Konica Minolta 2001 Annual Report Download - page 13

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Konica Corporation/ Annual Report 200 1
11
Optics Technology Company and
Camera & Digital Imaging Business Group
Achieving Growth by Developing High-Added-Value Products and Entering New Business Areas
Sales rose 9 .7%, to ¥6 4 .4 billion, and
operating income jumped 2 3 .1%, to
¥ 1 2 .8 billion.
In the optics technology field, our
sales of aspherical plastic lenses for
optical disc s suffered a temporary
slump due to falling demand for
personal computers, yet for the year
overall our sales posted nearly double-
digit growth. As we continue using
advanced technology in the design,
proc essing and production stages to
refine performanc e and ac hieve further
downsizing, we have hopes that our
aspheric al plastic lenses for optic al
discs could capture a market share of
around 7 0 %. In addition, components
such as optical sc anning lenses for
laser printers and optical units for VTRs
and digital cameras enjoyed steady
sales growth, and we launched a new
type of 3.5 -inch magneto-optical ( MO)
disk drive c orresponding to the USB
( 64 0 MB) . In both Japan and the West,
the markets for film cameras suffered
signific ant declines, and we saw
decreases in sales volumes and
amounts accordingly. On a brighter
note, however, we saw considerably
higher sales of digital cameras,
centering on original equipment
manufacturing ( OEM) supply.
As for future business development,
we view optics technology as a strategic
business area despite the current
unfavorable market conditions resulting
from the stagnant personal computer
market, and believe that high
profitability is possible. To make this a
reality, in the short term we are
focusing on high-value-added produc ts
such as DVDs and aspheric al plastic
lenses for the next generation HD-
DVDs. In addition, we are expanding
our optical units business and shifting
more production overseas to reduc e
costs. We will also find further
applications for the optics/mechatronic s
technology we developed for the zoom
lenses of cameras c ombined with VTRs
or 3 .5 -inch MO disk drives. For
example, this tec hnology may find
applications in portable information
terminal instruments, such as micro
camera units. To support this business
development, we invested ¥2 .5 billion
in March 20 0 1 to expand our facilities
for producing aspherical plastic lenses
for optical discs. The improved facilities
turn out some 4 0 million piec es per
month, helping us meet the market’s
rapidly increasing demand.
11.8%
Net Sales
0
15
97 98 99 00 01
40.3 49.1 46.2
58.7 64.4
30
45
60
75
Net Sales ( Billio ns of yen)
Aspherical pla stic lenses used in o ptical disk drives
Konica HEXAR RF
Konica Digital Revio KD-200Z