[ffking]

Even big Japanese Corporations with plenty of revenue are susceptible to foreign leverage.

Japan's economic success is founded on doing things their own way - it's bad news if they start being susceptable to international (read American - nooffence intended, just a fact) hegemony

[clackers]

Japan's economic success is founded on doing things their own way - it's bad news if they start being susceptable to international (read American - nooffence intended, just a fact) hegemony

Well, they've brought it on themselves. The economy and its firms have underperformed for a couple of decades now.

Moving manufacturing offshore to what was at the time a backward South Korea just kickstarted that economy and built Samsung and LG up into rivals of Sony and Panasonic.

[Wasp]

It's not a mystery, Wasp, noone but you or I wanted to be seen dead with the things.

Their Android cameras sold just as badly, a cautionary tale to people who say all a successful camera has to do is resemble the phone people already own.

I only bought into the brand after it was already dead and the gear was dirt cheap.

[RobA_Oz]

A table to illustrate how tiny Olympus Imaging, which generated 28% of Olympus consolidated revenue and 29% of their consolidated operating income In FY2008, has become over time.



Therefore, should they so wish and be allowed to by their board of directors and shareholders, Olympus management may elect to keep on shrinking their Imaging business and losing money with it as they have done for the last eleven years, with the hope of eventually succeeding in turning it around.

Not because it's a 'crucial component to the overall Olympus business', as they pretend, but because it has become so small that they can afford it, like a danseuse (*).


(*) A female dancer in French, meaning a kept woman in this context.

That table is interesting, even though it only contains percentages: “Others & Corporate Expenses” has an R&D (and capital) expenditure that’s bigger than the Imaging Division’s, and a tiny revenue, yet it employs more people. Obviously, it’s mostly corporate expenses, but the fact that it soaks up nearly one-third of the profit made by the Medical Division which has three times the numbers of staff implies they’re writing off a lot of capital or paying head office too much for their services (or something else I haven’t considered).

On your footnote, an historical and personal reflection: “Danseuse” was the name of Jackie Bouvier/Kennedy/Onassis’ horse when she was young. I’m a kept man now (retired, with a still-working wife) and I enjoy dancing – I think I’ll style myself a “danseur”, from now on (maybe only to my friends, who understand me).

[Mistral75]

That table is interesting, even though it only contains percentages: “Others & Corporate Expenses” has an R&D (and capital) expenditure that’s bigger than the Imaging Division’s, and a tiny revenue, yet it employs more people. Obviously, it’s mostly corporate expenses, but the fact that it soaks up nearly one-third of the profit made by the Medical Division which has three times the numbers of staff implies they’re writing off a lot of capital or paying head office too much for their services (or something else I haven’t considered).

(...)

The Olympus group is indeed top-heavy, so to speak, and streamlining their corporate structure might bring more benefits than getting rid of Olympus Imaging.

Here below the same table but with amounts instead of percentages. ¥1bn = US$9.2m = €8.2m.



There are many more details in this report: https://www.olympus-global.com/ir/data/brief/pdf/Olympus_Q2FY2020_Supplemental_E.pdf

(...)

On your footnote, an historical and personal reflection: “Danseuse” was the name of Jackie Bouvier/Kennedy/Onassis’ horse when she was young. I’m a kept man now (retired, with a still-working wife) and I enjoy dancing – I think I’ll style myself a “danseur”, from now on (maybe only to my friends, who understand me).

Interesting reflection, thank you for sharing it. I didn't know the name of Jacqueline Bouvier's horse.

[RobA_Oz]

The Olympus group is indeed top-heavy, so to speak, and streamlining their corporate structure might bring more benefits than getting rid of Olympus Imaging.

Here below the same table but with amounts instead of percentages. ¥1bn = US$9.2m = €8.2m.



There are many more details in this report: https://www.olympus-global.com/ir/data/brief/pdf/Olympus_Q2FY2020_Supplemental_E.pdf

In the absence of more specific information (I couldn’t find any in the report) I’d guess that the Other & Corporate R&D Expenditure would include general market research and common technical R&D. The breakdown by division, otherwise, is interesting, though, especially the “Digital SLR” versus Compact etc sales and revenue.

Interesting reflection, thank you for sharing it. I didn't know the name of Jacqueline Bouvier's horse.

As far as I know, she never attempted to have it made a Pro-consul.

[monochrome]

The interesting thing to me was that it was a different Hedge Fund (Third Point LLC) that forced Sony to sell those shares. Even big Japanese Corporations with plenty of revenue are susceptible to foreign leverage.

’Third Point primarily invests in public equity, fixed income, and ADR markets globally and deploys an investment strategy that capitalizes on companies “undergoing events such as spinoffs or bankruptcies and pushes for corporate change", meaning they accumulate large positions is good companies that have underperforming operations or for which the value of certain operations are not reflected in the stock price. They should be characterized as an activist investor, more a REgistered Investment Advisor than a true Hedge Fund (though that has become a Broad label).

Third Point accumulated 6.5% of Sony shares when the price was down some years ago, and negotiated three Board seats. They wanted Sony to sell or spin out the entertainment division, which Sony refused to do, but they did quietly make a number of changes suggested / demanded by Third Point.

Sony did rationalize its operations and has done much better since Third Point took its position, so they actually helped existing shareholders while helping themselves. There’s a world of difference between that and dismantling the company as was done to Pentax.

Third Point has returned 15+% per year - compounded - since inception inn 1995, or a double every 5 years.

[parinya-ekparinya]

Another rumour that does not convince me just yet. So I will just wait and see.

I believe the OM-D E-M5 III should be well-responded by the micro four-thirds userbase; this recent model could become a popular choice for travellers as well as vloggers, which are currently growing in number. While Panasonic focuses more on many features for video, Olympus offers all-rounder cameras in my opinion. I could not imagine that an old Japanese company will simply give up on this market segment easily. If it is all about budgeting problem, I think Olympus will manage and survive... I hope.

[Rondec]

Another rumour that does not convince me just yet. So I will just wait and see.

I believe the OM-D E-M5 III should be well-responded by the micro four-thirds userbase; this recent model could become a popular choice for travellers as well as vloggers, which are currently growing in number. While Panasonic focuses more on many features for video, Olympus offers all-rounder cameras in my opinion. I could not imagine that an old Japanese company will simply give up on this market segment easily. If it is all about budgeting problem, I think Olympus will manage and survive... I hope.

The problem isn't that current micro four thirds users aren't purchasing Olympus' new cameras -- they are. The problem seems to be that there aren't enough new photographers entering the ranks and Olympus doesn't have any larger sensor cameras if, for whatever reason, photographers want to move up. Even in the micro four thirds market, Panasonic always seemed to get more buzz than Olympus, for some reason.

While the market has been tanking the last two to three years, Olympus' loss pre-date that by quite a bit.

[Mistral75]

Thee problem is Olympus never made money with their ILCs. The compact camera business was the bread and butter of Olympus Imaging. They started making losses in 2008 (their FY2009) when their revenue went down 30% year-on-year.

[clackers]

Thee problem is Olympus never made money with their ILCs. The compact camera business was the bread and butter of Olympus Imaging. They started making losses in 2008 (their FY2009) when their revenue went down 30% year-on-year.

Panasonic don't publish their camera sales figures, Mistral75, as you've pointed out, and they're the ones I really want to look at … I see way less Panasonics around than Olympuses!

[Rondec]

Panasonic don't publish their camera sales figures, Mistral75, as you've pointed out, and they're the ones I really want to look at … I see way less Panasonics around than Olympuses!

There has to be a reason why Panasonic has branched out to full frame gear. If nothing else, they saw micro four thirds as a bit of a dead end and that they had maximized what they could do with it.

[Mistral75]

Panasonic don't publish their camera sales figures, Mistral75, as you've pointed out, and they're the ones I really want to look at … I see way less Panasonics around than Olympuses!

According to a study made by Techno System Research, a Japanese marketing research company, the outcome of which was reported by Toyo Keizai Inc., the shares of the various manufacturers in the global mirrorless market (units, not revenue) were as follows in 2018:

1. Sony: 42.5%
2. Canon: 19.8%
3. Fujifilm: 17.5%
4. Olympus: 8.4%
5. Panasonic: 7%
6. Nikon: 4.6%

[clackers]

According to a study made by Techno System Research, a Japanese marketing research company, the outcome of which was reported by Toyo Keizai Inc., the shares of the various manufacturers in the global mirrorless market (units, not revenue) were as follows in 2018:

1. Sony: 42.5%
   
2. Canon: 19.8%
   
3. Fujifilm: 17.5%
   
4. Olympus: 8.4%
   
5. Panasonic: 7%
   
6. Nikon: 4.6%
   

Thanks, Mistral, that info's better than nothing ... you're a star!

[Mistral75]

Thank you kind sir!