[Mistral75]

Lest Friday Ricoh published their financial results for FY2019 and FY2019/Q4

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/financial_data/financial_re.../q4_report.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_1.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_2.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_3.pdf

The Ricoh group is doing quite well in spite of Covid-19:

• Consolidated sales: -0.2% for FY2019 and -0.7% for Q4
• Consolidated operating profit: -9%(1) for FY2019 and +25.7% for Q4

(1) After factoring out FY2018’s gain on sales of shares in subsidiaries and the foreign exchange impact, there would have been a 1.9% increase

Pentax isn't mentioned anywhere and Smart Vision is more and more about Theta (in particular its use in the real estate business) and GR.

A few quotes from the various documents:

Other
This segment encompasses (...) the Smart Vision business, which is expanding its customer base by drawing on our strengths in capturing and image processing technologies to supply optical devices, primarily for the real estate sector. In Smart Vision, we launched the THETA 360.biz official partner program. Our application for virtual property tours has expanded business applications for our 360° camera, and has been very well received.

Improved Smart Vision business earnings on favorable GR and THETA (sales units(*1) 1.2 times)

(*1) YoY unit sales change for THETA series and GR series

(Ricoh sold 20% more Theta and GR cameras in FY2019 than in FY2018 -let's remember that the GR III was launched in Q4 of FY2018.)

Q4 Overview

• Smart Vision: While camera sales were down owing to COVID-19, earnings improved; demand remained solid for RICOH THETA・GR

Real Estate

• Need: Experience a property without going on-site
• Value proposition: Provide remote property viewings by digitalizing 360 degree images of rooms using THETA
• Product/Services: Virtual Tour Services

[StiffLegged]

Lest Friday Ricoh published their financial results for FY2019 and FY2019/Q4
...The Ricoh group is doing quite well in spite of Covid-19:...

Why should the results from 2019 be affected by the 2020 pandemic? Did we all know what was coming?

[c.a.m]

Why should the results from 2019 be affected by the 2020 pandemic?

Ricoh's financial year FY 2019 ended on 31 March 2020. Their fourth quarter was entirely in 2020.

@Mistral75, thanks for your report and the interesting information.

- Craig

[StiffLegged]

Ricoh's financial year FY 2019 ended on 31 March 2020.

Thank you for the clarification.

[c.a.m]

Thank you for the clarification.

No worries. When slides and information are extracted from a larger report, the fiscal year is often not obvious. I think Ricoh usually reports their previous year in the mid-May timeframe.

- Craig

Lest Friday Ricoh published their financial results for FY2019 and FY2019/Q4

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/financial_data/financial_re.../q4_report.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_1.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_2.pdf

https://www.ricoh.com/-/Media/Ricoh/Sites/com/IR/data/pre/pdf/r01q4_3.pdf

The Ricoh group is doing quite well in spite of Covid-19:

• Consolidated sales: -0.2% for FY2019 and -0.7% for Q4
• Consolidated operating profit: -9%(1) for FY2019 and +25.7% for Q4

(1) After factoring out FY2018’s gain on sales of shares in subsidiaries and the foreign exchange impact, there would have been a 1.9% increase

Pentax isn't mentioned anywhere and Smart Vision is more and more about Theta (in particular its use in the real estate business) and GR.

A few quotes from the various documents:




(Ricoh sold 20% more Theta and GR cameras in FY2019 than in FY2018 -let's remember that the GR III was launched in Q4 of FY2018.)

The problems with Covid-19 will reflect more on Q1 2020 and later. The financial year ended close to the beginning of the problems with Covid-19 so do not influence the results heavily yet. Ricoh/Pentax camera's is part of Smart Vision and is not mentioned where the Theta's and the GR's are mentioned in a positive way. Now I would not call a DSLR or a mirrorless "Smart Vision". Let me think...

[Mistral75]

I should have written it somewhere: Ricoh's fiscal year, like the fiscal year of most Japanese companies(1), goes from the 1st of April until the 31st of March. FY2019 = 1st of April, 2019 - 31st of March, 2020. FY2019/Q4 = 1st of January - 31st of March, 2020.

(1) Among the Japanese companies involved in photographic equipment, Canon and Tamron are exceptions: their fiscal year = calendar year.

[Mistral75]

The problems with Covid-19 will reflect more on Q1 2020 and later. The financial year ended close to the beginning of the problems with Covid-19 so do not influence the results heavily yet. (...)

Indeed the impact of Covid-19 will be much heavier on the April-June quarter than on the January-March quarter, however Ricoh did better during January-March than their competitors:

Ricoh:

Consolidated sales: -0.7% YoY
Consolidated operating income: +25.7% YoY

Canon:

Consolidated sales: -9.5% YoY
Consolidated operating income: -18.7% YoY

Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon and Olympus are still to publish their results: they postponed their publication because of Covid-19. Ricoh published them on time without postponement.

I should have written it somewhere: Ricoh's fiscal year, like the fiscal year of most Japanese companies(1), goes from the 1st of April until the 31st of March. FY2019 = 1st of April, 2019 - 31st of March, 2020. FY2019/Q4 = 1st of January - 31st of March, 2020.

(1) Among the Japanese companies involved in photographic equipment, Canon and Tamron are exceptions: their fiscal year = calendar year.

They use more or less the same fiscal year that is in swing in the US and is very popular with multinationals. They have the ability to include the results of their investments that have a fiscal year ending 31st of December. Another popular fiscal year is that from 1st of July to 30th of June.

[Zygonyx]

Good news continuing or Ricoh Imaging.

Afaik Amazon just ordered hundreds of Z1.

[Wasp]

Pentax isn't mentioned anywhere and Smart Vision is more and more about Theta (in particular its use in the real estate business) and GR.

Thanks for sharing and for going through the literature to answer the burning question that is uppermost in our minds.

One can only wonder what to make of this...

[Kunzite]

One can only wonder what to make of this...

Perhaps we shouldn't try making too much of this.
Wasn't Fujifilm relying on the Instax a lot?

[Larrymc]

One can only wonder what to make of this...

Well for one thing Ricoh as a company is doing much better than Canon and that bodes well for Pentax, IMHO!

[Serkevan]

Indeed the impact of Covid-19 will be much heavier on the April-June quarter than on the January-March quarter, however Ricoh did better during January-March than their competitors:

Ricoh:

Consolidated sales: -0.7% YoY
Consolidated operating income: +25.7% YoY

Canon:

Consolidated sales: -9.5% YoY
Consolidated operating income: -18.7% YoY

Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon and Olympus are still to publish their results: they postponed their publication because of Covid-19. Ricoh published them on time without postponement.

Nikon will publish on the 28th but they are already telling their shareholders to start worrying: Notice Regarding Revision of the Consolidated Financial Forecast for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020 and Recognition of Impairment Losses. Revenue is forecasted as -18%, with operating profits plummeting 93% (from 82B Yen to 6B, ouch)

[Mistral75]

Nikon will publish on the 28th but they are already telling their shareholders to start worrying: Notice Regarding Revision of the Consolidated Financial Forecast for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2020 and Recognition of Impairment Losses. Revenue is forecasted as -18%, with operating profits plummeting 93% (from 82B Yen to 6B, ouch)

Indeed and that's for the whole year; I dare not imagine what the last quarter will look like...