Originally posted by Madaboutpix it's good to see that Ricoh's "Other" section seems to be weathering the storm reasonably well under the given circumstances
Riding out the storm is a pretty good metaphor, I think. Ricoh Company, along with its competitors in the office paper handling business (printers, photocopiers) has seen its golden goose lose feathers over the past 5 years or so and every division now has to justify its existence. The Other division is roughly a tenth of Ricoh Company, and Smartvision is roughly a tenth of Other, so there is no compelling reason for Ricoh to continue operating the Smartvision business if it wasn't profitable.
I downloaded the full year presentation for FY2018 (which came out in May 2019) and on the equivalent page to what Mistral75 posted in this thread, Vehicular stereo camera was pictured first, followed by Theta Z1 and GRIII, with no mention of Smartvision in the verbiage, so this 3rd quarter report is definitely progress. "Steadily expanded new products and enhanced earning" may appear to be insignificant and non-committal, but you have to consider the intended audience (outside financial analysts) and remember that "steadily expanded new products" is counter to what would be expected given Ricoh's downsizing initiatives and Smartvision's significance to the overall business. Add "enhanced earnings" to the first phrase and it can be read as Ricoh pointing out how Smartvision is not going down the same dismal paths as its competitors. I don't think this means that Smartvision can open their windows wide open yet, but at least they can start rolling up the shutters.