Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>>>>>>>>>> So? What's the objective here? Are we trying to turn Leica into a General Electric? As long as Leica is making money, does it have to make more and more and get bigger and bigger? Why can't it just continue as always, making a modest but comfortable profit? <<<<<<<<<< That's the problem: They're not making a profit. Their first quarter finaincial report (downlowadable from their web site as a pdf document) says they lost over 3 million DM after taxes in their first fiscal quarter this year. They still hope to break even for the year, which would be a positive change compared to the last couple of years. Assuming Leica eventually does turn a profit, as a publicly traded company they then have an obligation to the owners of their stock to increase and maximize those profits. That said, the financial report also relates that sales of the M system are up almost 25% compared to the same period a year ago. Reading between the lines, the report seems to indicate that Leica is pinning this year's financial hopes on continued success with the M system and a new, yet to be released, point-and-shoot camera. It's unlikely that the point-and-shoot will excite many participants of this list. But by continuing to develop the M system, there's good reason to believe that Leica can make both photographers and investors happy people. Larry