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Nikon earnings drop 71%


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"As if there wasn't already enough doom and gloom in the camera industry, Nikon has released its first quarter FY2020 financial results. Hit by a shrinking market and the initial costs of developing Z-mount lenses, Nikon has reported a huge 71% decrease in earnings and an almost 15% drop in revenue."

 

Is this the end of Nikon as we know it? Fiscal report shows 71% drop in earnings

 

Unrealistic to think people will keep buying and buying $$ cameras every year or two. It is not like getting the latest cell phone. Plus zillions of cameras out there in phones.

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I dimly recall that Nikon is part of some larger Japanese industrial combine, but can't find out what it is, if any.

 

I know that the camera business of Canon is just a part of a much larger company (Keiretsu) which some have speculated gives them more cushion from particular photographic 'trends'.

 

Can anybody point me in the right direction? My knowledge on these lines is limited to the German cases, especially the VEBs of the old DDR.

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From the article "Nikon has released its first quarter FY2020 financial results". Aren't we in 2019?

The relationship between fiscal years and actual calendars is mostly arbitrary. Nikon’s fiscal year 2019 ended March 31 and their Q1 2020 was April-June of 2019.

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I have read quarterly statement before, they still make profit, they make less of profit, but that's applied to all camera companies, including Sony.

And they are in 2020 fiscal year, starting from March 31:)

Thanks I did not know it for Japan.

But operating profit depends on many factors. Net profit matters for the whole year.

Yea, I know, I know, camera businnes is in decline.

People are oversupplied and overloaded with cameras.

New staff is ridicuosly costly. Not only Nikon, everything. Canon RF, Milvus lenses, Fuji GFX, Zeiss Loxia....

 

Once people got 50/1.7 for 200 USD and were happy!

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New staff is ridicuosly costly. Not only Nikon, everything. Canon RF, Milvus lenses, Fuji GFX, Zeiss Loxia....

Yes, any 1.8 or 2.8 lens cost a fortune now and their performance is mediocre. Camera makers successfully have squeezed out of market most of their advanced amateurs and semipros consumers. Sony wants $350CAD for nifty fifty, I personally will stay with my kit lens, it has pretty much the same optical quality at 50mm. For low light I have my trusty Canon 24-70/2.8.

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The amount of frustration with the camera industry is extremely large with consumers.

 

You have the professional photographers who have no choice but to get the latest systems, that's perhaps what 45% of the actual market?

 

They have brand loyalty in most things so once they go with a brand that's what they get.

 

The rest of the market is "I just want a camera" people and the amateur photographer. The average one will take the lowest priced entry level camera they can get and be happy with it. The well heeled will get the latest flagship model just to prove their photographic street cred.

 

Constantly changing out mount styles doesn't hurt. True pentax looses SOME income from selling new lens due to the 6 decades of K mount production, but someone can still put the new super lenses onto their K1000 and be really happy with lens quality. Or can put a 50 year old lens on their brand new pentax dslr body and be happy.

 

What really needs to happen is to look at the costs of production, and reduce them.

Actually, many current Pentax lenses don't have f/stop rings, so while they will physically mount to that vintage K 1000 they won't allow any choice of aperture except the minimum f/stop (f/22 or 32) that the lens stops down to.

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You have the professional photographers who have no choice but to get the latest systems, that's perhaps what 45% of the actual market?

No, it is not 45%, Canon 1DX Mark ll or Nikon D5 or Sony A9, they don't take 45% of market. Mid-range is probably most important segment, but mid-range lenses are become too expensive. What is a point to buy relatively "cheap" Sony A7lll if price of semi- decent lens is prohibitively high.

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The reason is: 16-18 Mp camera is enough for A2 print. The crowd of semi-pros seldom print A1 size. ISO 400-800 of older EOS-1Ds mk2 (let alone Mk3) is good enough and better than Fuji X-t3. (x-h1). Real quality of cameras doesn't grow so evidently, it;s all fuss over features. Instagram is not demanding to quality (0.8 Mp is enough) so why overspend? Many new lenses are flat rendering being brutally sharp and expensive. So, older cameras with classy low element count lenses are just pleasure.
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2007 camera technology (Olympus E-420), JPEG out of the camera (no editing I swear). Ideal for A3. Pocket size. Smokes every smartphone. Why overspend?

The boom in SLR and digital cam industry was 2005-2013, IMO.

 

[ATTACH=full]1306357[/ATTACH]

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"As if there wasn't already enough doom and gloom in the camera industry, Nikon has released its first quarter FY2020 financial results. Hit by a shrinking market and the initial costs of developing Z-mount lenses, Nikon has reported a huge 71% decrease in earnings and an almost 15% drop in revenue."

 

Is this the end of Nikon as we know it? Fiscal report shows 71% drop in earnings

 

Unrealistic to think people will keep buying and buying $$ cameras every year or two. It is not like getting the latest cell phone. Plus zillions of cameras out there in phones.

 

The Sky is Falling.

 

I really hate when people read so much stuff into ONE quarter of financial reports, and only look at the superficial numbers, without reading the notes and understanding how the accounting works. This is the problem of the unsophisticated investor. They don't really understand what they are reading, then they make a buy/sell decision based on flawed knowledge.

 

You have to look at the entire consumer photo industry, over a multi-YEAR period. And further evaluate the industry trends and projections.

Then look at Nikon, Canon and Sony's consumer photo division over the same multi-YEAR period. And any future projections.

What you will never know is the internal strategy of the companies.

Then evaluate if there is synergy between divisions.

Example, is the R&D of the consumer photo division helping the industrial or medical divisions?

Then you have to understand how R&D and new product introduction affects the financials.

And a LOT more.

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2007 camera technology (Olympus E-420), JPEG out of the camera (no editing I swear). Ideal for A3. Pocket size. Smokes every smartphone. Why overspend?

The boom in SLR and digital cam industry was 2005-2013, IMO.

 

[ATTACH=full]1306357[/ATTACH]

Attachment not visible.

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  • 3 weeks later...
"Hit by a shrinking market and the initial costs of developing Z-mount lenses, Nikon has reported a huge 71% decrease in earnings and an almost 15% drop in revenue."

 

So the total 'intake' of monies for Nikon has only decreased by 15%, BFD. Let's attribute that to smartphones and little P&S gizmos. Plus the give and take between manufacturers. Revenue is an external factor. The more notable thing concerns the internal change to a projected 71% drop in earnings. This is the remaining money, after COGS and presumably EBITDA. But there is no info declaring just how this number was pulled out of someone's statistical arse. Sounds like more of a management issue than a market one...

 

Unrealistic to think people will keep buying and buying $$ cameras every year or two. It is not like getting the latest cell phone. Plus zillions of cameras out there in phones.

 

The honest truth is that there is not a lot of need for that either. More status than function... :rolleyes:

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