Canon Australia announces 2003 financial results

Digital imaging leader continues to break revenue records

Canon Australia and the Canon Australia Group have announced their financial results for 2003 - a record year that closed with a record fourth quarter.

The Canon Australia Group - which consists of operations in Australia and New Zealand - reported revenue of $873.6m in 2003, a 9.3% increase on the 2002 revenue of $799.1m. The Group's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2003 was $243.9m, a 16.5% increase on the year-ago quarter, in which revenue was $209.4m.

Canon Australia's revenue in 2003 was $791.5m, a 9.1% increase on 2002 revenue, which was $725.3m. Canon Australia's revenue in the fourth quarter 2003 was $222.2m, a 17.3% increase on the year-ago quarter, in which revenue was $189.4m.

For both Canon Australia and the Group, 2003 was a record year that closed with a record fourth quarter. According to Mr Shuichi Tsukahara, Managing Director, Canon Australia Group, these results are testimony to the strength of Canon's overall business strategy.

"We launched our new Advanced Simplicity brand statement in 2003, to communicate our focus on providing imaging and information solutions that are so advanced, they're simple - a message that has resonated with customers, as it builds on their positive experiences with Canon," said Mr Tsukahara. "The result has been our record-breaking sales performance, for both the full year and the fourth quarter."

These financial results were made possible by the success of numerous Canon products and solutions in both consumer and business-to-business markets. Highlights included digital photography; home, office and professional printing; and software solutions.

Digital photography grew exponentially in 2003, and digital camera owners increasingly came to appreciate the quality, affordability and simplicity benefits of printing their photos at home. Canon is a pioneer of direct printing, which allows the user to connect a digital camera to a printer without a PC. In 2003, Canon also increased the market share of its digital video cameras and all-in-one home printers.

The EOS 300D demonstrated Canon's leadership in digital imaging in 2003, as it was the first digital still camera to bring professional features to an enthusiast's price bracket (sub-$2000). The fast-selling W8200 wide-format printer was another "hero" product of 2003, as it's the fastest wide-format printer of its size.

The continued uptake of colour in the office, combined with the leadership of the iR C3200 in the business all-in-one printer market, led to exceptionally strong sales across Canon's imageRUNNER range of multi-function business colour printers, particularly in the fourth quarter.

During the year, Canon invested heavily in extending the breadth of its software solutions, as evidenced by Velocity, which enables highly flexible printing in production and graphic arts environments, and imageWARE, Canon's document management software in the office. Both sold strongly.

Results summary

Canon Australia Group - revenue
Full year 2003: $873.6m
Full year 2002: $799.1m
Increase: 9.3%

Q4 2003: $243.9m
Q4 2002: $209.4m
Increase: 16.5%

Canon Australia - revenue
Full year 2003: $791.5m
Full year 2002: $725.3m
Increase: 9.1%

Q4 2003: $222.2m
Q4 2002: $189.4m
Increase: 17.3%

About Canon
Canon Australia (www.canon.com.au) was established in Australia in 1978 and is a subsidiary of the US$29.9 billion Canon Inc. group. The company is an industry leader in professional and consumer imaging solutions with a comprehensive product line that includes: printers, scanners, fax machines, video cameras, cameras and lenses, video conferencing, image filing systems, networked multifunction devices, digital and analogue copiers (colour and black & white). Canon Australia also operates its own lease finance service, Canon Finance Australia, which facilitates "one stop" shopping for customers wanting to lease or finance their equipment solutions. Canon Inc. is a top patent-holder of imaging technologies with a local R&D centre - CISRA (Canon Information Systems Research Australia) - based in Sydney.