“Although sales were significantly affected by the unsettled situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, profit significantly exceeded pre-COVID 2019 profits,” Canon said. Production printing sales for 2021 rose by more than 15% compared to 2020, while profit increased 53% to ¥225.7bn. Total Canon Inc. group sales were up 11.2% to ¥3,513bn and operating profit surged 155% to ¥281.9bn.
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| In Sept 2021, Canon launched four new imagePROGRAF GP series large format printers with aqueous fluorescent ink |
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| "Significant sales and profit growth": Toshizo Tanaka, Canon executive VP & CFO |
“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,” Toshizo Tanaka, Canon’s executive VP & CFO, told investors. “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 the Printing Business Unit, unit sales of office MFDs increased compared with the previous year as the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX series saw solid demand and demand for MFDs continued to recover despite the shortage of semiconductor chips. Sales of services and consumables increased due to a recovery in office occupancy rates.
“For equipment in the production printing market, the varioPRINT iX series of high-speed sheet-fed colour inkjet presses earned favourable reviews, and sales of services and consumables increased due to the recovery,” Canon said. “As for laser printers, unit sales decreased compared with the previous year due to stagnation of production activity resulting from the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia.
“However, sales of consumables increased significantly compared with the previous year, during which time demand had decreased. For inkjet printers, unit sales were below those of the previous year due to stagnation of production activity in Southeast Asia. However, unit sales of refillable ink tank printers were above those of the previous year due to solid global demand. Total sales were above those of the previous year due to a focus on higher-priced models. These factors resulted in total sales for the business unit of ¥1,938.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, while income before income taxes increased by 53.1% year-on-year to ¥233.0 billion.
“As for the Industrial & Others Business Unit, regarding semiconductor lithography equipment, unit sales increased compared with the previous year due to strong demand in a wide range of products such as sensors and memory. For FPD lithography equipment, demand for panels used in devices including laptops, tablets and high-resolution display panels remained strong. As a result, unit sales increased significantly compared with the previous year, when equipment installation stagnated due to circumstances related to COVID-19. These factors resulted in total sales for the business unit of ¥545.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%, while income before income taxes totaled ¥44.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 105.9%.”
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%.
