If you’ve been wondering why Olympus has been quiet, their first quarter financial report holds the answers.
We were beginning to wonder what’s up with Olympus as we weren’t hearing much from them; we now have an answer. In the latest financial report shared by 4/3 Rumors, we found out the company isn’t doing so well. Apart from lower revenues marked especially in the mirrorless camera department due to “intensified competition,” Olympus also incurred some significant losses from operation problems.
According to the full first quarter financial report, the revenue for the company’s Imaging Business is down by 8% year-on-year, with both the mirrorless and compact camera sales down by 11% and 12%, respectively. “Revenue down 8% YoY following lower mirrorless camera sales as a result of intensified competition and supply delays stemming from production base reorganization.”
As if that’s not enough, another blow to the company’s Imaging Business is the ¥5.0 billion operating loss. This is attributed to the “expenses for production system reforms associated with the ceasing of operations at a Chinese manufacturing subsidiary.”
With these findings, Olympus fans can only hope the company’s upcoming high-end camera, set to be released in early 2019, will help mitigate the losses and counter the lower revenues. These figures could very well be enough motivation for the company to be more aggressive in marketing their cameras, especially since Nikon and Canon are going head-on in the mirrorless game. And the mirrorless market, as we’ve already seen in the latest CIPA shipping report, is doing much better than DSLRs, even more than compact cameras. That’s surely going to intensify the competition even more: Olympus better be getting ready!
As it is, we think it could be best for Olympus to transition into a higher-end company to justify their prices a bit more. Their cameras are some of the most gorgeous on the market and they arguably have some of the best ergonomics. The problem: lots of misinformation about Micro Four Thirds.
Head over to the full Olympus financial report if you want to pore over more figures and information.
Screenshot image from the Olympus First Quarter Financial Results
