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The
camera and printer maker forecast profit of 270 billion yen
($2.43 billion), up from 255 billion yen estimated in January.
It reported profit of 228.9 billion in the previous twelve
months.
The upbeat outlook suggests Canon's strategy to diversify has
begun to reward the company after the $5.8 billion acquisition
of the Toshiba unit and the $2.8 billion takeover of Swedish
video-surveillance firm Axis AB.
Canon also said the two existing businesses that have long
dragged its earnings - laser printers and cameras - are also
showing signs of bottoming out.
A recovery in the Chinese and other emerging economies is
pushing up demand for laser printers, while continued popularity
of so-called mirrorless cameras is driving camera sales,
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Toshizo
Tanaka said at an earnings briefing.
For the January-March quarter, Canon said operating profit
jumped 88.8 percent to 75.67 billion yen from 40.09 billion yen
a year earlier.
That was above a consensus estimate of 58.80 billion yen from
six analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Tanaka also said the company is not in a situation to consider
joining the bidding for Toshiba's prized flash memory unit.
Toshiba wants to sell most or all of the unit, the world's
second-largest NAND chip maker behind Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd. It has narrowed bidders to SK Hynix Inc, Western Digital
Corp, Broadcom Ltd and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn),
people familiar with the process have told Reuters.
To keep the technology in Japan, however, the government is
calling for domestic companies to join the bidding and team up
with state-backed funds, sources have said.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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