Sales of Canon compact cameras fell 26% worldwide from April-June 2013 in volume terms (year-on-year) but demand for the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 6D DSLRs continued to grow and the EOS 700D ‘proved popular’ in Japan over the three months.
‘As for digital compact cameras, sales volume declined from the previous year due to the market slowdown and increasing popularity of smartphones,’ states Canon.
The firm says this was ‘despite efforts to increase sales through the introduction of new products such as the PowerShot SX280 HS – equipped with a high-magnification zoom lens that exceeds the capabilities of lenses offered by smartphones’.
Total camera sales revenue rose 0.8%, while Canon’s inkjet printer sales jumped 17.3% despite a 3% drop in units sold.
On the future of its camera business, Canon points to a ‘sense of a slowdown in China and Europe’, adding that its future priority will be on ‘profitability’.
Operating profit at Canon’s Imaging System Business Unit fell 17.5% for the first six months of 2013, compared to a year earlier.
In a statement accompanying its latest business results, the company adds: ‘Demand for interchangeable-lens digital cameras is expected to continue growing, owing to an expanded user base in developed countries along with market growth in emerging countries.’
In the UK, meanwhile, Canon reports that it came top in photo and video sales for the six months to June, in both volume and value terms, and was also ‘number one’ in compact cameras.
According to figures Canon says it received from market analysts GfK – which GfK would not confirm when approached by AP yesterday – Canon led the market in digital interchangeable-lens cameras and compacts for the month of June.
Separately, news agency Reuters reports that Canon has cut its interchangeable-lens camera sales target to 9 million, from 9.2 million previously. However, Canon UK was not able to confirm this to AP.
