JAPAN:CANON TO DELAY TONER CARTRIDGE PLANT DUE TO SLOWDOWN

[Anonymous]

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUST29596620081118
Canon to delay toner cartridge plant due to slowdown
TOKYO,
Nov 08- Japan’s Canon Inc  said on Tuesday it will delay the
construction of a $1 billion toner cartridge components plant in Japan
by six months as the global downturn hits sales and usage of office
equipment.Canon, which competes with Xerox Corp , Ricoh Co Ltd  and
Konica Minolta Holdings Inc in copiers and printers, now plans to start
building the plant in western Japan in June 2009 with production due
from March 2010.

A Canon spokesman said, however, its plan to
spend 60 billion yen ($621 million) or more to build a toner cartridge
plant in the U.S. state of Virginia and start output there in December
2009 remains on track.Consumable items such as toners and related
services are an important source of profit for office equipment makers
as they generally fetch high margins and provide a constant revenue
stream.

Canon, the world’s largest digital camera maker ahead of
Sony Corp , last month cut its annual outlook, predicting its first
profit decline in nine years as the economic slowdown drives up the yen
and hurts copier and camera sales.Shares in Canon were down 2.9 percent
at 2,850 yen in afternoon trade, underperforming the Nikkei average
.N225, which was down 2.1 percent.

[Author]

November 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM