*NEWS*CANON MISSES PROFIT FORECAST

[Anonymous]

Canon to miss profit forecast on depreciation
TOKYO
– Digital camera and office equipment maker Canon Inc will miss its
profit forecasts for 2007, hit by a change in the way it calculates
depreciation costs, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.Shares
of Canon were down 1.1 percent in early morning trade in Tokyo,
underperforming a slight rise in the broader market.Canon will likely
post a group net profit of 488 billion yen for the year ended December
31, up 7 percent from a year earlier and a record for the eighth
consecutive year thanks to strong sales of color copiers, printers and
digital cameras, the Nikkei said.

But that would miss Canon’s
forecast for a 500 billion yen net profit.Canon will also fall short of
its group operating profit forecast of 773 billion yen with a profit of
about 759 billion yen, the Nikkei said.A change in the way it
calculates depreciation is expected to depress its operating profit by
about 63 billion yen, the newspaper said.Canon spokesman Shinichi Tenno
said the figures were based on the newspaper’s speculation and not
provided by Canon.Canon is the world’s largest digital camera maker.
Its competitors include Sony Corp  and Olympus Corp.In printers and
copiers, Canon’s rivals include Xerox , Ricoh Co Ltd  and Konica
Minolta Holdings Inc.

[Author]

January 4, 2008 at 12:31 PM