Canon third quarter net profit nearly doubles

October 27, 2010 | 15:56

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Japanese high-tech giant Canon Inc. said Wednesday its third quarter net profit nearly doubled to $812 million year-on-year on stronger office equipment and consumer product sales.

With the launch of new products and cost-cutting efforts offsetting the impact of a strong yen, Canon said its July-September net profit rose to 68.2 billion yen, an increase of 86 per cent on the 36.7 billion yen a year earlier.

The company used a rate of 84 yen to the dollar in its conversions.

Net income nearly tripled over the nine months ended September to 192.6 billion yen, up 174.9 per cent from a year ago with sales of single lens reflex cameras and laser printer demand recovering from the financial crisis.

Noting "uncertainty over future interest rate policies for major countries and other factors along with the effects of the fiscal concerns in Europe," Canon also revised its yen exchange rate forecasts higher.

It now expects the dollar to fetch 80 yen from a previous forecast of 90 yen. It forecast a rate of 115 yen to the euro.

The yen is currently hovering near 15-year highs against the dollar at around 81 to the greenback.

Canon raised its net profit forecast for the year to December to 245 billion yen from a previous forecast of 240 billion, up 86.1 per cent year-on-year, pinning its hopes on an economic recovery led by emerging nations.

AFP

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