LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—April 27, 2004—Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ - news) and a leader in imaging technologies, today announced Canon Inc. first quarter 2004 consolidated net sales of 798.1 billion yen (US$ 7,529 million), which represents a year-over-year increase of 9.1% over the first quarter of fiscal year 2003.
Canon reported first quarter net income of 84.3 billion yen (US$ 795 million), or 95.50 yen (US$ 0.90) per share, which represents a year-over-year increase of 17.1%.
"We exceeded our projections and results, for the same period last year, in both net sales and profits. The increase in net sales was due to continued strong sales of digital cameras and color network multifunction devices as well as increased unit sales of IC steppers. Operating profit and net income increased over 10 percent compared with the same period of the previous year, despite the strong yen environment. This was mainly due to effects of increased sales volume and our efforts to realize cost reduction through the reinforcement of collaboration between development and production, and to reduce SG&A expenses. As a result, on a quarterly basis, operating profit and net income reached record high levels," said Toshizo Tanaka, Senior Managing Director and Group Executive for Finance and Accounting Headquarters, Canon Inc.
For more detailed information and tables, please refer to our Announcement of First Quarter 2004 financial results at http://www.canon.com/finance/index.html.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and is ranked #39 on the BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2003. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to future results, performance and achievements that are subject to risk and uncertainties and reflect management's views and assumptions formed by available information. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be considered forward-looking statements. When used in this release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project" or "should" and similar expressions, as they relate to Canon, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canon to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products by other companies, lack of acceptance of new products or services by Canon's targeted customers, inability to meet efficiency and cost reduction objectives, changes in business strategy and various other factors, both referenced and not referenced in this release. A detailed description of these and other risk factors is included in Canon's annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. Canon does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Note: In this release, U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of US$ = JPY 106, the approximate exchange rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market as of March 31, 2004, solely for the convenience of the reader.
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