Nikon 2004 Annual Report Download - page 4
Download and view the complete annual report
Please find page 4 of the 2004 Nikon annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.Webelieveeffectiveactionstaken
ineachbusinessdomainthroughout
theyearwillprovideaninvaluable
steppingstonetofutureprogress.
BusinessConditionsandResults
ThefiscalyearendedMarch31,2004heraldedarecov-
eryineconomicconditionsacrossmanymarkets.Inthe
UnitedStates,increasedconsumerspendingandhigher
levelsofcapitalinvestmentsupportedarobustrecov-
ery.InEurope,consumerspendingremainedsluggish
whilebusinessinvestmentpickedup.InAsia,strong
exportgrowthsupportedongoingregionalexpan-
sion,withgrowthparticularlyvigorousinChina.Japan
alsorecoveredsteadily,drivenbyexportgrowthand
increasedlevelsofprivate-sectorcapitalinvestment.
Evenconsumerspendingshowedsomepositivesignsin
varioussectorsofJapan’s“digitaleconomy.”
EncouragingsignswerealsomanifestinNikon’s
businessareas.Notonlydidthedigitalcameramarket
continuetoexpand,butabelatedrecoveryinthesemi-
conductormarketpromptedgradualrevitalizationin
capitalinvestment.
Undersuchanenvironment,Nikonworkedhard
toexpandsalesandincreaseprofitabilitybydevelop-
ingnewproductsthatfitmarketneedsandexpanding
overseasnetworksofproduction,marketingandcus-
tomerservicefacilities.Wemadeconcertedeffortsdur-
ingtheyeartoimplementavarietyofstructuralreforms
directedatfundamentalimprovementsinourearnings
structure.Wesoughttoreducevariableandfixedcosts
andworkedtoimproveourturnoverintermsofboth
tradereceivablesandinventories.
toourshareholders
andinvestors
2