Olympus in trouble.

[compuwar]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15632320

Olympus has seen its market value plummet by more than half since the scandal broke in October.

Analysts said the latest disclosure has raised questions about the very future of the company.

"This is very serious. Olympus admitted it has made false entries to cover its losses for 20 years. All people involved in this over 20 years would be responsible," said Ryosuke Okazaki of ITC Investment Partners.

"There is a serious danger that Olympus shares will be delisted. The future of the company is extremely dark," he warned.

So apparently the turn-around quite possibly wasn't and they bled much more red ink than was listed. Let's hope they scrape through this and stay on the Tokyo Exchange. My guess is that we'll see some criminal charges come out of this. The last CEO, who was ousted for questioning the practice is looking better IMO. I'd be surprised if their board survives. Moral can't be good at this point, and I wonder how R&D capitalization will be affected. Still, the biggest thing they need is modern sensors, and that's Panasonic's bailiwick, so they should remain competitive if they manage to stay in business once Panny revs the sensor line.

Paul

 

[100Teraflops]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15632320



So apparently the turn-around quite possibly wasn't and they bled much more red ink than was listed. Let's hope they scrape through this and stay on the Tokyo Exchange. My guess is that we'll see some criminal charges come out of this. The last CEO, who was ousted for questioning the practice is looking better IMO. I'd be surprised if their board survives. Moral can't be good at this point, and I wonder how R&D capitalization will be affected. Still, the biggest thing they need is modern sensors, and that's Panasonic's bailiwick, so they should remain competitive if they manage to stay in business once Panny revs the sensor line.

Paul

It appears there is a power struggle in Olympus' head shed. In this day and age, why would a company shoot themselves in the foot? Although the report is honest, the shareholders might feel betrayed. I applaud a company that can come clean with some of its dirty laundry, but like you stated: at what cost? I assume that heads will roll, but whose head is beyond me. Thanks for the informative link!

 

[srf4real]

The r+d has done been over in the dslr department bascially a couple years already. Truly a shame, some of the best quality lenses ever created for digital photography will gather dust before their time, because Oly left four thirds behind for a quick buck in the "mini" dslr camp.. where they are sadly failing as well imo. The distracted leadership.. it all makes sense now.

I say good riddance to bad leadership, too bad innocents must suffer the most (like me I've invested thousands $$ in Olympus gear)_but it will still suffice for me to shoot with over the next five or ten years.. the investors may end up with nothing at all.

 

[compuwar]

IIn this day and age, why would a company shoot themselves in the foot?

Once the last CEO raised the issue it couldn't be swept under the rug. It's bad enough that there is likely criminality and that's something you simply can't ignore. The bad part is that they were bleeding red ink for a lot of that period and looked like they'd gotten a handle on some of that- but if they have to go back and restate earnings, deal with a new board and delisting, it may sink the ship.

With the time it took Hoya to finally get rid of Pentax as they originally planned, things don't look to good on someone picking up the camera division, though I suppose Panasonic could probably make a go of it if the ship goes down.

Paul