Japan's Canon chops profit forecast again

25 Oct 2012, 7:19 pm   -   Source: AAP

The maker of laser printers and digital cameras said on Thursday it now expects a net profit of 234 billion yen in the fiscal year to March.

Japanese tech giant Canon has slashed its annual profit forecast again, blaming the global slowdown and a strong yen, as its quarterly earnings dive by more than a third.

The maker of laser printers and digital cameras said on Thursday it now expects a net profit of 234 billion yen ($A2.81 billion) in the fiscal year to March, down from the 250 billion yen forecast in July and 290 billion yen in April.

Sales for the fiscal year would come in at 3.53 trillion yen instead of 3.69 trillion yen, it said.

"As for the outlook in the fourth quarter of 2012, the global economy is expected to realise low growth due to the sluggish economies in Europe and slowdown in emerging economies," the company said in a statement.

Canon made its forecast revision as it booked a net profit of 50.1 billion yen for the third quarter through September, down 36 per cent year-on-year, while revenue declined 13 per cent to 799.95 billion yen.

Japanese exporters have been hit since the global financial crisis by a strong yen, which makes their products pricier overseas and shrinks the value of repatriated income.

Canon also noted a slowdown in China where demand for Japan-brand products has suffered because of a spat over an East China Sea island chain believed to sit atop vast mineral reserves.

Both countries claim the archipelago as part of their territory.

Canon joined a string of Japanese firms that temporarily shut some factories in China saying they feared retribution over the diplomatic spat.

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