Canon Inc has announced a pre-tax profit for the first half ended June 30 that rose 9% year-over-year to 85.7 billion yen ($602.2m), the sixth straight record midterm total, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The solid numbers are being attributed to strong sales of printers and other computer peripherals in the US and European markets, as well as heavy gains on exports thanks to the depreciation of the yen. Foreign exchange gains totaled 43 billion yen, but the weaker yen also led to some price cuts that decreased net income by about 33 billion yen. More importantly, an increased tax rate for the company also negatively impacted net income, as the bottom line fell 13% to 42.6 billion yen ($299.4m). Revenue for the period rose 10% to 805.7 billion yen ($5.66bn). Poor copier sales in Japan and other Asian countries were offset by a 16% rise in demand for computer peripherals and a 12% increase in sales of information technology equipment. For the full year, pre-tax profit is expected to increase 14% to 168 billion yen ($1.18bn), assuming an exchange rate of 135 yen to the dollar. Sales will reach 1.65 trillion yen ($11.6bn), but the higher tax rate will leave net profit down roughly 1.0% at 85 billion yen ($597.3m).
