Konica Minolta 2010 Annual Report Download - page 21

OPTICS
OVERVIEW OF RESULTS FOR FY MARCH 2010
The global economy began moving toward a recovery, with
increased production in the digital appliance industry and others. In
this environment, the Optics business saw increased unit sales of
glass hard disk substrates and TAC films, lifting overall revenues for
the business. At the same time, unit sales of image input/output
components remained sluggish, and optical pickup lenses were
affected by a drop in unit prices due to a shift to using plastic
lenses for Blu-ray Discs. As a result, sales were down 21.1% com-
pared to the previous period, at ¥136.7 billion, but operating
income rose 14.8% to ¥14.3 billion, thanks in part to a recovery in
sales of key products and the effects of ongoing cost structure
improvement since the end of the previous fiscal year.
STATUS BY SEGMENT
DISPLAY MATERIALS
Orders for TAC films recovered due to rising demand for large-screen
LCD televisions, spurred by measures in various countries to stimu-
late demand for home appliances, and revenue improved in the first
half. Sales remained steady for VA-TAC film, and thin-film, both
products in which we have an established advantage.
MEMORY
Unit sales of optical pickup lenses for Blu-ray format fell below initial
projections as the high-volume IT-related market was slow to
recover, but unit sales for use in audio-visual applications continued
their steady recovery. Overall, unit sales of optical pickup lenses,
including those for use in CDs and DVDs, exceeded results for the
previous period.
In glass hard disk substrates, we focused on expanding sales
of products for high-density recording, including 250GB and
320GB disks. Recovery in demand, centered around notebook
computers and external memory devices, brought a significant
increase in unit sales beginning around the third quarter. To accom-
modate future growth in demand, we have begun construction of
additional production lines at our Malaysia plant, aiming to start
operation in October 2010.
IMAGE INPUT/OUTPUT COMPONENTS
As we worked to concentrate our product domains with a focus on
profitability, overall demand remained sluggish for the high-end
segments we specialize in due to the global economic downturn,
and unit sales remained weak.
STRATEGY GOING FORWARD
In the digital home appliance segment, key upcoming market
trends include the introduction of 3D LCD televisions, the full-
fledged adoption of the Blu-ray format and increasingly high-
density hard disks. These trends will bring increased demand for
TAC film, optical pickup lenses for Blu-ray format, and glass
substrates for hard disks, and should thus provide a boost for our
mainstay business.
We will also continue to promote our genre-top strategy,
maintaining strong growth in each segment while utilizing our
technological strengths in optics to move into new fields, such as
lighting, automotive, energy, and life care, expanding the reach of
our business and enabling us to continue to grow.
Glass hard disk substrates TAC film Optical pickup lenses for Blu-ray formatLens unit for camera-equipped
mobile phones
136.7 144.0
2011
Forecast*
2010
Result
NET SALES
(Billions of yen)
* Forecast: Announced
May 13, 2010
14.3
20.5
10.5
14.2
2011
Forecast*
2010
Result
OPERATING INCOME AND
OPERATING INCOME RATIO
(Billions of yen, %)
nn Operating Income
n
Operating Income Ratio
KONICA MINOLTA HOLDINGS, INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2010 19