Fujifilm, Nikon, and Sony all released second-quarter financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, offering a look at the overall health of the imaging industry.
Starting with Fujifilm, it was another impressive quarter for the longtime imaging company. During Q2, which ranges from July to September, Fujifilm posted record-high revenue of 765.7 billion yen ($5.02 billion). This is up 5.2 percent from Q2 FY2023. Operating income also hit a record high, 73.4 billion yen ($481.3 million).
However, net income attributable to Fujifilm Holdings decreased due to “an increase in non-operating expenses, including foreign exchange losses and valuation losses on marketable and investment securities,” per Fujifilm’s investor report.
Combining the first two quarters of this fiscal year, Fujifilm’s revenue and operating income both reached record highs and are up 9.1 and eight percent over the first half of last year, respectively.
Looking specifically at imaging, Fujifilm says it experienced soaring revenue and profits due to “solid sales of instant photo systems and digital cameras.” Instax is continuing to sell extremely well, comprising 61.3 percent of Fujifilm’s operating income in the imaging segment. Meanwhile, for professional imaging, which includes all X and GFX Series products, plus cinema and broadcast lenses, Fujifilm’s revenue is up 17 percent year-over-year.
As for Nikon, its imaging products business grew year over year in the first half of FY2024 in terms of revenue (14.1 percent) and operating profits (3.6 percent) thanks to “increased sales of [cameras] and interchangeable lenses.” Nikon specifically calls out strong sales of the Nikon Z8 and Zf cameras, plus the launch of the Z6 III during the most recent quarter.
Nikon also details unit sales in its financial reports, albeit very generally. The company sold 410,000 interchangeable lens digital cameras and 650,000 lenses in the first half of the fiscal year.
Nikon also makes an estimate on the scale of the camera market in general for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. In its latest forecast, published yesterday, Nikon believes that it will sell 850,000 interchangeable lens cameras while the entire consumer base will purchase 6,100,000 ILCs. Nikon forecasts that it will sell 1,350,000 lenses over that same period, compared to a total market scale of 9,600,000 lenses. Nikon’s expectation is that the overall digital camera market will remain “stable.”
Compared to Fujifilm and Nikon, Sony’s financial reports are often a bit harder to parse due to the company’s scale and diversity of products and services. While Fujifilm and Nikon are both more than imaging companies, Sony has its hand in just about every possible technological pot.
That said, it is still clear that Sony’s Imaging and Sensing Solutions segment performed very well in the first half of the year, demonstrating operating income growth of 70 billion yen ($458 million). Sony says that 44.3 billion yen ($290 million) of that incrased profit is due to foreign exchange effects, but nonetheless, that’s strong performance.
While Sony is doing very well in terms of its image sensor business, the company’s cameras and lenses actually fall under the umbrella of Entertainment, Technology, and Services (ET&S), which also experienced revenue growth, albeit just a one percent bump year-over-year. Operating profit, buoyed a bit by foreign exchange effect, increased about 15 percent.
In a supplemental filing, it is clear that Sony’s still and video camera businesses are the strongest performers within the broader ET&S segment so far this fiscal year. Unfortunately, that is about as much detail as one can glean from the financial filings, as is par for the course for Sony.
Overall, among these three companies, the imaging sector looks strong. Sony is an especially powerful position thanks to its separate image sensor division, which, to varying degrees, benefits from increased sales of smartphones and in some cases, even direct competitors to Sony’s Alpha cameras. So long as people continue to want to take photos and videos, no matter the device, Sony will reap some benefit.
Image credits: Featured image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.