Fujifilm Targets Half Of India's Mirrorless Camera Market

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (OTC:FUJIY) is eyeing to capture almost half of India’s mirrorless camera market over the next two years.

“India has always followed the worldwide trends in photography, where share of mirrorless is increasing and by 2020, higher share is expected”, stated Yasunobu Nishiyama, Fujifilm India Manager. The company’s cameras are currently equipped with an assortment of 25 lenses and it is adding almost four new types of lenses each year. Late this August, per the latest VISION2019 program, the company announced its intention to grab the maximum share of the mirrorless camera market in India by the end of fiscal 2020.

Fujifilm Riding High

Over the last three months, Fujifilm’s shares yielded a return of 9.6%, as against the 6.9% loss incurred by the industry.

Notably, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock currently flaunts a VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company’s projected earnings per share growth and sales growth for fiscal 2018 (ending March 2018) are currently pegged at 0.9% and 2.1%, respectively, as against the 29.9% and 3.2% loss assessed to be suffered by the industry. Notably, over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock moved up 4.2% for fiscal 2018 and 6.7% for fiscal 2019.

On Aug 30, Fujifilm rolled out the VISION2019 program, through which it intends to boost its near-term profitability on the back of increased cash-flow generation, propel growth of prime business domains, and develop new high-margin businesses. On the back of these moves, the company aims to generate revenues worth ¥2,600 billion, operating income of ¥230 billion and net income ¥150 billion in fiscal 2020. Notably, we believe strategic business acquisitions (like the Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd. buyout in April 2017) and new operational-efficacy improving programs (such as the Work Style Innovation program) are anticipated to reinforce top- and bottom-line performance in the quarters ahead.

Mirrorless Camera Trade in India

The Camera & Imaging Products Association’s report reveals that the global mirrorless camera market share has doubled from 4% to 9.5% from 2012 through 2015. However, future of this industry is highly dependent on the demand of major emerging countries such as China and India. Notably, the Indian mirrorless-camera market has recorded nearly 300% growth so far, outpacing the gain of all other digital-still camera market in the country.

Fujifilm intends to fortify its Imaging Solution’s business by capturing the growing mirrorless camera demand across the globe, especially India. However, we notice that robust growth prospects have triggered the degree of business rivalry within the mirrorless camera market. Companies like Panasonic Corporation, Canon, Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) , Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) , Leica Camera AG, Olympus Corporation and HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) are some major business rivals of Fujifilm in the mirrorless camera business domain.

SonyA7R, Sony Alpha NEX-6, Olympus OM D E M1, Fujifilm X-Pro1, Fujifilm X-A1, Fujifilm X-E1 and Panasonic GX7 are some popular mirrorless camera models in the Indian market. Despite high prices, demand for these cameras has been shooting up in India, stemming from the rise in proportion of enthusiastic photographers in the country. Moreover, these premium gadgets are gaining acceptance due to special features such as fast shooting rates, light weight and interchangeable lenses.

Fujifilm’s Strategy

Fujifilm intends to tap greater share of the Indian mirrorless camera demand by promoting its Fuji GFX system and premium range of X Series cameras, going forward. In addition, the company’s 4K broadcast lenses are likely to secure sturdy response in the county in the near future.

Fujifilm’s Imaging Solutions’ revenues improved 9.2% in first-quarter fiscal 2018. The company noted that the upside was driven by robust sales of Fujifilm GFX 50S and X Series mirrorless cameras, like Fujifilm X-T20.

In the VISION2019 program, the company stated that its Imaging Solutions segment will generate roughly ¥380-billion revenues and ¥45-billion operating income by the end of fiscal 2020. We believe its strategy to strengthen the Indian mirrorless camera business is largely in sync with the company’s long-term goals.

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