Nikon and Olympus posted big jumps in quarterly profit today, helped by a weaker yen and robust sales of digital cameras, and raised their full-year forecasts.
The two Japanese camera makers have offered lighter digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras to attract new buyers, while focusing on profitability, rather than market share, to escape the industry-wide price slump in compact models.
Last year, the camera market saw a boom for entry-level DSLR, with new players such as Sony Corp. trying to bite into top maker Canon's more than 50 percent market share.
Nikon's operating profit was 36.6 billion yen ($303 million) in the quarter ended December 31st, up from 19.8 billion yen a year earlier.
Bigger rival Olympus posted a better-than-expected operating profit of 35.7 billion yen for the October-December period, up 66 percent from a year earlier thanks to strong sales of endoscopes, digital cameras, and the weaker yen. The mean analyst estimate for Olympus' quarterly profit was 23.9 billion yen.
The company raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 4 per cent to 94 billion yen, against a mean market consensus of 92.4 billion yen.
Olympus, which earns hefty returns from its dominant 70 per cent global market share in medical endoscopes, also said sales of its new products such as those designed for high-definition imagery are showing strong growth.
For the full year ending March 31st, Nikon also raised its profit forecast to 95 billion yen from an earlier target of 87 billion yen. The market expects a profit of 92.1 billion yen.