Canon Publishes Financial Results 2014

Looking back at the global economy in 2014, although the United States and other developed countries were initially expected to bring about a return to a path of full-fledged growth, such expectations came up short due to the ongoing occurrence of such unforeseen circumstances as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In the U.S., despite the negative impact of the major cold wave that struck at the beginning of the year, the economy showed steady signs of recovery, buoyed by the improvement in employment conditions and healthy growth in consumer spending. In Europe, the economy remained sluggish due to such factors as the negative impact of Russia’s deteriorating economy on neighboring euro area countries. The pace of economic expansion in China was modest while other emerging countries in Southeast Asia and South America faced slowdowns in market growth due to economic stagnation. As for Japan, with the economy yet to recover from the decline following the rush in demand leading up to the hike in the country’s consumption tax, growth fell short of the rate recorded in the previous year […]

Within the Imaging System Business Unit, although sales volume of interchangeable-lens digital cameras declined owing to the shrinking market—in Japan as a result of the reaction following the rush in demand prior to the consumption tax increase, and in Europe and other markets due to worsening economic conditions—the advanced-amateur-model EOS 7D Mark II achieved healthy growth, enabling Canon to maintain the market’s top share. As for digital compact cameras, despite a decline in total sales volume, sales of high-added-value models featuring high image quality and high-magnification zoom capabilities, such as the PowerShot G7 X and PowerShot SX60 HS/SX700 HS, recorded solid growth, contributing to an improvement in profitability.