Fujifilm’s Instax, X-series sales shine, pulling in 2.7x the profits of last year

Fujifilm released its third quarter (Q3) financials this week. Inside, the numbers told an interesting story of the photography industry, which seems to be more of an enigma with each passing year.

From April to September of this year, Fujifilm recorded (PDF) an overall profit of 46.9 billion yen (US$387 million), an impressive increase of 16% year over year (YOY). In terms of Fujifilm’s camera-specific profit, the Japanese manufacturer pulled in 12.4 billion yen (US$102 million), roughly 2.7 times last year’s profits.

These numbers shine a ray of hope in the glooming photography industry, whose numbers have been declining almost across the board for a while now, but the numbers alone don’t tell the full story.

While Fujifilm says sales of its more premium X-series cameras and lenses are going strong, it attributes the increase in profits to the success of its Fuji Instax cameras, specifically in the Western market.

What’s interesting is that Fujifilm’s two most successful markets within its camera divisions couldn’t be further apart in terms of quality. On one hand, you have instant cameras made of plastic; on the other, you have premium cameras that pack in some of the best sensor technology out there. Yet, together they co-exist in a market where sales of the in-between options, such as point-and-shoots, are consistently failing.

It’s nice to see a camera company post numbers in the green, but it’s not happening the way many of us likely expected it to.

(via Digicame)