CanoN: Market Bottomed; To Expand RF Body Mix

Canon released its financials, and – as expected – things are looking rosier for the imaging division. With supply constraints somewhat eased, the R5 camera is topping all of the top sales lists, even as they are still hard to find half a year after the launch, and with no significant discounts. Canon expects the R series to drive 5.7 percent camera division revenue growth in 2021.

Those R-related revenues are much higher margin for Canon, with 2020 showing about one and a half times the profits from cameras, even as sales sank by a quarter.

Of interest, the world’s largest camera manufacturer indicates that it will double-down on the higher end of the market, “and with the sales of cameras, we will improve our product mix,” suggesting some credence to rumors of a flagship “R1” release and/or a high resolution R version.

The notes in a powerpoint document shared by the investor relations department included the quote: “Under these conditions, we will work to further strengthen our lineup of EOS R cameras and RF lenses to facilitate our aim of expanding our market share among professional and advanced amateur users where demand is solid.”