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Canon shares jump on profit forecast
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Canon Inc. shares are rising on Tuesday on a report it is set to post record profits this year. Group net profit is set to rise 13 percent to almost 190 billion yen ($1.58 billion) for the year, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, thanks to strong sales of digital cameras, printers and photocopiers. That would be the third year in a row the camera and office-equipment maker has set a new high-water mark. Unlike most Japanese companies, whose year ends in March, Canon operates on a calendar business year. It would also make Canon the most profitable electronics maker in Japan, beating Sony Corp., which expects a net profit of 180 billion yen for the 2002 business year. Canon shares closed up 4.69 percent at 4,460 yen on Tuesday, and was the most active stock by value. That helped the Nikkei index to a 1.25 percent rise on a thin day's trading. Sales not likely to leapCanon's total sales are expected to rise less than 1 percent, to 2.93 trillion yen ($24.3 billion), meaning most of the profit increase has come through better operations. Better parts buying and more efficient production helped trim costs by more than 50 billion yen ($415 million) this year, the Nikkei stated. But sales of Canon's popular Eos and Ixus digital cameras are helping fire sales in that area, with total cameras sold rising around 50 percent to 4.5 million. Canon said in November that it expected sales to grow between five to 10 percent in 2002 and by 10 percent in 2003. The company gets 70 percent of its sales outside of Japan. China is its fastest-growing market, though the United States is its largest, accounting for 35 percent of sales.
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