Japan's Canon boosts profit outlook

Japan's Canon on Tuesday raised its annual financial projections, saying demand for its office and medical equipment offset sagging demand for digital cameras as consumers increasingly turn to picture-taking smartphones.

The camera and copier marker revised up its net profit outlook to 245 billion yen ($2.2 billion) for this year, up from an earlier estimate of 220 billion yen.

The Tokyo-based company also raised its 2017 revenue projection to 4.08 trillion yen from 4.05 trillion, partly owing to a contribution from medical equipment business it bought from loss-hit Toshiba.

The upbeat projections came as Canon credited strong sales of office equipment, including laser printers, for nine-month net profit surging 77 percent to 187.32 billion yen.

Demand for cameras shrank again but medical equipment demand was booming, it said.

"Demand is expected to remain firm in response to replacement demand for medical equipment in developed countries and increasing medical needs associated with population growth in emerging countries," the firm said.