Sony new financial report…
The Sony mirrorless market share in Japan
Yesterday BCNranking (translation here) posted the market shares of the mirrorless market in Japan. As you see Sony is the second top player. But how is Sony doing financially? Today Sony released that pdf document (Click to download). In short: The company lost $198 million in Q2 but that’s much lass than they amount they lost in Q1 ($312). But forecast data looks good and Sony should go back to profit by end of 2013. What do we know about the digital camera business?
The imaging division that includes Digital Imaging Products and Professional Solutions categories. had a slightly revenue drop from ¥219.1 (Q1) to ¥182.6 (Q2) but there is still an operating income plus of ¥2.6 (numbers in millions). Sony writes that “This decrease was primarily due to a significant decrease in unit sales of compact digital cameras reflecting a contraction of the low-end of the market resulting from popularization of smartphones as well as a slowing economy.“. But the forecats prediction says that “Sales are expected to increase and operating income is expected to increase significantly year-on-year.”
What is Sony’s goal for the imaging business? Here it is:
“Although the market for compact digital cameras continues to contract, Sony is working to restore profitability through reinforcement of its high value added products such as those that are differentiated through the use of highly competitive image sensors developed by Sony. For interchangeable single lens cameras, which are enjoying a steady expansion of sales, Sony aims to contribute even further to profitability by enhancing product competitiveness through the integration of network functionality and services. Image sensors contributed to profitability this quarter and, with the aim of further expanding profitability, Sony is making additional investments in production capacity to meet the growing demand for high performance image sensors in the growing market for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.”
P.S.: Unlike it is in Japan you can’t get real market shares data from Europe and US. To get a very basic and non scientific idea of the popularity you can still check the largest online store rankings:
US ranking (Click here), DE ranking (Click here), UK ranking (Click here), FR ranking (Click here).
Dave Cox
7 months ago |When is there going to be a mobile theme again for this page? This is almost impossible to read on a mobile device – the page never fully loads, links don’t work, it’s slow, etc, etc.
Noovuss
7 months ago |Is that on a free government cell phone or your privately owned device?
Dave Cox
7 months ago |What a strange question! Private phone anyway.
admin
7 months ago |Working on it! Almost finished! Problem is that the wordpress mobile theme we sued before hasn’t been updated on the new wordpress version
Dave Cox
7 months ago |Thanks Andrea! I didn’t mean to sound angry
pancanikonpus
7 months ago |you are bad! I am Andrea supporter! punch u
Fuji Master
6 months ago |Oh please. Here let me wipe that white glob off of your chin. PUNCH U!
admin
7 months ago |Nono, of course it’s annoying to have a messy design on the ipad! But I had to spend some money ona designer to really fix it. And it takes some time to develop it. I relly tried 4-5 plugins but they all had faults.
Amit Zinman
7 months ago |Sony cannot afford to dismiss the cellphone camera business. Sure, it very far from the A99 I just ordered, but I keep finding ways of utilizing my smartphone camera for both business and art. So, eventually there will be a lot of cross overs between the markets.
I am going to be shooting parts of my next feature using a cellphone (it’s in the plot) but it’s not gonna be a Sony, it will probably be the Nokia Lumia 920 which has video stabilization and will probably be a hit.
How did Nokia R&D best Sony which has always been a champion of image stabilization and video? It seems that like often happens in such big companies, there is little synergy between different branches.
Did I mention that I’m getting my brand new A99 in two weeks? Look at my website, I’m so excited I’ve opened a blog.
Bill
7 months ago |Sony does sell a lot of cell phone cameras to other manufactures. I believe Apple is currently using them. Of course there is a lot more income to be had from selling the whole phone and not just the camera module. But it is still some income.
Thom Hogan
7 months ago |Sony does make smartphones. Lots of them. And loses lots of money on them ;~).
Sony’s financials were very interesting as it came to the imaging things:
1. Smartphones are bleeding money.
2. Compact cameras are doing so badly that Nikon just passed Sony.
3. Video cameras (camcorders) are holding at flat or slightly declining.
4. Professional video gear is holding flat (though expects growth).
5. DSLRs were conspicuously NOT mentioned much in all three of Sony’s presentations this week.
6. NEX was said by Sony to be the number one mirrorless seller worldwide, but the specific details of how they come to that conclusion are still not being released by Sony. It appears from what they showed me that they’re using different metrics in different markets. Nevertheless, NEX is doing well, and is the lone bright spot amongst the rest of the still camera sales at the moment.
7. Sony is apparently holding its own in sensor sales against some tough competition. Some of that is the Apple iPhone win.
Documensony
7 months ago |I was surprised to see Fuji this low and Pentax-Ricoh so high. Could the two curves have been exchanged??
Neo NiGHTS ®
7 months ago |Don’t think so. Fuji mirrorless are expensive, while Pentax has that Q thing, which is way cheaper and, apparently, it appeals more to the Japanese market than it does on the Western countries.
Joel Richards
7 months ago |Plus its Pentax/Ricoh now and Ricoh has its niche, but well loved, GXR that had slow but steady sales for years. It almost looks like (in Japan) the OMD and EOS-M are what’s slowing Sony down. The OMD seems like a real legit camera but the EOS-M?!
Ragnarok
7 months ago |The OMD? The most sold Olympus are heavily discounted pretty old low-end models. The OMD is nice but nothing that a fad. Then it’s going the Panasonic’s GH series: downhill and niche. Considering how Nikon and Canon managed to get some share despite crappy offerings, I officially declare M43 a zombie. And NEX the next King.
ronnbot
7 months ago |“I officially declare M43 a zombie. And NEX the next King”
Interesting assessment. I agree that the NEX has the potential to be the top mirrorless, but what’s with the anti-m4/3?
The m4/3 system still has the better lens selection even having more lenses released this year than E-mount. In addition, Olympus has IBIS, which no other mirrorless system offer. As for the OMD, it seems to be the most rounded mirrorless body:
- 5 axis IBIS
- EVF & std hotshoe (with good flash support)
- tilt OLED with touch
- weather sealed
- IQ on par with NEX-7 and other top APS-C; current Pens have the same sensor so very similar IQ
- lots of physical controls and option for hand grip, etc.
Granted, Olympus is leading the mirrorless market probably because they sell lots of discounted Pens. But they also probably make and sell more lenses and flash guns than Sony.
Spoon
7 months ago |Maybe, or maybe people were holding off for the new models which aren’t visible in this diagram yet (NEX 6, 5R).
shamb
7 months ago |‘Sony aims to contribute even further to profitability by enhancing product competitiveness through the integration of network functionality and services’
Translation: you’re going to get a platform rather than a camera.
This could go really well depending on how they do it.
The good bit would be that firmware releases will be more frequent as the camera will now be an o/s rather than a closed-off controller, and we may get third party apps.
The bad bit would be that we’ll get some current functionality via bolt-on paid for apps, and that the apps and APIs will be closely guarded by Sony, with no third party look-in.
Sky_walker
7 months ago |Can’t wait for direct uploads to Facebook from my SLT!
lol…. from all the things they can focus on – online services is what they pick… *facepalm*
They want to turn camera into as smartphone? That’s not gonna work… perhaps for P&S it might, but anything else? Waste of customers money.
Amit Zinman
7 months ago |Sky_walker, laugh all you want but I actually need sometimes to send a few photos by e-mail as I take them, and can even make a little bit of money by doing so.
Carrying a laptop with you, everywhere you go, along with all the other heavy photographic equipemtn , isn’t fun at all.
GunnarK
7 months ago |Interesting diagrams. I can not read Japanese at all, but the Google translation revealed digits for the four top sellers, which accordingly could be tied to four of the graph colours in the “mirrorfree” camera sales diagram.
Middle grey = Olympus
Violet = Panasonic
Blue = Sony
Yellow = Nikon
Matte green = Fujifilm ?
Red = Canon (probably)
Light grey = Pentax Q ?
I don’t think Ricoh GXR and Samsung sales will be visible here. Actually, the only country where Samsung sales are visible is in their home country, South Korea. And there they have managed to get to second place only – with Sony NEX as the top seller …
Is there someone who can read Japanese, and tell us what colour is denoted to which manufacturer in this diagram?
.
Tom
7 months ago |Hello, I’m a Japanese big fun of SAR.
At the Oct. 2012, the selling share is as follows from the top.
Cream: Olympus Pen
Blue: Sony NEX
Red: Panasoic
Yellow: Nikon 1
Orange: Canon EOS M
Green: PentaxRicoh Q
Grey: Fujifilm
Here is also very interesting chart: DSLR vs mirrorless.
http://bcnranking.jp/sys_imgs/news/20121029camera_04b.jpg
In Japan, it seems that the mirrorless is gathering much interest than I expected.
I hope we could get a NEX with a cheap price in the near feature.
Thom Hogan
7 months ago |Nope, light gray is Fujifilm. The chart is correctly labeled.
GunnarK
7 months ago |Documensony,
It seems that you can read Japanese. Would you increase your goodness and check my designations of which colour belongs to which manufacturer in my table above?
.
Joe
7 months ago |Sony is bleeding cash right now overall and the latest reputation hit they took with the root of the Playstation being compromised doesn’t help. Sure, the Alpha camera divisions are a completely different business than the Playstation, but in the eyes of the investor, they are one in the same. Sony is looking up. Sales of Vaio’s will be looking up with the release of Win 8, and I see no reason to believe the Nex and Alpha sales will be unsuccessful. Plus, with the IPhone 5, Nikon’s sales, and seemingly every other non-Canon or Fuji vendor grabbing Sony’s sensors, there is cash flow on the back-end as well.
One thing that surprises me is Olympus, even after the controversies, is showing as the top MILC. Is MFT well-adopted in Japan?
Almazar80
7 months ago |The chart probably reflects the new Olympus product introductions and the stall of Sony NEX sales that can be attributed to the rollover from the 5N generation to the 5R/6 generation. It appears that possible synergies between Olympus and Sony could be beneficial to the financial positions of both companies (with regards to cameras/lenses).
pll
7 months ago |What interests me is that Olympus is not only the top player, but that their share remained consistent throughout the year. They’re obviously succeeding in pricing their products right at every phase of a product’s life cycle.
Also, in stark contrast to posts here, the original article hints that cameras with built-in viewfinders (G3/G5, GH2/3, OM-D, NEX-7, V1), all combined, command no more than 25% of market share. I’d guess <20%.