Originally posted by Zygonyx You guy probably dont understand photography stating this ...
The guy (that is me) probably does understand photography. The chip and processor in a DSLR are relatively small, and getting smaller (Moore's Law is still functioning). At some point getting a bigger sensor or packing in more megapixels isn't going to make a difference for most photographers. I think what the K-3 has now is good enough for non-professionals. There is no reason why a smartphone can't hold a 24mp APS-sized sensor in another 4 years, with a separate processor either in the phone or more likely in a snap-in case. A 24mp processor will be "old" in four years, so there is no need for sunk cost (R&D, manufacturing, etc.). Just slap it in the phone, add a snap-in case that will accept the lenses you want, and you now have a smartphone with DSLR-like performance. It may not have the ergonomics or focusing speed of a DSLR, but it will be a heck of a lot lighter to take while hiking, skiing or on any kind of vacation.
The lower end of the camera market has indeed fallen off a cliff due to the smartphone. Remember Garmin? You use the smartphone for directions now too, right? Young people today want instant gratification, e.g., selfies, posting immediately on Facebook or Instagram, etc. The cameras with the buttons and knobs are for old people like me who believe in "death before the green button." The next generations want ease of use. The smartphone gives it to them.
---------- Post added 10-31-15 at 08:20 PM ----------
Originally posted by Fries My understanding of operating profit is that it is precisely that; the profit from the businesses that are being operated. A small search on the web yields this definition: "The profit earned from a firm's normal core business operations." Since the clothing business has been sold it is not operating under Ricoh anymore. And as selling a business isn't part of the core business operations I don't expect profit from this sale being reported in the operating profit of the other activities. The good news is that the profits are on the up! We can only speculate about the reasons why that is happening.
This seems the most likely explanation. Another possibility is that the clothing business was not contributing ore losing money (break even) and Pentax sales surged to such a extend that profits were up.
In short these financial reports don't really give any insight in how Ricoh Imaging is doing. But being in a profitable part of the company that is reporting more profit is a good thing in my book.
(I do hope anybody understands anything about the stuff I wrote above. English certainly is not my first language!)
A CFO can goose "profits" all days long in a variety of ways I can talk for a long time about. Often times the CFO is more interested in shareholder value, which isn't always tied to a quarterly "profit" number. Far more important is cash flow from operations (Note: If you ever see CFFO trending downwards while reported profits are up...beware and double beware). The "other" category is usually reserved for smaller segments that aren't important to overall earnings, sometimes CFOs bury bad results so they are not seen in "other", and for other purposes. Again, an analyst will spreadsheet everything and start looking for trends, any changes in accounting methods, etc. I don't follow this name, but I have given a cursory look at the trends in this industry. The trends aren't bullish.