Canon cuts profit outlook as camera slump drags on

TOKYO — Japan’s Canon Corp cut its operating profit outlook for a second quarter in a row as a slump in the market for high-end cameras dragged on with a sharper-than-expected slowdown in emerging markets.

The world’s largest camera maker said it now expects to sell 8 million interchangeable-lens cameras in the year to end-December, down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 9 million and below last year’s total of 8.2 million.

It lowered its full-year operating profit forecast to 360 billion yen ($3.70 billion) from previous guidance of 380 billion yen. That compares with an average of 378.5 billion yen based on 23 analysts’ estimates according to Thomson Reuters Starmine.

source: interaksyon.com

Canon enters post-DSLR era with mirrorless camera

TOKYO — Canon Inc said on Monday it would sell its first mirrorless camera from mid-September in a bid to tap a growing market for small, interchangeable-lens cameras that rival Nikon Corp entered last year.

Canon will manufacture 100,000 of the cameras a month, the company said in a statement.

Mirrorless models have large sensors, providing good picture quality, but no optical viewfinders. That enables manufacturers to keep the camera body smaller and lighter.

In Japan, where consumers tend to value easily portable products, mirrorless cameras account for around a third of all interchangeable lens models. In the United States, their market share is closer to a tenth.

Canon’s move will ratchet up competition with Nikon, its main rival for hefty single-lens reflex cameras used by professional photographers and enthusiasts.

Shares of Canon were down 3 percent and Nikon was 2.6 percent lower on Monday afternoon, underperforming Tokyo’s broad Topix index, which lost 0.9 percent.

source: interaksyon.com