The OEM has released its FY2020 results, exceeding net sales projections by ¥20 billion ($192 million/ €158 million).
In 2020, Canon posted figures that exceeded its previous projection, in particular profit, mainly thanks to the Imaging System Business Unit, total net sales were ¥3,160.2 billion ($30.3 billion/ €24.9 billion). Canon exceeded its previous projection for net sales, operating profit, and net income by ¥20.2 billion ($193 million/ €159 million), ¥46.5 billion ($446 million/ €368 million) and ¥31.3 billion ($300 million/ €248 million), respectively.
Canon recorded a 12.1% year-on-year decline on net sales and profits declined 36.6%.
The Office business unit recorded net sales of ¥1,440.2 billion ($13.8 billion/€11.4 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 17.8% but a ¥9.2 billion ($88 million/ €73 million) increase of previous predictions.
Due to COVID-19 many offices were closed in 2020. As a result, the office equipment market, which includes MFDs and laser printers, declined significantly. In 2021, although Canon does not expect the market to return to its pre-COVID-19 level, mainly due to remote working taking hold, the company does expect the market recovery to progress from its 2020 level.
Canon said that sales of MFD hardware in 2020 steadily improved with each passing month. As a result, its fourth-quarter sales, recovered to around 90% of what they were in the same period in 2019, leading Canon to expect a recovery in its sales to a pre-COVID-19 level in 2021.
As for print volume, in addition to North America, Canon said it saw a slowdown in the rate at which people were returning to the office in Europe and other regions due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Canon expects fourth-quarter 2021 non-hardware sales to recover to around 90% of its pre-COVID level.
Canon stated: “Under conditions where we cannot expect the market to grow, we are promoting efficiency in product development and reduction in production cost through the sharing of product platforms. From the new products that we will launch this year, we will combine our strength of offering products that are very durable and reliable, which are features that are highly valued by the market, with competitive pricing, which will work to grow our market share and expand sales.”
As for laser printers, although some of the expanding demand resulting from working and learning from home was met by low-speed models, overall sales in 2020 were down as sales of medium- and high-speed models as well as consumables decreased significantly.
In 2020, the inkjet printer market grew, driven by working and learning from home in regions and countries such as Europe, the United States and China. In line with this trend, Canon said its sales increased as well, thanks to sales growth of both hardware and consumables, especially in refillable ink tank models.
Canon expects net sales to grow in 2021 by 7.6% to ¥3,400.0 billion ($33 billion/ €27 billion) and said: “In 2021, we aim to raise profitability to the same level as 2019. We will do this through a significant increase in sales, which to a certain extent reflects the low level of sales in 2020, and through efforts to limit expenses as a percentage of sales, as the efficiency of business activities that were pushed forward because of COVID-19 firmly take hold.”
