Nikon's European division has seen its pre-tax profit halved amid a slump in demand within its healthcare business, the company disclosed.
The Japanese firm reported a pre-tax profit of €13.5m (£11.2m) for the year ending 31 March, 2024, as per the latest accounts filed with Companies House, as reported by .
This is a significant drop from the €26.8m pre-tax profit recorded in the previous financial year. Additionally, turnover in Europe dipped slightly from €478.2m to €475.4m.
However, in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Ireland, Nikon experienced an increase in turnover from €56.5m to €58.5m, while Germany remained its largest market despite a decrease in sales from €107m to €105.1m.
The board's statement highlighted: "The imaging products business focused on expanding sales of mid- to high-end products and interchangeable lenses targeted for professionals and hobbyists, especially Z8, Zf and other Z series full-frame mirrorless cameras."
It also noted that "Both unit sales and sales amount remained solid in the digital camera market as a whole, backed by strong sales of the mid- to high-end products."
Regarding the healthcare sector, it was mentioned that "In the healthcare business, the life sciences solutions and eye care solutions markets largely remained solid, although a decline in demand due to rising interest rates and other factors was observed."
These results follow a report from City AM in October 2024 stating that Canon º£½ÇÊÓƵ had not managed to return to profitability during its latest financial year, despite a near £100m increase in sales.
Canon º£½ÇÊÓƵ, based in Uxbridge, has managed to decrease its pre-tax loss from £7.3m to £5.1m in 2023. Not since the £67.7m pre-tax profit reported in 2021 has the company experienced a surplus.
The firm also witnessed a substantial increase in turnover, rising from £282.3m to £376.5m over the year. Nikon, commenting on the future prospects, stated: "The digital camera market, especially for mid- to high-end products, is expected to remain solid."
It also noted: "In the precision equipment business, capital investments in the field related to FPDs [flat panel display], including both mid-to-small size panels, and large-size panels, will be solid."
Additionally, they forecasted: "In addition, capital investments in the semi-conductor field are also expected to improve from the second half with the positive effects of the recovery in the semiconductor market conditions."
Furthermore, for the healthcare division, Nikon said: "While the market conditions in the fields of life science solutions and eye care solutions are expected to largely remain steady, we need to continue to closely monitor changes in customer behaviour against the backdrop of political and economic trends in each country."
Lastly, the company highlighted supply and cost concerns: "There are also concerns over a tight supply and demand balance for some electronic components and a cost increase due to price surges."
