Canon posted their financial results for 2022. Despite haters, doom-predicting Sony-fanatics, chip supply issues, the ongoing war, and whatever, the company is doing fine.

As for the camera market, Canon says:

As for the camera market, despite concerns that consumer spending will decline, the demand of users, which mainly consists of professionals and enthusiasts – people that enjoy taking still images and videos – remained rock solid. Thanks to this, and the launch of new mirrorless cameras by manufacturers, the market grew to 5.85 million units in 2022, which is also the market size we expect in 2023.

In 2022, our sales were up by 120 thousand units to 2.86 million units, as we added to our lineup the EOS R7 and EOS R10, the first EOS R series cameras that use APS-C sensors. In December of 2022, we launched the EOS R6 Mark II, a full-frame mirrorless camera. This model offers high performance in both still-image and video capture, featuring, among others, enhanced autofocus functions, including subject detection, high-speed continuous shooting of up to approximately 40 frames per second, and high-quality 4K video recording.

In 2023, the new products that we launched last year will contribute to sales throughout the year. In addition to this, to facilitate our aim of 2.9 million unit sales this year, we plan to further strengthen our EOS R series lineup by, for example, introducing models that will broaden our base of interchangeable-lens camera users As for RF lenses, last year we added 7 new models to our lineup which now consists of 33 lenses. Going forward as well, we will continue to expand our RF lens lineup in order to meet
the diverse shooting needs of our users.

All financial results materials are available here.

Canon posted their Q3 2022 financial results. Things look pretty good.

Canon reports increased unit sales and henceforth increased profits. It doesn’t seem the company is struggling. Concerning the camera business:

Demand for cameras remains solid, even amid economic slowdown, thanks to the launch of new mirrorless models and interchangeable lenses by each company. As a result, we expect the market in 2022 to be 5.45 million units, a slight increase compared to last year.

In the third quarter, thanks to the higher volume of product supply and the addition of new models, namely the EOS R7 and EOS R10, mirrorless cameras that incorporate APS-C size sensors, we posted double-digit growth in unit sales, and coupled with an increase in lens sales, a significant increase in overall revenue.

Regarding our unit sales projection for the full year, we maintained our previous projection of 2.8 million units as we will not be able to supply enough products to meet demand. Going forward, we will continue to stimulate demand by steadily strengthening our lineup of EOS R series mirrorless cameras. Cameras that incorporate full-frame sensors, like the EOS R5 and EOS R6, continue to enjoy strong support from professionals and advanced amateurs. Additionally, the 2 new cameras that incorporate APS-C size sensors, with their light-weight and small form factor appeal, are encouraging users who want to enjoy serious photography to switch from SLR cameras or step up from entry models. We have also expanded our range of RF lenses to 32 models, providing users a variety of options.

Going forward, we will continue efforts to expand our market share and maintain high profitability by building a more robust EOS R system lineup.

Here are some selected slides from Canon’s presentation material.

All Q3 2022 material can be seen and downloaded here.

Canon published their Q1 2022 financial results. Nothing special here. Things are good for Canon.

From the presentation material, referring to the imaging sector:

Demand, mainly coming from professionals and advanced amateurs, continues to be strong as full-frame mirrorless cameras released by each company stimulates the market. As a result, we expect the 2022 market to grow by 5% compared to last yearto 5.65 million units, which also includes some carry over from last year due to supply shortages.

In the first quarter, unit sales of interchangeable-lens cameras were below those of last year due to product supply shortages. However, sales increased due to a rise in average selling prices, as we prioritized the supply of high-end models such as the EOS R5 and EOS R6, and also due to a significant increase in sales of RF lenses.

For the full year, even as the shortage of parts continues, we will continue to increase our product supply by using parts secured through purchases from new suppliers or by switching to alternative parts. At the same time, we will work to achieve our aim of sales and profit growth, fulfilling backorders to sell 3 million units, 10% more than last year.

This year as well, we will promote the enhancement of our lineup of camera bodies and interchangeable lenses, which include two new Super-telephoto fixed focal length RF lenses announced in February. As long telephoto lenses with focal lengths of 1200 mm and 800 mm, these lenses are extremely compact and lightweight,features that are expected to contribute to more people purchasing them.Going forward, we will continue to enhance the overall value of the R system,including bodies and lenses to solidify our position as a top manufacturer ofmirrorless cameras.

You can download all the Q1 2022 financial results material from here.

Canon released their annual financial results, and reveals strategies and hopes for the future.

Canon aims to become the number 1 in the mirrorless market.

As for cameras, although the overall market continues to shrink, this mainly reflects lower sales of entry-class models. In contrast, demand among professionals and advanced amateurs seeking high-quality image expression remains strong. Overall, the market seems to be bottoming out. Over the past several years, we have worked to raise the appeal of the EOS R system by enhancing our lineup with highly competitive full- frame mirrorless cameras and RF lenses. As a result, we have established a solid position in mirrorless cameras, and are now in a situation where we can target the top market share position. Leveraging this, we will not only increase our market share, but also strive to improve our product mix, and combined with the effects of structural reforms we have been implementing, we feel we have created a system that can generate stable, high profits. Going forward, we will continue to expand our lineup in response to user feedback, secure the global No. 1 market share position in mirrorless cameras, maintain the level of sales, and further increase profitability by expanding automation and improving development efficiency.

[…]

As for the new imaging business that centers on optical technology, for consumers, last year we launched the PowerShot Pick, the third of our new concept cameras, which can automatically recognize people and capture natural and rich facial expressions of your family’s daily life etc. without being aware of the camera. Additionally, for the video production business, our free-viewpoint video system is increasingly being used in corporate commercials, TV programs, and recently in broadcasting professional sports. In addition, we have successfully launched exciting businesses such as the IP remote camera system, which contributes to more efficient and labor-saving video production, and the EOS VR system, which enables easy shooting of VR video that is being utilized in a wide range of industries such as entertainment, tourism, and education.

Furthermore, as for future product development, we expect to mass-produce SPAD sensors by the end of this year, which can take color images with excellent color reproducibility even in the dark, and are expected to be used for various applications, including advanced monitoring. Additionally, in the smart mobility field, where significant growth is expected, we will continue to develop in-vehicle cameras and expand the scale of our new imaging business.

Canon also plans to release many RF lenses per year through 2025. In the presentation material they say at the “same pace” as in the last years. So this could mean up to eight new RF lenses per year.

You can download the presentation material and the conference speeches here.

Canon released the company’s Q1 2021 financial results. Things look good for Canon and they even increased sales predicitons. The Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 are driving camera sales.

Here are some excerpts from Canon’s presentation material (emphasis mine):

For Imaging, because the size of the camera market is already approaching the number of users that are particular about visual expression, we expect the market to be limited to moderate contraction going forward. As current sales of mainly new products are exceeding our plan, we raised our full-year projection for both sales and profit.

[…]

As for cameras, even amid continued restrictions on people’s movement, demand for cameras remains solid, supported by the need for high-quality visual expression. Based on this, we still expect the 2021 camera market to be up slightly or 5.8 million units.

In the first quarter, revenue was significantly higher than last year, as sales remained strong, driven by the EOS R5 and EOS R6 which were launched in the second half of last year. Additionally, the synergy effect of having competitive camera bodies and expanding our lineup of RF lens, which command high margins, led to an increase in average selling prices. This, and the establishment of efficient online sales activities nurtured through COVID-19 is leading to an improvement in profitability.

For the full year, reflecting the situation surrounding sales in the first quarter, we not only raised our projection for camera unit sales by 100 thousand to 2.9 million, but also raised our projection for revenue.

To further strengthen mirrorless camera lineup, in April we announced the development of a new model, the EOS R3, which is equipped with a backside illumination stacked CMOS sensor that achieves high-speed signal processing, which allows for a number of functional improvements such as continuous shooting performance. At the same time, we announced 3 new RF lenses, bringing the total to 22 and we will continue to enhance this lineup going forward. By raising the appeal of the R series, we aim to further raising our market share in the full-frame category and increase sales.

Additionally, for new types of cameras, such as the PowerShotZoom that was launch at the end of last year and has attracted quite a bit of attention for its ease of capturing long-range images with one hand, we are steady creating new markets.

Canon’s Q1 2021 documentation and material can be downloaded here. Previous Canon financial results are listed here.

Canon published the documents about the financial results in Q1 2018.

Things still look good for the industry giant. However, the increased profit is due to Canon’s chip making technology and efforts, as reported by Nikkei Asian Review:

Canon clinched a 4% rise in first-quarter profit despite weakness in its mainstay cameras and office machines, thanks to a chipmaking equipment business thriving on Asian demand for semiconductors.

Group net profit rose to 57.1 billion yen ($522 million) for the three months ended in March, with tighter controls on research and development and other costs also contributing to the higher result, the Tokyo-based company reported Wednesday.

All Canon Q1 2018 documents are available for the public:

• Results
• Presentation Material
• Speech Summary

For your convenience, the presentation material can be viewed below.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.canonwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/conf2018q1e.pdf”]