Fujifilm 2015 Financial Report: Imaging Solutions Significantly Increases Profitability thanks to Instax & X-series!

The 2015 Fiscal Year Reports are now online (FYI, the Japanese Fiscal year 2015 ended on March 31, 2016)

Instax and X-series sell strong. A special mention goes to the X100T, X-T1, X-T10 and also X-Pro2… and of course to the Hello Kitty Instax (a limited edition version has been launched in 2016… sorry guys I missed to share rumors about that one ;) ).

“Strong sales of the FUJIFILM X100T premium compact digital camera […] FUJIFILM X-T1 premium interchangeable lens camera, interchangeable lenses, and other products […] Though the sales volume largely decreased due to the contraction of the product lineup of compact digital cameras, the sales of digital cameras X Series, centering on FUJIFILM X-Pro2, a flagship model launched in March 2016, were strong.”

Some excerpts from the reports (full reports here):

In the Imaging Solutions segment, consolidated revenue amounted to ¥353.3 billion, down 2.1% from the previous fiscal year, due to the decrease in sales of optical device and electronic imaging business, despite the increase in sales of photo imaging business.

Consolidated operating income amounted to ¥32.2 billion, up 55.5% from the previous fiscal year, reflecting an increase in gross profit by the growth in revenues of the photo imaging business.

In the photo imaging business, sales of instant photo systems such as the instax series and various designs of instax films increased especially in the United States and Europe. Fujifilm strengthened its lineup by offering a new instant camera with instax mini HELLO KITTY 2016 limited edition and new Hello Kitty patterned films, which were launched in March 2016. Sales also increased as a result of the expansion in the high-value-added printing business. Main contribution to this expansion were sales of the Year Album service, which can select good photographs and arrange them automatically, and the Shuffle Print service, which can summarize photo data and print it on a single sheet.

In the electronic imaging field of the optical device and electronic imaging business, sales volume of digital cameras decreased due to the contraction of product lineup, while the sales of X Series were strong. This was due to further shift to high-end models such as the mirrorless digital camera FUJIFILM X-T10, which realizes outstanding image quality and comfortable operability with a compact and lightweight body and FUJIFILM X-Pro2, a flagship model which realizes the best ever image quality and comfortable operability among X Series, and the sales expansion in Asian countries. In the optical device field, sales of camera modules for use in smartphones significantly decreased. Fujifilm tries to expand global market share in broadcast zoom lens, with such products as those for use with 4K cameras which were launched ahead of its competitors and highly appreciated in the aspects of imaing quality in the market.