Canon posts sharply higher sales due to increased demand for OLED panels

Canon posted significantly higher sales in 2017, partly due to the increased demand for OLED panels. Canon’s medical division, which mainly produces CT scanners, also made a significant contribution to the increased turnover.

According to the Japanese manufacturer, the part that makes lithography equipment showed a turnover increase of 25 percent in 2017 to the equivalent of 5.4 billion euros. This increase is mainly due to the increased demand for OLED panels for mobile devices. Canon manufactures equipment to make these panels. Increased demand for memory devices in data centers also helped to boost sales for this business unit.

Canon’s total net sales in 2017 amounted to more than EUR 30 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2016. Operating profit in 2017 was almost 45 percent higher and amounted to approximately EUR 2.5 billion. . Canon expects operating profit to have increased by almost 27 percent by the end of 2018 to more than EUR 3.1 billion.

Canon has mainly succeeded in increasing the overall sales figure by increasingly targeting sectors other than the traditional camera and printer business. In addition to the good figures for the part that makes lithography equipment, the part that mainly makes CT scanners for the medical sector had an annual turnover of 3.2 billion euros in 2017. In 2016, this segment was not yet part of Canon; the manufacturer previously acquired Toshiba Medical Systems.

Canon printer and camera parts showed minor improvements. According to the manufacturer, there was strong demand for camera models such as the EOS 6D Mark II and the M6, although the manufacturer does not mention exact figures. The turnover of the camera division increased year-on-year in 2017 by 3.7 percent to 8.4 billion euros. The printer business accounted for a 3.1 percent sales increase in 2017; this figure came to 13.9 billion euros.