Nikon 2015 Annual Report Download - page 5

03
NIKON REPORT 2015
Our Message
Fully aware that we will be marking the 100th anniversary of our
establishment in 2017, I am working to position 2017 as a year of regrowth
for the Nikon Group and to create the foundation for that regrowth.
In a determined manner, I will lead the transformation needed to make the
Nikon Group into a corporate entity that will continue to grow over the
next 100 years.
Kazuo Ushida
President
Representative Director
To Our Stakeholders
n Summary of Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2015
Although there were harsh consequences, we made progress during the year in business
areas that needed to be expanded
In the scal year ended March 31, 2015, a year-on-year decline resulted in both sales and income for the Nikon
Group. In summary of the scal year, a clear division existed between businesses that progressed as planned and
those that did not.
First, the businesses that progressed as planned were those that are positioned as growth businesses—Medical,
Microscope Solutions, and Industrial Metrology. In the Medical Business, we commenced procedures to acquire
Optos Plc, the U.K. retina diagnostic imaging equipment company that was made a wholly owned subsidiary in
May 2015. Possessing cutting-edge optical technologies, Optos has a solid footing in the fundus camera market
with optical coherence tomography (OCT) technologies at its disposal. Optos is a leading company in the retina
diagnostic imaging equipment market. In addition to leveraging our core competency in optical technologies in
Optos’ retina diagnostic imaging equipment, we will draw on the expertise and know-how of Optos. Not conning
ourselves to the acquisition of Optos, we plan to expand as a business entity by accelerating our approaches in
other external diagnostic elds.
In the Microscope Solutions Business, we signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Lonza, of Switzerland,
the world’s largest manufacturer of cells for regenerative medicine therapeutics. The agreement covers the con-
tract manufacturing of cell products for regenerative medicine in Japan. We are engaged in preparations to enter
this business. While incorporating the know-how in high-quality cell manufacturing technologies that Lonza pos-
sesses, we are targeting business development that leverages Nikon’s core technologies in optics and image analy-
sis, and we will aim to expand our business base into peripheral areas.
In the Industrial Metrology Business, we started the transformation from a focus on hardware to a business model
based on solution proposals. By establishing a division to conduct marketing activities, including investigations into
market needs, the business unit further strengthened its capabilities to realize a variety of requests, including
customer requests for cost reductions. This move has already borne fruit in the form of increases in orders.
In contrast, those businesses that did not progress according to plan were the existing businesses: Imaging
Products and Semiconductor Lithography. In the Imaging Products Business, market recovery was delayed in
Europe and China, and the number of units sold in all product categories was down from the previous scal year,
including of digital cameras–interchangeable lens type. In the Semiconductor Lithography Business, despite
progress made with cost reductions, the number of units sold was also down from the previous scal year. As a
result, the Imaging Products Business and the Precision Equipment Business, which comprises the Semiconductor
Lithography Business and the FPD Lithography Business, recorded year-on-year decreases in sales and income.