360Photography

There’s plenty of bad news going around the camera industry lately. Companies once flush with cash from compact camera sales are now struggling to keep sales even. But despite the downward trend on a lot of camera manufacturers’ books, Sony is coming through with some positive numbers. In its latest year-end financial report, the company boasts a 30.4 billion yen increase in operating income for its imaging products division, despite a 1.7% year-on-year decrease in sales.

It’s a familiar story – Sony attributes the gain in income to a more favorable mix of high-value products, no doubt including its full-frame mirrorless line and premium RX-series compacts. Cost-reduction measures are also cited as contributing to the income gains. And though the upward trend is no doubt good for Sony, those numbers aren’t quite as impressive as they seem at first glance. The imaging division’s 2014 figures were hit by significant restructuring charges, bringing down the bottom line by 7.3 billion yen by the end of the year.

Even taking into account last year’s mark-down, Sony has put up some very strong numbers for its imaging products in 2015’s financial year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)