Canon Profit Soars 56% In 1996

Japan's top computer printer maker Canon Inc yesterday unveiled record annual profits for 1996, aided by the global boom in personal computers and the weaker yen.

Canon, also a leading producer of cameras, said its parent current profits jumped 56 per cent to 125.23 billion yen ($1billion) in 1996, surpassing its previous record of 80.24 billion yen ($647 million) in 1995. Current profit is pre-tax and includes losses or gains on investments.

We'd like to attain the fourth successive year of growth in both profits and revenues this year, Canon director Tokuzo Tanaka said at a news conference.

Sales of computer peripherals, such as printers were the driving force for the company's whole business last year, he added.

 

Sales rose 13 per cent to 1.4 trillion yen ($11.2 billion), due largely to a 23 per cent rise in sales of computer

peripherals, including printers.

Helped by the boom in popularity of personal computers, its sales of computer peripherals in 1996 accounted for more than half of total sales last year for the first time ever.

New models of bubble-jet printers stimulated demand for home-use printers, while laser-jet printers, which are mainly used in offices, also sold briskly.

The weaker yen also helped buoy Canon's earnings last year, since exports account for about 80 per cent of revenues. Our export environment has improved on the yen's weaker trend from the previous year, the company said in a statement.

Canon officials have said that the weaker yen has increased its export income by 60 billion yen ($483 million) in 1996 by increasing sales and revenues from exports.

The earnings announcement came just when the Tokyo stock market ended the Wednesday session, but expectations for its bullish earnings results have already fuelled demand for the Canon shares despite overall gloom in the market.

The shares soared to a lifetime high of 2,670 on Wednesday, because its solid performance as a multinational has made Canon a prime choice for global investors who have been buying up the so-called Nifty Fifty blue chips in Japan.

The shares ended up 60 yen at 2,630 yen on Wednesday. Its previous lifetime high was 2,650 yen marked on January 29.

For this year, Canon said it expects parent current profit to grow 9.4 per cent to a record high of 137 billion yen ($1.10 billion).

Sales of cameras, Canon's other main business area, grew 20.6 per cent in 1996 from a year earlier, but analysts warned those sales may decline this year as the impact of the introduction of a new compact-camera format called the advanced photo system (APS) wears off.