Olympus president Takayama mulls merger option. Camera sales +15%!
Amateur Photographer reports that “Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Takayama told reporters that a merger was one of the options on the table after Olympus was forced to reveal the true state of its business in the wake of a £1.1 billion accounting scandal dating back to the 1990s. ”
Bloomberg reports a Takayama statement: “We’ll review our management structure, corporate governance and our business plans as we prepare for the shareholder meeting (March-April). We’ll be reborn as new Olympus so that we can provide value to all our stakeholders including shareholders, customers, banks and our employees.”
The last weeks we heard about Samsung, Fuji and Hoya being interested in a possible Olympus acquisition. Of course these are all rumors only. As I told you yesterday I would prefer if Olympus would remain an independent company. But I really don’t know what kind of “obscure” powers are now deciding the destiny of Olympus. I can only cross my fingers for Oly!
UPDATE: The good news is that betwenn April-September 2011camera sales rised by 15% from the same period the year before (4.2 million units manufactured).
Loading ...P.S.: Today Olympus shares went down 20% (Source: Bloomberg)
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Recent comments
Comment from YouDidntDidYou: Media Relations at Harris Associates are...
Comment from vwr: I guess Olympus must be independent in t...- Comment from YouDidntDidYou: Carlos
... touched a raw nerve eh?
gutt...
Comment from Carlos: Where'd you get Nikon fanboy, Olytroll? ...
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |from Bloomberg “who set up offshore vehicles to route false takeover costs and advisory >fees back to Olympus<. These were used to cancel out investment losses dating to the 1990s."
"fees back to Olympus" just as I said!
Terry
6 months ago |What apology?
Olympus just wrote down their financial statements even more. It still means that everyone that bought Olympus stock since the 90′s relied on false information. It means that every bit of debt on their books was gotten with false disclosure. It means that even after these colossally big fees that they “paid” for acquisitions and subsequent write-offs that were already taken still wasn’t enough to offset the problems from the past.
So what are we apologizing to you about?
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Terry
accounts are only a snapshot on any given day just like an MOT for a car.
Olympus shares since the 1990′s generally went up so are people ready to hand back the profits on the shares sold as the price went up?
Terry
6 months ago |@youdidntdidyou
Yes, balance sheets are measured at a point in time but income statements and statements of cash flow are not. Precisely why companies need to publish all three.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Terry
cash flow is only projected, past cash flow statements can be accounted for in different ways as can be income statements so it’s all open to interpretation…
Terry
6 months ago |Cash flow isn’t projected. It ties back directly to the balance sheet and income statement. Accounting 101.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Terry
erm that would be cash at hand.
Terry
6 months ago |Go read a book on accounting and financial statements.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |Media Relations at Harris Associates are you?
Carlos
6 months ago |Now he IS trolling. According to a Reuters report today, “Olympus’s profits on its medical equipment business are hampered by losses on a struggling camera unit.”
It’s got cash-flow problems.
It’s management is considering being acquired.
But according to Didn’tDidn’t all is well, all is fine.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Carlos
erm no, if you actually followed what I’ve been saying on this affair over the last 2 months you would realise that I have got it more right than anyone else.
…unlike the bias sensational tabloid crud (for want of a better word) from Reuters
…it’s OK I accept your humble apology.
Carlos
6 months ago |Hahahahaha! Oh, that’s a good one. You don’t have a clue what’s going on, your understanding of business financials is a joke, you were attacking Woodford from the very first, you are simply an Olytroll fanboy who ignores reality.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Carlos
you are the clueless one my dear Nikon fan boy, how come I got the reading of this situation right and all those (Nikon fanboys)doing their “in depth financial analysis” got it so wrong????
btw I don’t shoot Oly
so again I accept your humble apology
Carlos
6 months ago |Where’d you get Nikon fanboy, Olytroll? Once again you don’t know what you’re talking through your a$$ about.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |Carlos
… touched a raw nerve eh?
gutted are you? http://news.yahoo.com/olympus-shares-drop-19-6-percent-accounts-restated-003531411.html you lose.
MichaelKJ
6 months ago |Admin.
The stock was down 20.8%, not $20. The stock was at approx $17 and closed at just under $14.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@MichaelKJ
in other news http://nikonrumors.com/2011/12/15/more-bad-news-nikon-switzerland-fined-13-25-million-for-restricting-parallel-imports.aspx/ More bad news – Nikon Switzerland fined $13.25 million for restricting parallel imports
I can see Woodford and Reuters bidding for Nikon.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |I’m surprised that Nikon hasn’t run afoul of more legal actions with their policies. Japanese corporate business practices have always been questionable. However, a questionable scheme to increase sales is a bit different than a fraudulent scheme to hide losses from investors. I don’t happen to like either, but these are not equivalent problems.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Thom Hogan
what you are saying is it’s more OK to defraud a customer than it it is an “investor”
btw switzerland is just one country, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was happening on a Worldwide scale in various forms…
“Japanese corporate business practices have always been questionable.” other countries are no angels…
Carlos
6 months ago |Please stop being a nitwit. I point out that you foolishly defend Oly at every turn, ignoring the facts and admission that they might have to be bought out, attacking Woodward, etc etc and I’m somehow a Nikon fanboy? Only someone with mental problems would side with you at this point. You’re delusional!
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |The auditor of the revised financials also wrote that they couldn’t actually trace the money in question. Thus, we’re still taking Olympus’ word for what happened.
You’re also quick to dismiss a couple of other obvious things: those advisory fees didn’t come at no cost to Olympus, even if some of the money filtered back. Moreover, at least four of the acquisitions besides Gyrus are still under Olympus management and losing money every year, so the leak of money is still there.
So let’s say I’m a possible acquiring company. Are the books now clean enough to make a bid? Sort of. I’d actually only bid on the medical and imaging businesses, maybe a few of the other traditional pieces, like microscopes. I’d want all that chum that Olympus acquired to remain behind, and I’d want any debt change to be attributed to that chum and left behind with it. But that’s just a Western way of doing business. If the acquirer is Japanese, they’ll just take the whole thing and quietly dismantle all the chum. But that will also require them to likely take hits against their financials when they do.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Thom hogan
erm where did I dismiss “advisory” fees? Obviously the guys at Axem would be taking a cut although I wouldn’t expect it to be on the Goldman Sachs level.
Hopefully those other 3 businesses will get sold and hopefully at not to much of a loss ( or possibly turned around).
ckb
6 months ago |Gyrus actually fits with the medical division so it is not for sale. The other three companies are essentially worthless shell companies that you have to take additional losses to shut down or pay someone to take them off your hands. You have great business sense.
Auditors could not confirm how much money really passed through Axem and where it was really distributed to. The only person who knows where the money really went is Akio Nakagawa and he is hiding and not talking. The present CEO now says he will not follow the independent panels recommendation of replacing the board and other high ranking executives, which leads back to “there are more skeletons in the closet” and the only way to keep hiding them is to stay in charge.
twoomy
6 months ago |Wouldn’t any takeover mean the death of Olympus’s m43? Samsung and Fuji have their own mirrorless aspirations that conflict with Oly.
Anonymous
6 months ago |Fuji mirrorless aspiration is on the high end market, not really conflicting with Oly’s pen for the moment. Plus, fuji don’t have an slr line. Together they would put the four third slr’s to the higest level of performance. It would be nice to see one day an olympus E-7 with organic cmos fuji sensor and zuiko shg lenses.
Bob B.
6 months ago |I agree….Fuji could treat Olympus as a separate division and it is the only real hope of having a TRUE sensor improvement for a great camera system, ie. MFT. Olympus could not invest in sensor development before its debacle (using the Panasonic sensor), so we certainly won’t be seeing any radical sensor improvement from them
in their current fiscal condition …and tho Pany’s pockets are deep enough..they are just milking the situation as much as possible and seem to be in no hurry to compete with Sony, Nikon, Samsung, Fuji, etc.. in the sensor dept. Why?…we don’t know …but they are not.
So, it “could” be a good thing if Fuji acquired Olympus..but who knows..its all speculation at this point.
Do
6 months ago |The rumors said that Fuji is planning their mirrorless system as pricey high-end product, possibly without trying to suceed on the mass market. MFT already suceeded on the mass market in Eastern Asia, so I guess it’s possible they run both product lines, like other do with an APS-C and a full-frame system (or medium format, like Pentax). Things are different with Samsung, since their NX system is a direct competitor to MFT.
Do
6 months ago |The best case scenario would be compatible mft/aps-c lens mounts, like Canons DX/FX mount. But I guess Fuji’s product development is now far too advanced for such a solution.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |Panasonic is now number 3 in the inter changeable lens camera market in the United Kingdom, it wouldn’t surprise if Olympus was now number 4
meh
6 months ago |How many mirrorless companies are there?? Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and Olympus?? not hard to be number 3 and 4… But considering how poor a system both Nikon and Sony have (if you want to put thosse lens things on your camera) and the head start u4/3 had, it is pretty pathetic that they are only 3 and 4..
Well I suppose they are beating Ricoh and Pentax! not hard..
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@meh
I didn’t say mirrorless so not so pathetic eh?
Carlos
6 months ago |High sales and no profits, apparently, As http://news.yahoo.com/olympus-tells-lenders-cash-crunch-looms-report-043121573.html says “Olympus’s profits on its medical equipment business are hampered by losses on a struggling camera unit.”
LOSSES. Is it finally sinking into your head that you don’t know what you’re talking about? huh?
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Carlos
again from from Reuters who have a different agenda so large pinch of salt needed!
Carlos
6 months ago |Yes, Reuters’ agenda is based on facts, your agenda is biased Olyfanboy love.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Carlos
yawnity yawn………..
Carlos
6 months ago |Yes, go ahead and yawn at reality. It’s the only thing a blinkered, closedminded fanboy can do at this point.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |> Wouldn’t any takeover mean the death of Olympus’s m43? Samsung and Fuji have their own mirrorless aspirations that conflict with Oly.
Let’s take Fujifilm, the more likely candidate. Fujifilm’s digital camera business is in some ways more problematic than Olympus’. While the X100 is considered a “success,” it’s a small success. It doesn’t necessarily move Fujifilm to where they want to be. Even if their upcoming mirrorless system (which you may remember I said they were developing well over a year ago and got shot down here on ;~) is a success, it will be again a smaller volume success than m4/3 so far has been. I’d think Fujifilm would want both. Indeed, if you think about what works and doesn’t work between the two company’s camera groups:
* Fujifilm compacts (EXR)
* Fujifilm bridge (S)
* Olympus waterproof
* Olympux XZ-1 and Fujifilm X10
* Fujifilm X100
* Olympus E-PL3, E-P3
* Olympus lenses
So the overlap isn’t a problem. The branding might be, but not the product lines.
Lez
6 months ago |I want Fuji to acquire Olympus, ‘couse Fuji has huge future plans in photo segment.
Tropical Yeti
6 months ago |To hell – who on this planet cares what “I” want. Nobody.
I WANT PEACE LOVE AND PROSPERITY FOR EVERYBODY !!!
And I could use some new regular 4/3 camera body…
digifan
6 months ago |LOL
Marcel
6 months ago |What is it with the Hoya rumors? Hoya acquired Pentax a couple of years ago and they sold it to Ricoh last year. Why Hoya?
Dummy00001
6 months ago |> Hoya acquired Pentax a couple of years ago and they sold it to Ricoh last year.
They sold only Imaging division to Ricoh – Pentax’s medical branch stayed with Hoya.
Otherwise, this is just Admin’s collection of rumored buyers. He also routinely forgets about Canon who is too on the list of potential buyers.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |Right. The real gem at Olympus is endoscopes (and to some degree, a bit of other medical equipment), which is the biggest chunk of their sales and their only real profit driver. That group would fit very nicely at a lot of companies.
The camera group would be a tough fit at a lot of companies, but might be tolerated simply to acquire the gem. What Hoya did with Pentax is exactly the fear of what will happen to Olympus: acquire everything, sell off the parts you don’t want.
The problem isn’t that no one would want the camera group. The problem is that an acquisition and spin out destroys management decisions for quite some time. Pentax lost a couple of years of momentum in the double change of ownership, and at almost exactly the wrong time in the market.
Carlos
6 months ago |If the financials were right Hoya would buy Olympus for the medical division and spit out the camera business at cost to someone else. Problem is, no one necessarily wants the Oly camera business. Fuji considered then rejected 4/3 a couple of years ago, Panasonic has no need for it, Canon just laughs and laughs, Nikon has its own standard, Ricoh is busy with its expensive Pentax acquisition.
Oly is selling lots of low-price, low-profit cameras, and apparently the division is losing money, at leasat according to the latest Reuters report (linked earlier)
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |I think they can just about stay an independent company but they will need tough forward thinking management (maybe Woodford can have a place at the board but not CEO):
Introduce camera apps on a open source camera system along with a joint micro four thirds apps market place – taking a similar share to Apple, they apps could be higher priced because photographers/videographers would be willing to pay a bit more…
Launch 2-3 PEN Pro models in 2012
They should also continue expanding their PEN marketing into the BRIC countries etc as planned.
Expanded their endoscope business at a sustainable rate.
Martin
6 months ago |> Launch 2-3 PEN Pro models in 2012
Only 3 pro cameras per year? Why not 12?
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Martin
1. E-5 replacement to be sold with a FREE four thirds lens adapter
2. a pro version of the EP-3 with tilt and swivel screen, built in blue tooth, gps and apps
3. maybe something a bit more video centric or a micro four thirds Olympus µ TOUGH version
…all available in white, brown, grey metal and also black.
EASY
6 months ago |I already have 4/3 adapter.
And it is Panasonic adapter.
Too little, too late…
Esa Tuunanen
6 months ago |> I already have 4/3 adapter.
But is it weather proof?
You see not so usefull to have weather proof body and lens if the part in between them isn’t such.
For once I agree about something with YouDidnt that Olympus needs new real high end m4/3 body because m4/3 lacks such and E-5 is getting old both on sensor and features.
Disraeli
6 months ago |>1. E-5 replacement to be sold with a FREE four thirds lens adapter
but the adapter costs 1.6 billion
ckb
6 months ago |Apps will never make money. Apps would be to make the camera more versatile and user configurable. Apps would to make the camera more appealing to sell. Third parties will make small profit on Apps however most likely Olympus will lose money on running the App store itself. The Apple App Store and Itunes actually are not very profitable. Apple makes money selling elegant hardware with a intuitive operating system you can customize easily with Apps. At least get your business model correct.
Olympus will make money selling cameras, they are not a software company. All camera companies need to look to create simple elegant and intuitive interface. At this point in time Olympus has failed miserably. They make the idiots at Nikon and Canon look like geniuses. A telephone is the only device with an elegant and intuitive interface for a camera. That tells you how bad all camera companys are at interface design.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@ckb
“Apple App Store and Itunes actually are not very profitable” maybe that’s what Apple want you to believe.
Anyways it would drive the sells of the hardware (cameras), also camera/video apps could be charged at a higher rate as they generally would improve workflow.
Panasonic, Sony and Samsung already work with Android, I’m sure Olympus already do to in the background.
“A telephone is the only device with an elegant and intuitive interface for a camera. ” not really sure I agree especially with moving objects and also the problem of shutter jitter when you press the screen or button to take the shot.
ckb
6 months ago |Guess what look at any Apple finacial statement and App Store/ Itunes are broken out. I actually might even believe those financial statements.
The camera companies have had 15 years to make their interface better and its still crap. Why do you think they will have an epiphany now.
More the camera that can be used, get a shot you can be happy with, adjust the photo and post it online in 20 seconds without thinking. The best part is its a camera on you all the time without carrying extra crap around.
TheEye
6 months ago |The reborn new Olympus, will it be one beautiful company?
SteveO
6 months ago |Ah, yes, the “one beautiful system” line. What a load of crap, these guys sure are good at doling out the lies (want to discuss their 13 year financial smoke screen anyone?) while somehow keeping a straight face. Reminds me of the Bush years here in the states.
Miroslav
6 months ago |If the development of Olympus ILCs stays this sloppy, I’d like them to be taken over by somebody who would have a bit more aggressive strategy and be more innovative. I’d like Google to take over, they’d give Olympus a totally new direction.
But if I had to choose an option from the poll, I’d want Fuji to acquire Olympus and keep m4/3 line. P&S are going to become irrelevant soon anyway.
Martin
6 months ago |> I’d like Google to take over, they’d give Olympus a totally new direction.
You mean cameras with Android?
> But if I had to choose an option from the poll, I’d want Fuji to acquire Olympus and keep m4/3 line.
Highly improbable. Fuji have their own mirrorless plans. To maintain 2 different crop systems would mean to double the R&D and production costs.
Miroslav
6 months ago |“You mean cameras with Android?”
Some of them, why not? Or with any kind of OS. You don’t have to install apps to your smartphone, but if you want new capabilities, you can easily add them.
“Fuji have their own mirrorless plans. To maintain 2 different crop systems would mean to double the R&D and production costs.”
I know. But here’s a chance for them ( or anybody else who acquires Olympus imaging ) to have an established system. They can position theirs much higher – i think it was their intention from the start – to rival Leica. Canon, Nikon and Ricoh/Pentax maintain 2 or more different crop systems.
ProShooter
6 months ago |From a programmers perspective, Android is inefficient fragmented garbage. The hilariously stupid design mistakes google made are mindboggling to any developer. I want them to stay the hell away from m43…
debuys
6 months ago |Isn’t android open source? Go fix it Pro Shooter, programmer, developer, expert man.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |“Open Source” is one of the most over abused terms in the tech business.
But it doesn’t matter what foundation a camera company picks for their operating system, it only matters that they open it up to developers. The volume in cameras is low–it’s not going to attract the huge investments in software development that computers/phones/tablets are because it doesn’t have the volume. Thus, you do what Amazon did with Fire: you use something that exists that you don’t have to write from scratch (e.g. Android) and put your own face on it.
I don’t want to run my Android phone apps on my camera. I only want to be able to create and run apps on my camera that do things my way instead of the closed and often limiting way the camera companies give us. I might want to make my camera app talk to a phone app, but that’s a different story, and I don’t need any help from the camera maker on that other than to implement a programmable system that has communication channels in the camera (e.g. Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, whatever).
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Thom hogan
I do want my Android apps from my phone to work seamlessly with Android camera system eg Layar, Lightbox, Instagram, Pixel Blend, PhotoArtista,Grungetastic etc etc
k
6 months ago |Your perspective on Android is not shared by any of the programmers I know.
harnamsc
6 months ago |Troll Alert!! =D
Sahaja
6 months ago |Hoya – didn’t they only just sell Pentax, why does anyone think they would be interested in buying another camera company?
Samsung – would the Japanese allow such a company to go to the Koreans?
Fuji – might be good for Olympus, but what would Olympus bring to Fuji? Fuji already know how to make very good lenses and cameras. They are already supposed to be working on an interchangeable lens camera similar to the X100 as well.
Disraeli
6 months ago |How about instant access to an existing market and production facilities thrown in, whats not to like?
ckb
6 months ago |Hoya wants the medical division. They take Olympus as a whole and get rid of parts they don’t want a few years later. Just like they did with Pentax.
It also is a move to keep Olympus imagining alive until they can get rid of it so they can continue to sell glass to them.
Narretz
6 months ago |Good if they stay independent, but we shouldn’t get our hopes up that they actually change their product agenda. Especially since the camera business is still a small part only, and that products usually have development times of around 1 1/2 to 2 years. So 2012 cameras will still be build according to old paradigms.
Scott
6 months ago |Fuji would be the best option. They understand marketing and they have awesome sensors
EASY
6 months ago |+1.
They started to get things right recently.
Solar
6 months ago |Nothing in the above excerpts from Olympus has any substance of fact. It is all rhetoric and is non committal. It covers all options and commits to no particular option.
todd
6 months ago |Careful with those numbers- sales and manufactured units are not the same- (how many tablets has Samsung “sold” vs apple). It could simply mean there is an increase in inventory,mainly at retailers, with constant sales.
MichaelKJ
6 months ago |“Though camera sales grew 15% for the six months to 30 September 2011, the photo division is expected to show a loss for the full year to 31 March 2012, according to Reuters news agency.”
Oly has been selling a lot of E-PL1s and E-PL2s at highly discounted prices. Its no wonder that the imaging business is expected to show a loss.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |“according to Reuters news agency.” lol
Reuters have their own agenda as Woodford admitted in their video interview.
Curly
6 months ago |What? The truth? Oh yeah, you are against that.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |Yep. That’s the problem. “Sales” are not actually sales to customers, they’re sales to wholly owned distributors for the most part. The US retail cash register tallies don’t show OlympusUSA having the same level of success (15% growth). I also note that Olympus stopped giving clear unit volume numbers in the camera group about the same time that things started going way south for them. Back in the 4/3 days they were still giving out specific numbers.
Market share (unit volume) is hard to pinpoint at any given time. Generally you get a better idea over time, as companies can’t sustain an inventory buildup. Olympus clearly has had an inventory buildup here in the US, as they’re still selling E-PL1 and E-P2 cameras, and they seem to be in large supply. Some dealers are still sitting on E-P1 inventory.
YouDidntDidYou
6 months ago |@Thom Hogan
US retail in the camera market seems to be on a different planet to everyone else and seem to have their own problems.
Oitszek
6 months ago |The question is not IF olympus is selling, the only question is WHO will buy the company with the positive sales numbers they try for the last price negotiations
Dummy00001
6 months ago |> As I told you yesterday I would prefer if Olympus would remain an independent company.
The we should cross fingers for Woodford because this is his wish too.
As consumer, I definitely want to see more choices and more competition on the market. If merger, then only with not a photo company, so that Oly Imaging would be able to functions literally independent further (e.g. Hoya).
rttew
6 months ago |I want Olympus to remained owned by Olympus, but I hope they get their act together and produce cameras for serious photographers. They need to produce more cameras in their E series like an E50, E7, etc. They have let down a lot of their camera base by seemingly dropping the DSLR line. That doesn’t do anything but make your customers question their future with your product…
BS Artiste
6 months ago |Looking at the income statement from the Bloomberg link (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/7733:JP/income-statement), why is income tax expense so high (25B Yen) for the 6 months from March through September 2011?
Olympus’s operating revenues and operating income generally went down (ignoring what seems to be a seasonal effect for one half of the year relative to the other half), but income tax expense went up dramatically.
Did Japan raise corporate tax rates? Otherwise, why would tax expense increase so much on reduced income?
Maybe the accounting scandal included balance sheet assets that Oly was depreciating over time and therefore reducing tax liability. If the assets on the balance sheet were fraudulently reported, then maybe the depreciations were fraudulent as well? That would have increased Oly’s immediate tax liability for past tax returns.
Increased tax liability is bad news because government tax collectors normally want their cash pretty soon, and unlike other creditors, tax collectors are more strongly backed by the power of the state to force collection.
The reasons for the significantly increased tax expense are probably in the notes or discussions attached to the financial statements. However, I don’t have time to read them now.
BS Artiste
6 months ago |Current disclosure of previously unreported losses would have weakened Oly’s balance sheet. However, reporting those losses now (yesterday) generally should have reduced tax exposure, at least for the losses that were not too old to still be claimed on tax returns. In contrast, the financial statements on Bloomberg show increased, not decreased, tax exposure.
If the disclosure yesterday indicates that the taxman has a bigger claim on Oly assets than previously thought, then that corporate situation could be a big reason for the 20% stock price drop today. Essentially shareholder claims are diminished as a result of increased claims by the taxman.
observer
6 months ago |Oly admits to 13 years of accounting fraud. Only last 5 years of balance sheet and income statements were revised. There are 8 years of data left out!!!
Who cares that these revised figures are any real?
If Oly is not delisted in a month, the whole TSE will lose credibility. What a joke the whole Japanese financial system will look to be.
What a farce the whole situation is.
BS Artiste
6 months ago |I agree. Even if regulations only require posting 5 years of corrections, Oly should restate the financial numbers all the way back (if it is 13 years) to the start of the fraud. That is the only way Oly can demonstrate transparency.
Oly will be punished in the capital markets if it does not disclose restated financials all the way back to the time of the fraud. Preparing statements takes time and resources (to perform forensic accounting). Maybe Oly is still planning to publish corrected statements for the whole term, but the company could only get the statements for the last 5 years ready by the Dec. 14th deadline.
Hopefully, Oly will take the necessary actions to demonstrate transparency to capital markets. Otherwise, the stock will get pounded.
Disraeli
6 months ago |>I agree. Even if regulations only require posting 5 years of corrections
thats the case
hlbt
6 months ago |The effective income tax remains the same in Japan. They did change the balance of national and local taxes.
More likely it’s a booking issue: write-offs or “noren” (Japan handles goodwill differently from the US/Europe), I just don’t know. I’m sure the experts here can chime in.
BS Artiste
6 months ago |Goodwill in bogus M&A deals should have been amortized over time with the assets being written off the balance sheet. If the M&A transactions were bogus to provide a way to hide previous operating losses, then maybe the amortization of goodwill (and associated tax liability reductions in yearly tax filings) now have to be paid back to the taxman.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |I believe that’s part of the answer. Still hard to tell from the information we have available to us, and the question wasn’t asked by the Japanese press that I know of.
Anonymous
6 months ago |What’s the point of an E-7 or E-50? The E system was only a fraction of the DSLR market share. They are big cameras with small sensors. Might as well buy a APS-C from Canon or Nikon and you’ll get better high ISO, shallow DOF, faster focusing and large viewfinders. Time after time you see owners of high end Canon/Nikon DSLRs ditching their heavy DSLRs gear and lenses for m43 because they are tired of the weight and just want a camera that is portable, enjoyable, begs to be picked up. M43 is the right balance of IQ and portability. About a year or so ago, Olympus stated that a pro Pen would be 2 years away and we are close to that mark. It’s only a matter of time before Olympus releases their version of a DSLR shaped m43 camera ala GH2 and that camera will be the spiritual sucessor to the E-X & E-XX series.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |Well, this has been Olympus’ problem since the advent of m4/3. Same sensor in a smaller camera that’s near state-of-the-art in its class versus better glass in a DSLR that underperforms to the state-of-the-art. Olympus never really had a good marketing position for 4/3, and it got worse with m4/3 being introduced.
The trouble is that they’ve got inventory of 4/3 still left, and so do their dealers worldwide. To move forward, they’d need to remainder that and get it out of the way. At that point, the obvious thing to do would be to build a larger sensor DSLR, but that means refreshing all the glass, which is a big commitment and costly. They lost the last bet they made on DSLRs, so they’re now gun shy, too.
So what usually happens in these cases with the Japanese companies is that you get iteration until there is no market left. They drop R&D and fixed costs but let the group keep fiddling along in smaller and smaller iterations of itself.
J Shin
6 months ago |I want Apple to acquire Olympus.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |You want someone to stick an iPhone up your butt next time you have a colonoscopy? ;~)
As much as most of us here like Olympus cameras (and I’ll repeat, I consider myself an Olympus user), the camera group is a small appendage of Olympus these days. Thus, there are only four possible outcomes that we can hope for (in order of desire):
1. Olympus darts the bullet and remains independent AND continues to invest in the camera group.
2. Olympus darts the bullet and remains independent BUT sells the camera group to someone who nurtures it.
3. Someone acquires Olympus that values both the main medical component and the camera group appendage.
4. Someone acquires Olympus for the main medical component and sells off the camera group appendage to someone who’ll nurture it.
ihateidiots
6 months ago |The Admin does realise that the worst thing to happen to Pentax was getting acquired by Hoya? Does he know that Pentax camera division was reduced in value to a mere 150 USD million because of Hoya? Suggesting Samsung acquires Olympus is also reeking of ignorance of Japanese attitudes.
ihateidiots
6 months ago |To boot: http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=zh-TW&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.xitek.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Fthreadid%3D791689
Pentax lost their best to Nikon. Well fucking done. Anyone wants Hoya to buy Olympus and destroy the imaging division outright?
Dummy00001
6 months ago |> Does he know that Pentax camera division was reduced in value to a mere 150 USD million because of Hoya?
Please, remind us again why Pentax had to be sold to Hoya??
I’m pretty sure it’s not because of how great Pentax was performing in the market.
Mr. Reeee
6 months ago |+10
The Japanese would never Olympus sell to a Korean company.
Curly
6 months ago |Sales were up 15% – Woohoo!!! Oops, profits are down due to heavy discounting to eliminate bloated inventories.
Camera sales rised 15% based upon an increase of units manufactured? Really? This site is a mess.
David Irisarri Vila
6 months ago |The best thing Olympus could do now is at least being a Fuji´s partner. What is the only problem in Olympus cameras right now? Sensors. Panasonic/Olympus relationship is dying. Panasonic basically want Micro FourThirds all to themselves. Olympus is trying to take to the limit Panasonic´s sensors with their superb TruePic engine but it´s time for a quantum leap. It´s very interesting that Panasonic and Olympus agreement finishes in 2011 and all this mess has been uncovered right now. In my opinion everything has been carefully planned. I think we´ll soon see a new Olympus camera sporting a Fuji´s sensor. It´s going to be really interesting to see what happens with Olympus right now. If Fuji buys Olympus, Panasonic will be in a big trouble as they simply cannot compete against Olympus technology, Olympus color and using a Fuji sensor will be the end of Panasonic in MTF. On the other hand Samsung cameras suck and buying Olympus will help them to create much better cameras. Michael Woodford has told five hours ago:
Concerns Olympus may need to raise capital, sell assets or merge! Let´s see what happens
David
Curly
6 months ago |Let the fire-sale begin!
calxn
6 months ago |The refusal to accept the reality on this board is unreal. Olympus has had many opportunities to buy sensors from several companies. Sony and Panasonic are not the only companies to make sensors. Let’s see, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Kodak, Dalsa, Aptina, Micron Tech, Sigma, Fuji, Omnivision, etc. There are MANY companies that make sensors. Olympus situation is due to chosing a non standard form factor (m43) and not having money to invest in the photo business like Woodford said. Sensor costs millions to make and the cost has to be recovered through volume. Everyone makes APS-C since that’s one of the highest volume size. We’re not talking pros and cons of smaller sensor leading to smaller cameras here. It’s just basic economics in the semiconductor business. Olympus could certainly pay the premium to design, validate, and produce a m43 sensor from one of the several sensor makers, but they couldn’t afford it. Look at Nikon. They’ve been able to create their own sensor for the D700/D3/D3s, buy Sony sensors for their other DSLR, and buy Aptina sensors for the Nikon 1. There is no lack of sensor sourcing out there!
Any company that would buy Olympus and keep their photo business alive would have to eat the losses to design, validate, and manufacture a sensor form factor that they don’t already make. Few companies would want to further bleed losses from taking on a new sensors, given the Olympus’ inability to sell cameras for a profit.
Based on Woodford’s comments about lack of funds for investing in the photo business, I’m not sure Panasonic is refusing to give them their better sensors. Maybe Panasonic doesn’t want to sell their good sensors at a loss to financially straped Olympus. Maybe Olympus was idiotic not to go APS-C. If Pentax, Leica, and Fuji could afford to buy APS-C sensors from Sony, Olympus might have been able to afford to do so too. Idiotic decision made by idiotic business people (Olympus) in chosing a non-standard sensor form factor. m43 may be a great form factor for their fans, but it “may” not be an economically feasible form factor for Olympus. All of this is just speculation by me, but it makes total sense given the number of sensor makers out there and Olympus’ inability to offer a better sensor.
David Irisarri Vila
6 months ago |Hi Calxn,
Let me say I don´t agree with your reply at all. Olympus started using KODAK sensors with their E-1, E-500, E300, and E-400 cameras but KODAK refused to provide Olympus Live MOS sensors and that´s why Olympus decided stop buying from them. Then there was an agreement between Panasonic and Olympus and that simply didn´t allow Olympus buying from others. 2012 will be a different year whether you can see it or not. There are other reasons why Olympus might not buy from others as Sigma sensors are really expensive and and others like Sony, etc…might not be willing to sell to Olympus. Let´s talk about reality: Despite Panasonic effort to manufacture cameras with a good color rendition, it´s impossible for them because they simply don´t have the technology to do it! Yeah they might render accurately some X-RITE patches but the real truth is their color sucks! Just take several shots with their cameras and see what happens! or if you prefer we can talk about white balance, or exposure accuracy or simply optical quality of the lenses, because Olympus is an optical company, sure you know it! Yeah obviously I see reality from a different point of view and I might be wrong but I think buying APS-C sensors is not the key to solve Olympus problems. You can be just another camera manufacturer or simply be different and revolutionary.
David
calxn
6 months ago |Ok, if this agreement between Panasonic and Olympus is true, then it was a clear idiotic move to partner up with Panasonic. I do agree that Panasonic sensors are the worst sensors in the camera world right now. I’ve always suspected they didn’t have some fundamental technology. Given relatively small Nikon can design and make the FF sensor in the D700/D3/D3s (the D3x sensor comes from Sony), it’s surprising that Panasonic can’t make a better sensor. I will agree with m43 fans here in that I also want a smaller camera than DSLRs, but absolute size does not matter to me. I want small enough but also ergonomically comfortable. Outside of that, image quality is of utmost importance, and I do not see that in m43. Sure, with enough in-camera image processing, you can get great JPEGs, but some of us shoot mostly RAW.
I think Olympus would have been in much better shape going APS-C. It’s nice and fine to try to be different, but it’s vital for long term survivability to make profitable decisions. Leica, Fuji, and Pentax are not exactly powerhouses when it comes to profitable sales volume, but they all have been able to make great cameras by buying APS-C sensors from Sony. I think behind the rhetoric of chosing APS-C for better image quality, the real reason that Sigma, Fuji, and Leica chose not to follow into m43 was the realization that a non industry standard form factor posed a dangerous business risk. One that seems to be bearing fruit in Olympus’ bottom line. Sure there is the issue of designing new glass for the m43 form factor, but that’s under their control. The sensor sourcing risk is not under their control.
calxn
6 months ago |I don’t agree with your characterization of Sony refusal to sell sensor to Olympus. They may not have been willing to foot the cost to design, validate, and ramp up manufacturing of m43 for Olympus. I used to work in the semiconductor and chip industry. This is not a small cost. Sony already have an APS-C sensor that they sell to many companies. They can depreciate their investment through volume sales to all of those customers. A new line for m43 would cost new investment and take away manufacturing space from their APS-C line, thus reducing their ability to depreciate the design cost. I’m sure if Olympus was willing to foot the financial impact of creating a m43 sensor, Sony may have been willing to comply. Sony doesn’t seem to be discriminating against customers. Their stated goal is to be #1 in sensor volume.
David Irisarri Vila
6 months ago |Well the agreement between Panasonic and Olympus is very well-known but obviously you can believe it or not. I agree with you that Panasonic sensors suck but I think Panasonic hasn´t released yet what they have in their labs. Until now there was no need to introduce awesome sensors because there was no need to do it! Mirrorless is starting to grow. Did you see what happened with the Sigma SD1 with that great sensor? No one is buying that camera. Everything must be released in the right moment. Fuji even used a Sony sensor in their X-100 camera. Their organic sensor is ready from 2009 and they haven´t released any camera with it. Maybe their forthcoming LX camera with sport it. The main reason of choosing fourthirds sensor size is related with lenses. I would like to see a 45mm f1.8 in a NEX camera. If you divide 45 by 1.8 gives you a minimum 25mm diameter to get this aperture using a X2 crop factor. Olympus 45mm f1.8 has a 37mm diameter filter. Well using APS-C will result using a crop factor 1.5X will result in a focal length of 60mm with a filter size much bigger. All this stuff without taking into account the lens construction is different with different elements and groups will be more expensive and heavier.
You say “I want small enough but also ergonomically comfortable.” I think this is the starting point! Small lenses is the cornerstone. Sony can do whatever they want with their NEX system because lenses will always be bigger! You are taking that Olympus should have used APS-C but I think just the opposite. Nikon, Sony, whatever who have spent millions in lenses cannot start from scratch like Olympus did and start designing lenses again from zero. Now I can tell you why Olympus signed an agreement with Panasonic. Because Panasonic has the money for a huge investment like this. Olympus has taken advantage of this and that´s why they have been trying to increase the number of MTF numbers. MTF is an awesome project, very well designed and it takes time to develop something huge like this.
“Outside of that, image quality is of utmost importance, and I do not see that in m43. Sure, with enough in-camera image processing, you can get great JPEGs, but some of us shoot mostly RAW.”
Well I don´t really know exactly what you need but the other day I was having a look to Dpreview NEX-7 review and they were resolving 3400 lines with 24MP vs Olympus E-5 resolving 2600 lines with just only 12 MP! I think this clearly states that something is not working very well.
Why do you need RAW? What camera are you using? Olympus cameras output the best JPGs in the market, you don´t really need RAW unless you want to process the images with Lightroom, lose color accuracy, lovely automatic shadow adjustment from Olympus (you can´t do this with Lightroom), etc…IMHO, I prefer using my camera to take the picture and that´s it!
“The sensor sourcing risk is not under their control.”
That´s why I think Olympus Imaging Division should be bought by Fuji. This will be the best decision ever made!
I don´t mean Sony is discriminating their customers, I just simply state Olympus/Sony relationship doesn´t exist. Well I think the Olympus Camedia cameras had Sony sensors in the past.
Take care,
David
calxn
6 months ago |Well, we’ll see what happens. If Fuji buys them, so be it. I just hope it doesn’t distract Fuji and drain them. They’re on a roll right now, and I own an X100 so I’d like Fuji to keep going strong. As for image quality, resolution isn’t a big deal for me. I’ve stood at 12mp since the original 5D to my switch to Nikon. I used to have a GF1, and I took it along with my D3 on a trip. When I came back, I looked at both images, especially the ones with the same image and framing. It was pretty easy to see there was no reason to ever shoot m43 when I’m bringing along the D3. The dynamic range was so much better. Fast forward to this year. I have a D7000. At base ISO, it has better DR than the D3. Think about it, an APS-C sensor with better DR than a FF sensor at base ISO. That is progress. When I look over at m43, I see more in-camera image processing and no improvements in base DR. I mainly shoot RAW and base ISO. I love my X100. It’s mind boggling how good the IQ is in such a small camera. If Fuji made an X200 with a normal lens, I couldn’t care less for interchangeable capabilities. An X100 with 35mm and X200 with normal lens. A really nice combo. I’m not sure why so many new camera buyers are so caught up in the need to have interchangeable lenses. To me, it’s like PC owners arguing they prefer PCs because they can expand their computers if they want to, but then they never do. I like the idea of being constrained to fixed focal length. It really helps the mind think about the framing and composition, but that’s just me. Anyway, I do see the benefits of m43, but I despise the m43 players for ignoring consumer demanded features and their unwillingness to improve their sensors. When I look at every other player, I see a lot of progress and risk taking (X100, nikon 1, NEX-7, etc). When I look at m43, I see complacency and laziness. I refuse to be a fan of sloth.
Thom Hogan
6 months ago |> They may not have been willing to foot the cost to design, validate, and ramp up manufacturing of m43 for Olympus.
Turn it around, and you’ll see the problem. Olympus was not in a position to invest money to subsidize a new sensor line. They didn’t have the money that they could commit to a partner to do so. Why didn’t they have the money? Probably because they were still trying to hide their big investment loss and tying up cash in unusual ways, both to acquire things they didn’t need so they could write down Goodwill, as well as to pay their ever increasing debt load. I don’t think the investment loss scandal and the current position of the camera group are unrelated.
Mike
6 months ago |I want Panasonic to acquire Olympus
David Irisarri Vila
6 months ago |David Irisarri Vila
6 months ago |Hi calxn,
I also I could say, why do you need a 13+ stops DR camera? Do you really take so many shots in that high contrast conditions? D3 is a huge camera and so do FF lenses. So I don´t agree with your PC vs interchangeable lens camera comparison. I remember when I started taking pictures with my first camera. Olympus OM-1 with a single coated 50mm f1.8 lens. All my pictures were taken with that lens. Then after reading Time Life Library of Photography, I started to see through the lens. I knew I had to go backwards, use a telephoto to compress the perspective and make the sun bigger, or instead of blurring the background, fill it with a lovely bokeh full or circles. I understood what hyper focal focusing meant, etc… Then I bought my OM4Ti with a 24mm f2, 50 f1.2, 180 f2.8 and tried many lenses like 100 f2.8, 135 f2.8, 35 f2.8, etc… So what I am trying to say is that you need time to understand why you need new lenses with different focal lengths. People think it´s only based on wide angle and telephoto purposes but with time they start to open their eyes and realize. So why shouldn’t they buy an interchangeable body camera? Come on, give them a break!
I am going to be honest with you, if I had a D3, probably I would never use it. Obviously I am still waiting for a MFT camera that doesn´t exist but everything seems to go in the right direction.
My wish list should be something like this:
PEN camera with metal body, weather sealed, built-in viewfinder, Fuji sensor with true ISO 50 up to 3200 with a high saturation capability (when you increase color saturation with PEN cameras, noise becomes really coarse! I don´t want this), I really want multi spot metering capability. I need the legendary OM4Ti diamond viewfinder ( http://www.astromedia.se/olympus/ombody.pdf ) for using ZONE SYSTEM!!!. I want to see EV differences between the selected spots!!! Reversal film color emulation. I want in my camera a truly KODACHROME, EKTACHROME, PORTRA, VELVIA, color emulation. I would like a LCD screen with perfect color matching. WYSIWYG!!! This screen should be also optimized for seeing B/W pictures. I would like to fine-tune in the camera, exposure and white balance with a slider on the screen! I don´t want more RAW software. I am fed up of processing my pictures. I want everything perfect in my camera. We need a truly chromatic aberration removal feature by hardware. I even want to remove fringing in the circles of confusion when using telephotos. Removable ASIC and sensor for new ones.
I would like to talk to the camera. Underexpose 2/3, or switch to ISO 400 without losing my target. (I am pretty sure this will be available very soon)
This is my Olympus dream camera
calxn
6 months ago |Well, I do understand why some people prefer not to shoot RAW. Someone once said the negative (RAW) is the score, but the print is the performance. It was Adams. I have found myself getting new software and going back to see what I could do with an older photo.
I understand why people want interchangeable lenses. I just think they get too caught up in the need for it. I know masters who still use fixed lens Rollei. The point of mirrorless for me is more a companion camera and travel camera. When I traveled, I used to carry 2 DSLR, the Nikkor holy trinity, and a fast prime. I ended up taking fewer photos because of back pain. Now, I mainly shoot medium format with 2 primes and hardly use my DSLR anymore. I’m looking for nice, compact mirrorless to take along with my medium format. The mirrorless for on the go, street photographs. The medium format for landscape and portraits. The X100 has been liberating. I’ve been getting more photography in since going to a lighter setup. I used to think I needed the holy trinity lens setup, superfast focus, etc. I really didn’t. I had the holy trinity for Canon and Nikon. It’s pretty stupid trudging along lenses you hardly use. I’m actually planning on a trekking/cycling trip to Tibet next year and trying to figure out my kit. In all my travels, I’ve found I needed long zooms 1% of the time. I also found that I had the most fun when shooting with a prime. So light and simple, it was liberating. Even with zooms, I found most of my shots were around 24mm, 50mm, 70mm, and 100mm. I used to be a huge proponent of zooms so I never expected that, but there it was when I reviewed the exif in my photos in Lightroom. I don’t see myself selling off my Nikon. There will be times when I’ll need the weather sealing and long lenses. That’s for the future Ushuia and Antarctica trip.
Why the need for so much DR? Because I hate throwing away shots because of blowouts or not enough details in the shadows. Since I love RAW and post processing, I want as much DR as I can get. It’s not exactly the dark room, but it still feels like getting your hands down and dirty with your photos.
Rutrem
6 months ago |i wish all best to Olympus, i like this camera maker, fresh ideas, great engineers and designers, top build quality…. unfortunately lousy managment :/
i hope they will stay independent… and i hope they will concentrate on innovation to sell cameras as they always did. I would like to see a dslr that can be customizable like a p.c. – software and hardware side… this is the future for this type of cameras, and m4/3 have an great advantage and a great start. i just would like to see more drastically new stuff from Oly, they can deliver great stuff.
BS Artiste
6 months ago |I’d like to see Oly merge with Polaroid. Then the Pens could have a built-in color printer to immediately produce prints and copies of digital images. Then I could put the copies in envelopes to mail to all of my friends for sharing.
Just kidding!
Disraeli
6 months ago |be honest now, you don’t have any friends
vwr
6 months ago |I guess Olympus must be independent in the future.
By the way, these article suggest Olympus consider capital increase from other company.
http://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/111220/bsc1112200957009-n1.htm
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=ind_30&k=2011122000241
Thus it indicates Sony,Panasonic,Fuji,Toshiba,Canon,Siemens.
I guess EPSON is better than others for Olympus capital increase, because they have not digital camera products enough and medical products.
But they have printers and EVF solutions.
So there are a few overlap like MEMS for between Olympus and EPSON.
2nd choice is Panasonic. They want to strengthen medical/health care business.
Their medical/health care products don’t overlap Olympus like endoscope etc.
But Olympus’compact camera business may be problem.
However micro43 cameras of Olympus will continue I think.
3rd choice is TOSHIBA. They don’t have consumer camera products.
They have image sensor business for example which produce for Canon.
But TOSHIBA collaborate with FUJI film group in endoscope.
So there are problems for TOSHIBA and Fuji film to get capital increase of Olympus.
I think Sony is never. Because they don’t have medical business enough
but compact camera business and system camera business overlap those of Olympus notably.
So they must buy Olympus any camera business out to other company like Hoya does.
By comparison, in Japan there is restrictions covered by law on foreign investment in optics company or optronics company because of military use diversion.
So there is no possibilities for foreign companies to get capital increase of Olympus.