In the financial results announced by Canon, the company showed a significant increase in profit inspite of the unsettled situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales for 2021 rose by more than 15% compared to 2020, while profit increased 53%.
Toshizo Tanaka, Canon’s Executive VP & CFO, told investors, “In 2021, we achieved significant sales and profit growth compared with last year when both were down significantly due to the impact of COVID-19. Even though sales were significantly impacted by the unsettled situation surrounding COVID-19, production bases being shut down, and component and logistical constraints that became worse, profit significantly exceeded the pre-COVID level of 2019, thanks to past efforts to continuously improve business activities.”
In production printing the varioPRINT iX series of high-speed sheet-fed colour inkjet presses earned favourable reviews and and sales of services and consumables increased due to the recovery.
Sales of office MFDs increased compared with the previous year as the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX series saw solid demand. In Southeast Asia unit sales of laser printers decreased compared with the previous year due to stagnation of production activity resulting from the resurgence of COVID-19 infections.
However, total Canon Inc. group sales were up 11.2% to ¥3,513bn and operating profit surged 155% to ¥281.9bn.
Looking ahead to 2022, Canon added, “Despite the resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to new variants, the impact on economic activity is expected to be more limited due to the progress of vaccination programs. However, the outlook for the global economy remains uncertain, with risks such as delays in the supply of semiconductor chips and high demand for international freight transport. Under these conditions, the global economy is expected to maintain a recovery trend over the long term, supported by various economic measures and fiscal policies in each country and region.”
Canon projected full-year 2022 consolidated net sales of ¥3,870.0 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%; operating profit of ¥332.0 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%; income before income taxes of ¥360.0 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%; and net income attributable to Canon Inc. of ¥245.0 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%.
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