Olympus revenue and operating profit up year on year, but one division remains unprofitable

Olympus reports for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020.
Olympus has published a report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, which coincides with the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2019.

Over the year, the Japanese manufacturer was able to increase revenue by 3% – from 199.2 billion yen to 205.9 billion yen. Given the change in the exchange rate, the growth is even 8%. Operating profit in annual terms rose by 57% – from 17.6 billion yen to 27.5 billion yen. Given the change in the exchange rate, growth also turns out to be greater – 79%.

Three of the four main activities of the company – the production of endoscopes, the production of scientific equipment and the production of cameras – showed an increase in income (by 5%, 4% and 6%, respectively), while the fourth revenue related to the production of therapeutic devices remained at about the same level as last year. At the same time, the operating profit of the endoscopy unit increased by 31%, the scientific equipment division – by 22%, and the therapeutic device division – decreased by 5%. As for the unit that produces cameras, it remained unprofitable.

If we separate the performance of the camera-producing division by segments, it turns out that Olympus mirrorless camera sales grew by 14% over the year, while sales of compact cameras fell by 17%, and “others” by 13%.