Nikon’s Q2 financials show better-than-expected revenue, profit for imaging division: Digital Photography Review

The outside of Nikon’s Sendai Factory.

Nikon has released its financial results for the second quarter (Q2) of its 2023 fiscal year (FY2023). In the materials, we see the company’s Imaging Products Business bringing in more revenue than it projected last quarter and further increasing its full-year revenue forecast as supply constraints ease and mirrorless cameras continue to sell.

So far, in the first half (H1) of the company’s FY2023, Nikon’s Imaging Products Business has seen revenue of 114.5B yen and an operating profit of 22.2B yen. Those are increases of 28.4% and 77.6%, respectively, compared to the first half (H1) of Nikon’s 2022 fiscal year (FY2022).

A breakdown of Nikon’s revenue and operating profit for each of its business divisions over the first half of its 2023 fiscal year.

This increase in revenue and operating profit is due to two main factors. First, the weaker yen. Since the yen is performing worse compared to currencies in other regions, each camera purchased in another region means more yen is being seen for each camera and lens sold.

A closer look at Nikon’s Imaging Products Business throughout the first half of its 2023 fiscal year.

The second factor is the increased average selling price for each unit. As more mid- to high-end mirrorless camera models are being purchased instead of DSLR and entry-level models, Nikon is making more despite sales volume being relatively stagnant. This can be seen in the year-over-year unit comparison, which saw Nikon sell 20,000 fewer interchangeable lens cameras, 50,000 fewer interchangeable lenses and 60,000 fewer compact cameras than H1 FY2022. Despite selling far fewer units, Nikon saw an increase in both revenue and operating profit.

An overview of Nikon’s forecast for its entire FY2023, showing better-than-expected revenue and operating profit.

Looking forward, Nikon has increased its full-year revenue and operating profit forecasts by ¥15.0B and ¥6.0B, respectively, compared to the company’s Q1 forecast. If this new forecast comes to fruition, that would see it bring in ¥230B in revenue and ¥33B in operating profit for its FY2023. That would be up ¥51.8B and ¥14.0B in revenue and operating profit, respectively, year-over-year, compared to FY2022.

As for the forecasted unit numbers, Nikon says it expects to sell 700,000 interchangeable lens cameras, 1,250,000 interchangeable lenses and 100,000 compact cameras, which it estimates as 13%, 12.8% and 5% of the total camera/lens market, respectively.

A breakdown of unit sales per quarter going back to Q1 FY2019.

Even taking into account the gains from the weaker yen, it appears Nikon is doing better than it anticipated just three months ago. Combine that with the holiday season kicking off and supply chain constraints easing and you get what’s shaping up to be a solid fiscal year for Nikon after a few tumultuous years.

You can find the full collection of Nikon’s Q2 FY2023 financial results on its investor relations website.