The OEM saw growth in net sales, operating profit and income in the first quarter of 2014.
The company’s results showed that net sales had increased by 6.3 percent year-on year to ¥868.3 billion ($8.4 billion/€6.1 billion), whilst operating profit increased by 50.9 percent to ¥82.6 billion ($802 million/€580 million), and income before tax increased by 34.1 percent to ¥79.2 billion ($769 million/€556 million).
The OEM stated that “demand for office multifunction devices and laser printers maintained steady growth”, though overall demand for inkjet printers fell slightly, and MFPs and laser printers “enjoyed steady growth” as net sales of inkjet consumables increased. Colour MFPs grew thanks to the imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5200 and C2200 series’ success, whilst high-speed continuous inkjet and wide-format machines saw “solid growth”.
Sales for the printing unit (excluding inkjet), came to ¥509.2 billion ($4.94 billion/€3.5 billion), an increase of 9.7 percent over 1Q2013, whilst operating profit for the unit came to ¥72.5 billion ($703 million/€508 million), an increase of 20.6 percent. Inkjet meanwhile saw a decrease of 1.8 percent in sales to ¥292.8 billion ($2.8 billion/€2 billion), and an increase in operating profit of ¥42 billion ($408 million/€295 million), an increase of 47.6 percent.
For the future, Canon expects to see “moderate” expansion in MFPs, specifically in colour, with laser printer demand “also expected to continue growing moderately”, whilst the “dwindling” demand for inkjets “is expected to come to an end with the economic recovery”.