Major optical glass maker Hoya Corp. said 10 November 2008 that its group operating profit in April – September fell 14.2% from a year before to JPY 42.46 billion due to slumping digital camera sales …
Major optical glass maker Hoya Corp. said 10 November 2008 that its group operating profit in April – September fell 14.2% from a year before to JPY 42.46 billion due to slumping digital camera sales and the appreciation of the Japanese yen. Hoya registered an operating loss of JPY 2.49 billion at its Pentax division, which handles digital cameras. The yen“s rise against the dollar and the Thai baht eroded the company“s profitability, it said. The company“s group sales in the 1H of fiscal 2008 grew 30.1% to JPY 258.52 billion following its acquisition of camera and medical equipment producer Pentax Corp. in 2007. Hoya“s consolidated net profit rose 5.8% to JPY 40.33 billion thanks to a special profit from the sale of part of its stake in NH Techno Glass Corp., a maker of LCD glass substrates, to a US investment fund. Hoya chief financial officer Kenji Ema indicated at a press conference that it is difficult to turn around the loss-making Pentax division by the end of fiscal 2008. The division“s medical equipment operations are performing strongly, but will unlikely be able to cover losses from the digital camera business, he said. Hoya did not state its earnings projections for the full year to March 2009.