Konica Minolta cuts profit target by 38%

CNN News report that Konica Minolta cuts profit target by 38%, blaming the photographic division for losses:

"Konica Minolta gets more than half of its sales and most of its profit from office equipment, but its photo imaging division, which handles film and cameras, has been its Achilles' heel. The division is headed for a ¥9 billion loss this business year.

"We will scale down our photo imaging business in step with the shrinking of the overall market and will rush to get the business out of the red," Konica Minolta President Fumio Iwai told a briefing held to unveil a new medium-term business plan. "We will not chase after sheer volume in the digital camera market," Iwai said, adding the company would focus on high-end digital single lens reflex cameras and shift some of its employees working on cameras to the optical devices division."