Casio 2009 Annual Report Download - page 4

Message from the President
During the reporting term, we worked to achieve
our management goals through vigorous measures
to promote Casio’s strategic businesses — digital
cameras, timepieces, electronic dictionaries, and cell
phones. Accompanying these efforts, we reformed the
Company’s business structure by writing off impair-
ment losses on noncurrent assets in the Electronic
Components category, and by revising the amortization
periods for facilities in the cell phone business.
From the autumn of 2008, however, the business
downturn accelerated further as the full effect of the
global financial crisis was felt in the real economy,
and net sales by Casio for fiscal 2009 fell 16.9%
year-on-year to ¥518.0 billion on a consolidated basis.
By segment, sales in the Electronics segment
dropped 12.3% year-on-year to ¥461.8 billion.
Revenues from the digital camera business posted a
year-on-year decline owing to a fall in market selling
prices and the impact of losses on translation due
to the depreciation of the euro and other European
currencies. Despite these operating conditions, in the
fourth quarter (January – March 2009) Casio aggres-
sively launched new models with groundbreaking,
unique features, and undertook global sales promotion
campaigns. These models included the Exilim Zoom
EX-Z400, the world’s first camera that combines
moving images and still photos with the Dynamic Photo
function, and the High Speed Exilim EX-FC100, a stylish
model capable of ultra-high-speed burst shooting,
at 30 shots per second. In the field of electronic
dictionaries, sales of a high-value-added model of the
EX-word electronic dictionary were strong, maintaining
the top position in the Japanese electronic dictionary
industry. Sales of non-radio-controlled timepieces fell,
but radio-controlled watches were strong performers
thanks to the robust growth of high-value-added
models featuring the Multi Band 6 radio wave receiver
system. Notable among these high-performing models
were the full-metal high-end Oceanus and the global
brand G-Shock. In the field of cell phones, Casio
launched the Exilim W63CA, a stylish cell phone with
an 8.1-megapixel camera made for au (a major telecom
services network in Japan), followed by the Exilim
SoftBank 930CA in the second half of the fiscal year.
Sales of our shock-resistant, waterproof G’zOne model
for US-based Verizon Wireless remained firm as this cell
phone made a name for itself in the North American
market.
In the Electronic Components and Others segment,
sales declined by 41.7% to ¥56.1 billion, due to
sluggish demand for TFT LCD digital cameras and cell
phones around the world, as well as falling unit prices
for TFT LCDs brought on by the intense competition.
The selloff of unprofitable operations by Casio
Micronics Co., Ltd. in the reporting term was also a
negative factor.
Business Performance for the Term Ended March 2009
2CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.