Is the world’s biggest maker of endoscopes with 70% of the global market now targeting the disposable device segment? Is the device market for Minimally invasive surgeries in greater demand as societies around the world age? Is the Gyrus PK System generator and instruments ability to cut and coagulate across a wide range of tissue types and conditions a major factor for the success of the medical division?
IIP > read on here > http://www.bloomberg.com…
…Olympus Corp., the world’s sixth- largest maker of cameras, reported first-half profit fell 89 percent because of rising costs related to the acquisition of Gyrus Group Plc and a stronger yen.
Net income fell to 3.6 billion yen ($37 million) in the six months ended Sept. 30, from 31.9 billion yen a year earlier, Tokyo-based Olympus said in a preliminary earnings statement today. The company in August forecast 16 billion yen profit.
Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, fell 47 percent to 32 billion yen in the period, the company said. Olympus previously forecast 37 billion yen profit.
Olympus, the world’s largest endoscope maker, is relying on demand for medical gear to weather slumping prices and increased competition in its digital-camera operations. The company, which in February bought Wokingham, England-based surgical-devices maker Gyrus for about 935 million pounds ($1.53 billion), expects the purchase to help triple sales in the business in 10 years.
Better-than-expected sales of medical gear helped revenue decline less than estimated, Olympus said. First-half sales fell 2.8 percent to 535 billion yen, beating the previous forecast for 529 billion yen.
A stronger yen, which reduces the value of the company’s repatriated overseas sales, was also responsible for lower profit. The yen has surged 30 percent against the euro and 13 percent versus the dollar this year, making it the best performer among major currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
Olympus fell 6.1 percent to 1,876 yen as of the 11 a.m. trading break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, compared with a 2.7 percent drop in the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average. The Nikkei newspaper earlier today reported first-half figures that were in-line with the company’s announcement.