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Posts Tagged ‘plunge’

Slow start to year as camera production and shipping plunge

03 Mar
Photo by Arno Body

According to the latest data released by CIPA, the number of cameras made and shipped in the first month of 2018 barely reached 70% of the volume for the same period last year and the year before that. Not a great start to the year…

As usual, cameras with lenses built in—compacts and bridge cameras—continue to show the worst decline, with only half as many of these models shipped to the USA and Asia in January 2018 as there were in January 2017. But while production and shipments were quite dramatically down by volume, measurements by value are not quite so bad, indicating that a more high priced cameras are selling… or that camera prices are rising.

The value of interchangeable lens system mirrorless cameras produced actually rose by 8% even though the volume produced was only 80% of production last January—just fractionally ahead of DSLRs. Interestingly, DSLR shipments to Japan in that period were up on the previous year by volume and by value, but it was the only region that didn’t see a decline in this category.

Further figures released by CIPA demonstrate the market’s decline since 2016, and show that while January 2017 was almost level with January 2016, this year has started very differently. The decline of cameras with built-in lenses has dropped to only 60% of the number shipped in 2016, and more worryingly, graphs show that January 2018 shipment figures are well below almost every other month in the last two years.

Hopefully this is just a blip, and we’ll see the numbers jump back into the black (or closer to it) in February. For more information, visit the CIPA website, or check out the full report here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Interchangeable lens camera sales steady as Canon profits plunge

27 Apr
Canon calls out the EOS 80D as a driver for strong unit sales in the interchangeable lens camera market.

Canon Japan reported flat ILC unit sales as one of the bright points in first quarter reports that saw a 17.5% fall in net income. A strengthening Yen, poor performance in the laser printer business and continued decline in compact camera sales combined to give the company a tough quarter.

Overall, digital camera sales are down 12%, due in large part to a 22% decline in the dying compact camera market, though Canon cites its G-series as a bright spot. Interchangeable lens camera sales were flat compared to Q1 2015, propped-up by strong sales of the EOS 80D and gains for the M3 and M10 mirrorless cameras in Asia. Interchangeable lens cameras account now account for 49% of total unit sales and 84% of the company’s revenue.

While delivering ‘flat’ numbers might not sound very positive, figures provided by the Camera & Imaging Product Association show a nearly 10% year-on-year industry-wide decline in ILC unit shipments, as well as 17% YoY reduction in SLR shipments. In other words, Canon isn’t doing quite as poorly as it may sound just looking at the numbers.

Looking ahead to 2016 as a whole, Canon expects compact camera sales to drop 24%, though more expensive models like the G-series will help protect margins. The company states that it hopes to increase profitability of this line ‘through the standardization of parts and other measures.’ It also says it expects unit sales of ILCs to fall by 7% across the year. But, while it has slightly lowered its projections for income from its imaging business for 2016, nearly all of the reduction comes from the expectation that the Yen will stay strong, lowering the value of overseas sales.

For more details, have a look at Canon’s Q1 2016 financial statement.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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