Leica Year-End Results

[marknorton]

Leica has posted its financial results for year ending 31 March 2008.

Sales totalled €156.2m, up 7.3%. Profit increased from €0.5m to €3m

What's interesting is that the biggest growth came from the sale of compact cameras, by €10.1m to €49.5m. Leica say the D-Lux 3, C-Lux 2 and V-Lux 1 were particularly successful. Looks like the Digilux 3 has been sent to stand in the Naughty Corner.

System camera sales were up €3.6m to €57.2m.

You can see the full results on the corporate web-site

Edit:

They are expecting a loss in the higher single digit million euro range (assume €6-9m) for 2008-09 "resulting from research and development expenditure, selling costs and delayed market introduction of new products (my emphasis). They expect to return to profitability for 2009-10 providing the launch of "innovative products" at Photokina 2008 is successful.

[stnami]

Someone will find a way to distort the figures and say that the real profit maker was really the m8 because of it's social standing among other camera brands and this rubs off onto the minors etc etc..........

[stunsworth]

Originally Posted by marknorton

Looks like the Digilux 3 has been sent to stand in the Naughty Corner

I'd imagine the chances of their being a Digilux 4 - based on 4:3 technology at least - as being zero. I just hope they didn't order too many Digilux 3s from Panasonic.

[Thomas Edwards]

...1/3 low-end (compacts), 1/3 high-end (systems), 1/3 sports optics (i am guessing)...seems like a balanced revenue portfolio and indicative of where leica will be focusing its future development efforts...

[marknorton]

Sport optics were about €30m; the balance comes from things like parts and service and IP licencing to other companies.

[Saloti]

I think given the situation these are good news:

Systems : I would expect the R series having lost (a lot) versus previous year, what means
M system (basically M8 + lenses) has a substantial impact on growth.

Share of international business is very interesting/healthy (in bad shape are those
companies realizing their major sales with domestic business in Germany).

With the right product innovations there is room for a two digit growth at least in the
two segments compact and system cameras in the next years.

Results will probably not follow the sales growth, since the company still has to
catch up with regards to R&D, overproportional R&D expenditures will be nessessary
to achieve these sales results.