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*November 2, 2005 - *While many other digital camera manufacturers (Fujifilm, Sony, and Canon, to name a few) are watching profits fall, Casio is enjoying unprecedented success. Today Casio reported that, thanks to a 13 percent sales increase to 169.84 billion yen ($1.46 billion), their second quarter operating profit is up 30 percent, from 12.43 billion yen to 16.15 billion yen. Casio also reports that this is the highest operating profit recorded since their records began two years ago.
In a news conference, Casio Managing Director Akinori Takagi explained the key to Casio’s success: "The most important point for our engineers has been to develop strong products equipped with features that set them apart from the competition."
Casio’s Exilim line of ultra-compact cameras illustrates this. The Exilim EX-Z110 and Exilim EX-Z120 have more of the ever-popular scene preset shooting modes than any other cameras on the market, with 28 and 32 modes and settings like "Soft Flowing Water" and "ID Photo". Demand for Casio digital cameras is strong, particularly the Exilim line.
Casio may have to worry about falling LCD prices, since they manufacturer roughly 40 percent of the LCDs used in digital cameras. Takagi admitted that it is a concern.
"For us it will come down to just how much we can differentiate our LCDs from rival products through technological innovation," Takagi said.