Olympus' Camera Division Financials

[dornblaser]

I am surprised that no one posted this link to 43rumors yet. It confirms what we have been talking about for a while. http://www.43rumors.com/olympus-financial-report-company-doing-well-but-camera-business-in-loss/ It certainly explains why the PEN series is contracting. On the other hand, OM-D users should be a little less fearful.

 

[dhazeghi]

I am surprised that no one posted this link to 43rumors yet. It confirms what we have been talking about for a while. http://www.43rumors.com/olympus-financial-report-company-doing-well-but-camera-business-in-loss/ It certainly explains why the PEN series is contracting. On the other hand, OM-D users should be a little less fearful.

I guess I should be happy that they're focusing more on higher-end users - we really don't need 3 more versions of the kit zooms - but I suspect the de-emphasis of the Pens is going to mean that all the pancake lenses I've been hoping for won't make it to market.

 

[drd1135]

I like the Pens but they just aren't selling at higher prices. I still think the E-PLX line will become the high end model, and maybe the only model.

 

[fortwodriver]

Has Olympus' camera division, since the production of their modern camera designs with the original PEN ever generated a profit?

 

[lightmonkey]

no surprises there
their offerings are wayyyy too diverse.

1 serious slr-style body, 1 entry-level, both with IBIS as killer feature.
1 PEN with IBIS, and 1 PEN Lite to get people into the system.

thats all they should make

 

[dhazeghi]

Has Olympus' camera division, since the production of their modern camera designs with the original PEN ever generated a profit?

No, and in fact they seem to have lost money consistently since 2007 or so. However until recently it's been the compact digital cameras have been the main money-losers, with DSLRs and ILCs seemingly breaking even. That appears no longer to be true.

 

[fortwodriver]

No, and in fact they seem to have lost money consistently since 2007 or so. However until recently it's been the compact digital cameras have been the main money-losers, with DSLRs and ILCs seemingly breaking even. That appears no longer to be true.

Millions of those PEN cameras sold... Their OM cameras sold very well...

So if as far back as 1970 they weren't making money in the camera group... and all through the 80s and 90s they weren't making money in the camera group... Then onwards with no AF camera... Then digital with 4/3rds and finally up to where we are with m43.

Yet they're still around. Sounds like the medical imaging group wants them around.

 

[dhazeghi]

Millions of those PEN cameras sold... Their OM cameras sold very well...

So if as far back as 1970 they weren't making money in the camera group... and all through the 80s and 90s they weren't making money in the camera group... Then onwards with no AF camera... Then digital with 4/3rds and finally up to where we are with m43.

Yet they're still around. Sounds like the medical imaging group wants them around.

Sorry, I thought you were referring to the m4/3 PENs. I have no idea if their pre-digital Pen and OM efforts were profitable, but I suspect they were.

 

[Robstar1963]

The trouble with Olympus and Panasonic and many other Japanese companies as well as those from other countries is that
1. They produce too many models and
2. They update their model ranges far too frequently

This can be seen o have affected Panasonic with other

 

[dhazeghi]

Thom Hogan has a pretty good summary of where things stand.

The things that stick in my mind are that SG&A (Sales and General Administration) costs are at 50% and they have 250k unsold m4/3 bodies (and sold 510k bodies last year). It's going to be really hard to generate profits going forward when they have basically 6 months worth of unsold inventory sitting in retail channels, and their operating expenses outside of R&D and manufacturing are consuming 50% of their revenues.

 

[dornblaser]

Yes, it is a good article. The SG&A number is very high, I wonder if costs have been shifted to that division? The unsold bodies is amazing. What is most troubling, at least to me, is the very aggressive increase m4/3's that is projected forward. The didn't have the inventory in place when the E-M10 was launched, and lost sales, and I don't believe that a new OM-D is on the immediate horizon? I am not sure where Olympus sees the growth coming from.