Canon has posted its financial results for the first quarter of 2020 and sales of cameras have dropped massively. The global pandemic is having a huge impact on the camera industry, and Canon is no exception.
The spread of COVID-19 “completely changes the global economic landscape,” says one of Canon’s first slides in its recent report to stakeholders, with the global economy facing its “worst recession since the Great Depression.”
It explains that factory shutdowns and reduced capacity has left the company short on some products and sales are suffering due to a drop in demand. Income Before Taxes (IBT) is down more than 25% when compared to the first quarter of 2019. Operating profit from its Imaging System division is down by more than 80%.
If that wasn’t stark enough, the report states that Canon expects the situation to worsen, with the assumption that results of the second quarter of 2020 will be even worse. Having recently launched the EOS R5, Canon plans to “stimulate demand with even sharper focus on professional and advanced amateurs.”
If this is the impact on Canon — a company that is so large and diverse that it is still generating profits, despite COVID-19 and this dramatic downturn — one can imagine that smaller manufacturers may face incredibly tough challenges in the coming months.
Will the camera industry be reshaped following the pandemic? Will some smaller companies disappear altogether? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
I think continuing to target the professional and advanced amateur market is the right move. Clearly the market is contracting and COVID19 has only intensified this process, the question is what market segments will remain and who can best position themselves to service this new market?
Impressive that the imaging department is still profitable!
Did you read the article?
Yes, I read it. I also read the source report. What's the problem?
System Op. Profit 0.9yen -80.6%
0.9 million yen to be precise. It's still larger than 0 and that's what surprised me.
well, they had january and february and part of march to make sales. people got bad info downplaying covid so felt comfortable to buy. but once lockdown came and shet became real. job losses, panic buying and spending more then they should. everyone now is in survival, hunkered down mode and isnt spending anything. im certain some are looking for good deals now on the used market
theres a delay till the numbers show up on the other side.
nikon and olympus have postponed releasing financial report for the first quarter. they dont want to scare anyone with the bad numbers not to buy. but when a company postpones, it does the opposite and doesnt build confidence
wait till you see those, you'll definitely be surprised. and from april, everything will go down a steep angle. its going to interesting to see as we havent seen such things in our lifetime.