By Kosaku Narioka
Canon Inc. shares fell sharply Thursday morning after the Japanese electronics maker posted disappointing third-quarter results and cut its full-year net profit forecast.
The shares were recently 6.2% lower at 3,137 yen after falling as much as 7.5% earlier. The Topix subindex for electronics makers was recently 0.1% higher and the Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.1%.
Canon said Wednesday after market close that net profit rose 9.7% from a year earlier to Y54.12 billion ($369.7 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That fell short of the estimate of Y68.55 billion by a FactSet poll of analysts.
The maker of printers, cameras and medical and industrial equipment said that while third-quarter revenue increased 20% from a year earlier to Y996.09 billion, its gross profit margin dropped 1.3 percentage points to 45.3% due partly to higher parts and logistics costs.
Canon lowered its net profit forecast for this year, projecting net profit to rise 16% to Y250.00 billion, down from its previous view of Y262.00 billion. It expects revenue to climb 16% to Y4.090 trillion.