For the first time since 2008, Canon has seen Q2 sales exceed ¥1 trillion ($8.9 billion).
Sales in Q2 2018 rose 1.4% to ¥1.006 trillion, with operating profit also increasing 6.1% to ¥98 billion. The increases were driven by the launch of new products in each business sector, and positive unit sales growth in the Office business unit for laser printers.
Although the market for cameras continued to decline for the company, demand for laser printers continued to recover, mainly in emerging markets.
Broken down into businesses, the Office category saw a 1.5% increase to ¥477.7 billion, which includes laser printer sales of ¥183.5 billion. Operating profit also increased by 10.7% to ¥61.9 billion.
The Imaging Systems branch, however, reported a 7.8% decrease in sales to ¥260.5 billion, with operating profit decreasing 28.3% to ¥34.8 billion. Inkjet printers, which are a part of Imaging Systems, saw a 5.4% decrease to ¥73.9 billion, but the company said on the earnings call that it expects the overall market to increase this year in emerging markets.
Looking to the future, Canon is aiming for a second consecutive year of sales and profit growth, predicting a 1% and 19.3% increase respectively.
Tokyo, Japan