Pentax Had 1st-Half Loss, Raises Annual Profit, Sales Target

[bmattock]

Meanwhile, Pentax is moving more towards DSLR's (good, I like mine), and away from compact digital cameras (market restructuring, Kodak wants that slice anyway). No word on their film-based business, but frankly, I don't think they sell too many film-based SLRs anymore anyway.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks


Bloomberg Pentax Story - Click Here

Pentax Had 1st-Half Loss, Raises Annual Profit, Sales Target
Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Pentax Corp., a Japanese maker of cameras and medical equipment, said it had a loss in the fiscal first half on charges to reorganize its business. The company raised its full-year profit and sales forecasts.

Net loss was 307 million yen ($2.6 million) in the six months ended Sept. 30, compared with a 1.47 billion yen profit a year earlier, the company said today in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sales rose 9.3 percent to 69.3 billion yen.

Pentax is trying to expand its medical equipment business, which sells endoscopes and other gear, to reduce reliance on the digital camera business. The company is also focusing on developing more profitable single-lens reflex digital cameras geared for professionals and hobbyists.

Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, fell 48 percent to 959 million yen.

Pentax raised its full-year profit forecast to 1.7 billion yen from its earlier estimate of 1.35 billion yen. The company increased its sales target to 144.3 billion yen from 139.6 billion yen.

Shares of Pentax rose after the new forecasts were announced at 1:30 p.m. local time, gaining as much as 7.5 percent to 646 yen.

To contact the reporter for this story:
Aiko Wakao in Tokyo at awakao@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 3, 2005 23:50 EST