Konica Minolta 2001 Annual Report Download - page 18

Konica Corporation/ Annual Report 200 1
16
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL REVIEW
Sales Results
In the fiscal year ended March 31 , 2 0 0 1, consolidated net
sales totaled ¥ 5 4 3 .7 billion, a dec line of 3 .1 % from the
previous fiscal year. The world ec onomy experienced a
relatively positive trend during the first part of the fiscal year.
Beginning in autumn 2 0 00 , however, the outlook became
much cloudier as information technology ( IT) -related
industries centered on the United States, which had helped
drive the ec onomy, entered an adjustment phase. In Japan,
an inc rease in c apital investment from the private sector
sparked hopes of at least a slight recovery, but continued
stagnation in consumer spending and flat stock prices in the
latter half of the year led to continued pessimism about the
overall economy.
Unfavorable c urrency exchange fluctuation also served to
dampen Japan’s economy. The yen appreciated 3 .9% against
the U.S. dollar during the fiscal year, to an average of
¥ 1 0 8 .83 in March 20 0 1 , and 1 6 .5 % against the euro, to
an average of ¥ 9 9 .9 4 in March 20 0 1 . This had a signific ant
impact on sales, contributing to a drop of ¥2 5.3 billion.
Looking at results in our photographic materials
segment, sales increased for the Medical and Graphic
Company owing to rapidly growing demand for dry films
for X-ray imaging systems. In the EM & ID Business Group,
demand continued to develop for our triacetyl cellulose
( TAC) film, used for the polarizing filters in liquid crystal
displays ( LCDs) . Demand continued to climb in the Inkjet
Business Group as well, where we enjoy an outstanding
reputation for quic k-drying, photo-quality paper.
Nevertheless, sales by the Consumer Imaging Company were
affec ted by price declines and the graphic imaging segment
remained in an economic slump, and both segments
experienced a decrease. In particular, the consumer
imaging segment was affected by the yen’s appreciation,
falling ¥9 .4 billion, and as a result sales dropped ¥ 1 8 .7
billion.
In our business machines segment, the Optics
Tec hnology Company posted higher sales reflecting double-
digit growth in sales of aspherical plastic lenses for use in
optical disc s. For the Office Doc ument Company, however,
sales on a volume basis inc reased reflecting the completion
of our lineup of digital copiers, but the yen’s appreciation
led to a ¥ 1 3 .8 billion drop in terms of sales amount. As a
result, sales for these operations were down ¥ 7 .0 billion
compared with the previous fiscal year.
Cost of Sales, and Selling and General
Administrative Ex penses
The cost of sales during the fisc al year under review fell
1 .4% compared with the previous period, to ¥3 19 .2 billion,
due to purc hasing costs, resulting from the changes in the
currenc y exc hange rate and to the Company' s cost-reduc tion
efforts. However, due to lower sales and to price revisions,
the cost of sales ratio increased one percentage point, from
5 7 .7 % to 5 8 .7 %. As a result, gross profit declined 5 .3 %
from the previous year, to ¥ 2 2 4 .6 billion.
Selling and general administrative expenses decreased
¥ 1 0 .0 billion from the previous year, to ¥1 9 4 .0 billion, a
drop of 4 .9 %. However, bec ause net sales also fell 3.1 %, the
SG&A expenses ratio was down only 0 .7 percentage point
from the previous year, from 3 6 .4 % to 35 .7 %. The main
fac tors behind the decrease included efforts to streamline
operations, such as c utbacks in labor and incentives
centering on the Consumer Imaging Company. R&D
alloc ations were focused in three strategic areas: optics
technology, medical imaging, and inkjet technology.