few weeks, the future of Olympus’s camera business has been the subject of much speculation.

It started when a Personal View admin argued that the Olympus camera division was on the way out, claiming that “closure is near,” and it can “happen in less than 8 months.” The article stated that “it is total instability now in [the Olympus] camera division,” and went on to say that “in various countries, people are running and looking for new positions.” The author also pointed to an Olympus financial report, which revealed that camera revenue has fallen by 17%.

Yet this was rebutted by Olympus; the company quickly released a statement:

Olympus Imaging products play an important role as technology drivers for all Olympus business lines, including the advanced digital technologies used in Olympus’ Medical, Industrial and Scientific businesses. Olympus does indeed plan to continue to develop its imaging produce lines, bringing products to life that embody Olympus’ core benefits, including system compactness and superior lens optics.

For Olympus shooters out there, the relief was short-lived. Because just days later, Bloomberg published an article reporting that the Olympus CEO, Yasuo Takeuchi, “backtracked on some his comments in the past that the camera business was not for sale, saying that may not be the case anymore.” This was followed by Bloomberg reporting that “Olympus plans to regularly reassess its business portfolio to focus on its medical business.”

As expected, this resulted in another swarm of rumors and speculation, which were acknowledged in a recent statement by Olympus:

As announced in our Corporate Strategy, Olympus is further focusing on our Medical business and follows the strong ambition for all of our businesses to be profitable and contribute to our overall business objectives. In that regard, we are continuously evaluating our overall portfolio, as announced in our Corporate Strategy on November 6, 2019.

For Imaging, however, we currently have no plans to sell the business. The task is therefore to stabilize and strengthen its market position. To achieve that, we are actively running marketing activities, and have already established a clear and exciting product roadmap for the coming months and years. We are actively pursuing future technology developments that will enhance photography and video for creators. Furthermore, Imaging is and will continue to be an important technology and innovation driver for our other businesses.

Our Imaging business features a unique product portfolio. Olympus products are compact and lightweight, feature market leading image stabilization and autofocus. Many of our high-end products are also splash-proof. No other product offers customers this level of optical excellence paired with the highest mobility.

Just last month we launched our new OM-D E-M5 Mark III – a light yet feature packed addition to our semi-pro camera portfolio, inheriting pro-features like a high precision AF from our OM-D E-M1 Mark II model. Furthermore, we have announced the development of M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO earlier this year to be launched by next year. Customers can follow our break-free campaign on various channels and worldwide.

Out of everything that has been said, I find this statement to be the most reassuring, but I don’t think it puts the speculation entirely to rest. Olympus’s “no plans to sell the business” line doesn’t sound as firm as it could (compare it to a possible “we won’t be selling the business”), and plenty of companies have launched products right up until the end.

What seems most plausible to me is that Olympus is keeping its options open. So while we shouldn’t be surprised if Olympus’s camera division continues to function, it shouldn’t come as a shock if Olympus announces the sale or shutdown of its camera business, either.

So I’d like to know what you think. Do you find Olympus’s statements to be reassuring? Do you think Olympus will continue to manufacture cameras? For the Olympus photographers out there, are you worried? Let me know in the comments!

The post News: Olympus Denies Rumors of Camera Division Shutdown appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Olympus issues statement disputing rumors its imaging division will shut down within a year

16 Nov

Last weekend, an administrator for a Personal View forum claimed ‘closure is near’ for Olympus’ camera division, spurring a number of rumors that Olympus would shut down within a year. Since then, Olympus’ has issued a statement to Sina Finance News (translated) that suggests these rumors are little more than hearsay.

The post was made by a Personal View adminitrator who goes under the username Vitaliy_Kiselev. It included two images of Olympus’ latest financial presentation and said underneath that Olympus’ camera division is in ‘total instability’ with various Olympus employee’s ‘running and looking for new positions.’

A screenshot of the forum post made on the Personal View forums on November 9, 2019.

Vitaliy_Kiselev went on to say in the post that ‘rumors and talks’ suggest Olympus’ camera division will shutter some time between ‘January-March,’ presumably this upcoming year, and ends by claiming there are talks ‘that [Olympus’] development team and some equipment can be picked either by Sony or Samsung.’

In response to the aforementioned post, Chinese financial publication Sina Finance News asked Olympus to comment on the rumors to confirm or deny their accuracy. Olympus’ official response was (machine-translated):

‘The image business has always been the driving force of technology, including imaging technology and mass production technology, for medical and The science field has made tremendous contributions. As stated in the new business strategy, since the imaging business and the scientific business are important businesses supporting the company, we will continue to work on the improvement of profitability and efficiency in these two business areas.’

Sina Finance News followed up to further question what the plan was for Olympus’ imaging and scientific business considering there was no specific mention of either of these divisions in its most recent financial presentation material. In response, Olympus said (machine-translated):

Detailed information about these business plans can be found in the next quarter’s earnings.

While Olympus’ answers are vague, the statements suggest that Olympus is continuing efforts to keep its imaging division alive. It’s possible these statements aren’t in contention with the forum post made by Vitaliy_Kiselev, but it does seem much less damning than the initial reports suggest.

We have contacted Olympus regarding these rumors and will update this article with a statement if provided.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony investor calls for complete spin-off of sensor division

15 Jun

Sony’s semiconductor division (which makes its image sensors) has for years been one of the most successful business units within the Japanese company, generating 16 percent of Sony’s total operating profit in the fiscal year ended in March. It was spun off as a separate company in 2015 but remained a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony that’s under its full control and direction.

Now several business publications report that American activist investor Daniel Loeb who runs a fund that owns a $ 1.5 billion stake in Sony is calling on the company to separate its sensor business completely ‘to unlock the Japanese group’s true worth as a global entertainment powerhouse.’

The investor wants the business unit to become a completely independent public company with its own stock listed in the Japanese stock exchange.

The investor wants the business unit to become a completely independent public company with its own stock listed in the Japanese stock exchange. This would allow Sony to focus on its entertainment businesses, including gaming, music, movies, and television while the image sensor business could thrive on its own.

‘When you think of Sony, you think of the Walkman, you think of the consumer electronics business, you know they own a movie studio and some music, but you don’t think of them as a Japanese national champion in technology, with a $ 20 billion going to $ 35 billion valuation business in sensors,’ Loeb told the Financial Times. He later says:

‘As a standalone public company listed in Japan, Sony Technologies would be a showcase for Japan’s technology capabilities. Rather than just an uncut rough stone buried inside Sony’s portfolio, Sony Technologies would be visible as a Japanese crown jewel and technology champion.’

However, a Reuters report lists a few reasons why a total separation could not be such a great idea. 90 percent of Sony’s chips revenue comes from smartphones which makes the unit particularly vulnerable to the business dispute that is currently being fought out between Washington and Beijing. Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, which has been banned from working with US technology firms is a major Sony customer, which is why recently analysts at Jefferies have decreased the Sony chip business’ operating profit forecast by 45%.

On the other hand, smartphones use more and more cameras per device and the demand for cameras and image sensors is increasing in other sectors as well, for example automotive.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony’s financial report shows 2% YOY growth for its ‘Imaging Products and Solutions’ division

18 May

Editor’s note: Keep in mind that each company groups different products under their respective ‘Imaging’ category, so there may be slight differences in what products and services are offered in the financial details. However, the categories are broadly similar and comparable, and we’ve done our best to account for those differences using available information.’

If you were to look at the most recent financials of Canon, Nikon and a few other camera manufacturers, it would seem the camera industry as a whole is facing a crisis. But not everyone in the imaging market is struggling, as Sony’s latest financials show.

Sony has published its latest annual financial report and inside a number of interesting details have emerged. Sony’s 2018 fiscal year (2018FY), which ended March 31, 2019, saw increased sales of 14.6 billion yen for its Imaging Products and Solutions division for a total of 670.5 billion yen. This amounts to a two percent year-over-year (YOY) growth, accounting for loss due to currency conversion.

A small snapshot from Sony’s financial report showing the sales numbers (in millions of yen). On the left are the numbers are through March 31, 2018, while numbers bolded in the center are the numbers through March 31, 2019. The numbers on the right are the difference between the two years.

While two percent might not seem impressive, Nikon’s imaging division reported a 17.9 percent decrease while Canon reported an annual decrease of 11.3 percent YOY.

Sony specifically mentions in its report (starting on page 26) that ‘[the] increase was mainly due to an improvement in the product mix reflecting a shift to high value-added models such as mirrorless single-lens cameras and the interchangeable lens lineup, partially offset by a decrease in compact digital camera unit sales reflecting a contraction of the market.’ Sony also says reductions in operating costs helped to reduce to YOY numbers.

In a year when it seems nearly every other company manufacturing cameras is showing decreasing profits YOY, it seems Sony managed to find a way to keep profits growing throughout 2018.

Update (May 17, 2019): The last paragraph in this article has been removed and rephrased to account for the discrepancies in the fiscal years between companies.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Olympus celebrates its 100th birthday with a short documentary on its imaging division

13 May

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Olympus has shared a trio of short documentary videos showing the history and subsequent evolution of its three primary business divisions: medical, scientific solutions and imaging.

The above video, officially titled ‘Olympus 100th Anniversary Documentary: A Great Moment,’ shares not only the history of Olympus’ imaging division, but also interviews with Olympus research and development executives, camera store technicians and Pulitzer Prize-winning National Geographic photographer and Olympic visionary Jay Dickman.

Olympus has also created a dedicated website for its centennial celebration, which includes a timeline of the history of Olympus products, from the first microscope it produced to the launch of its mirrorless camera system and beyond.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Report: GoPro has laid off 200-300 more staff from its drone division

06 Jan

Californian action camera manufacturer GoPro has laid off between 200 and 300 staff, according to a report by TechCrunch. The report claims the redundancies have been made in the division of the company that builds it aerial offering—the Karma drone—and that GoPro cited a need to “better align our resources with business requirements” as the reason for the layoffs.

GoPro has suffered in recent times, with its share price taking a hammering and profits showing in negative figures. One of the main reasons for this was the much-anticipated Karma drone, which had to be recalled after it was discovered the battery could shake itself loose, causing the device to lose power mid-flight and plummet back to Earth.

The company claims that, since returning to stores, Karma has been the number 2 best-selling drone priced above $ 1,000 in the US for a period of six months up to September 2017. Even so, it would have faced (and still does) stiff competition from former partner DJI.

GoPro’s November report to shareholders announced increased revenue of $ 300 million, up 37% on the same quarter last year, and a gross margin of 40%. The company was in profit too, making $ 15 million against a loss of $ 104 million in the third quarter of 2016. However, the share price has remained low, with current trading at $ 7.51 against a high of $ 90 in October 2014.

After 370 job cuts in 2016 and early 2017 the company stated that it employed 1,327 people, but that number is now set to drop to close to 1,000, according to the TechCrunch report.

GoPro, which has been operating under the name since 2004, hasn’t commented on the claims, but the job losses have come between the end of the financial year (December 31st) and the company’s annual report, which would seem the logical time to do it.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Panasonic likely to scale-back camera division

28 Mar

Panasonic is likely to significantly scale-back its camera business, according to a report by Japan’s largest business newspaper. The Nikkei Asian Review says the move is one of the proposals of a report prepared by the company’s business planning department.

Like all large electronics makers, Panasonic has found it hard to make profit in an industry with increasingly tight margins. The report puts forth ways to rationalize the business, sell or close loss-making groups and focus on the company’s areas of strength.

The paper identifies three businesses: ‘digital cameras, private branch exchange telephone systems and optical disk drives,’ which, it says: ‘will be dismantled. Each will be scaled back and placed under the umbrella of other operations, with headcount to be reduced.’

With the number of compact cameras being sold having fallen precipitously and the interchangeable lens camera market stagnant, the digital camera division is an obvious target for cuts as part of the company’s restructuring.

The Nikkei also says that ‘In the chip business, the company is weighing unloading shares in a joint venture with an Israeli enterprise,’ presumably a reference to the TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor joint venture that builds CMOS sensors, amongst other things.

Panasonic’s financial year ends on March 31st, so we’ll be watching the announcement of its 2017/18 plans for signs of the report being implemented.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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