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Canon to Expand OLED Business from Equipment to Materials
March 08, 2020
Canon is looking to start producing materials used in next-generation, flexible light displays in a bid to cultivate new business arenas as the OLED panels become more common in smartphones and TVs, its chairman said in an interview with Nikkei.
Canon currently uses organic light-emitting diode displays in mirrorless cameras. The panels are also expected to become more widely used in video production and medical equipment, given the shift toward high-definition imagery in these fields, fueling demand for materials used in the panels. "We are considering producing OLED materials internally," Canon Chairman and CEO Fujio Mitarai said.
Further details, including the timing, still need to be ironed out. Canon's research and development team, along with subsidiary Fukui Canon Materials, are expected to take the lead on production. The materials will likely be used in OLEDs for Canon's own products. Canon produces tools used in OLED-related production for deposition and lithography and could tap sales networks there to sell to the panel makers. With mainstay products like digital cameras and printers facing headwinds, Canon's group net profit plunged 51% to a 10-year low of 125.1 billion yen ($1.16 billion) in 2019.
Mitarai said he aimed to increase revenue from newer business fields to over 50% of the group total from about 25% by the mid-2020s. Canon is investing heavily into sales networks for medical equipment and image analysis software for surveillance cameras. "If there is a good acquisition target, we'll jump on it immediate," he said.
Canon to Expand OLED Business from Equipment to Materials
March 08, 2020
Canon is looking to start producing materials used in next-generation, flexible light displays in a bid to cultivate new business arenas as the OLED panels become more common in smartphones and TVs, its chairman said in an interview with Nikkei.
Canon currently uses organic light-emitting diode displays in mirrorless cameras. The panels are also expected to become more widely used in video production and medical equipment, given the shift toward high-definition imagery in these fields, fueling demand for materials used in the panels. "We are considering producing OLED materials internally," Canon Chairman and CEO Fujio Mitarai said.
Further details, including the timing, still need to be ironed out. Canon's research and development team, along with subsidiary Fukui Canon Materials, are expected to take the lead on production. The materials will likely be used in OLEDs for Canon's own products. Canon produces tools used in OLED-related production for deposition and lithography and could tap sales networks there to sell to the panel makers. With mainstay products like digital cameras and printers facing headwinds, Canon's group net profit plunged 51% to a 10-year low of 125.1 billion yen ($1.16 billion) in 2019.
Mitarai said he aimed to increase revenue from newer business fields to over 50% of the group total from about 25% by the mid-2020s. Canon is investing heavily into sales networks for medical equipment and image analysis software for surveillance cameras. "If there is a good acquisition target, we'll jump on it immediate," he said.
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