Japan's Canon says Q1 operating profit fell 39%, cuts FY outlook

[TOKYO] Japan's Canon Inc on Tuesday reported a steeper-than-expected fall in quarterly operating profit due to shrinking global sales of compact cameras and weakening demand for laser printers in emerging markets.

The world's biggest maker of cameras and printers also cut its outlook for the full year ending December.

For January-March, operating profit dropped 39 percent to 40.1 billion yen (S$489.65 million), the company said. That missed the 67.74 billion yen average of five analyst estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Canon said it now expects full-year operating profit of 300 billion yen, lower than a previous forecast of 360 billion yen.

The company earns about 80 per cent of revenue overseas and is a major beneficiary of a weaker yen. It said it expects the US dollar to trade at an average of 110 yen through December compared with a previous assumption of 120 yen.

REUTERS