Fujifilm

Fujifilm is a large Japanese company engaged in the development of technology in the field of photography and work with images, innovations in the field of medicine.

Structure

By the end of March 2018, Fujifilm's business is divided into the following main divisions:

• Healthcare & Material Solutions (medical IT solutions, endoscopes, ultrasound scanners, in vitro diagnostic machines, pharmaceuticals, industrial printers, and electronic materials). This includes Fujifilm Medical Systems;
• Imaging Solutions (digital cameras, optical devices like lenses and binoculars);
• Document Solutions.

Business in Russia

In Russia, represented by Fujifilm-RO CJSC. The company specializes in the sale and promotion of photographic film, photo paper, photochemistry, instant printing kiosks, thermosubblimation printers, mini-photographic laboratories, digital cameras, television and film lenses, lenses for security video surveillance systems, binoculars, medical equipment for digital diagnostic imaging, data management, endoscopy, media, film.

Performance indicators

2020

Market share of medical equipment for diagnostic imaging - 5.6%

At the end of 2020, Fujifilm occupied 5.6% of the global market for medical equipment for diagnostic imaging (British Evaluate data). More details here.

Revenue - 2.19 trillion yen, profit - 181.2 billion yen

Fujifilm completed the fiscal year 2020 with sales of 2.19 trillion yen (about $20 billion at the exchange rate as of June 8, 2021), which is 5.3% short of revenue a year ago.

Despite the drop in turnover, the company's medical business showed strong growth - by 12.6% to 567.8 billion yen. This business is part of Healthcare & Material Solutions (medical IT solutions, endoscopes, ultrasound scanners, in vitro diagnostic devices, pharmaceuticals, industrial printers, as well as electronic materials), which earned 1.05 trillion yen in revenue in 2020, which is 2.8% more than in 2019.

Fujifilm's medical business showed strong growth in 2020 amid falling total revenue

In the Imaging Solutions camera division, annual sales decreased by 14.2% to 285.2 billion yen. Document Solutions, a division specializing in the production of printing equipment, also recorded a decrease in sales - by 10.8%, to 854.7 billion yen.

Fujifilm's net profit in 2020 reached 181.2 billion yen against 125 billion yen a year earlier. The growth was largely due to the restructuring, in which Fuji Xerox became a 100 percent subsidiary of Fujifilm.

In the medical business, profit increased by 69%, reaching 55.8 billion yen. Thanks to sales of healthcare products, the entire Healthcare & Material Solutions division received revenue of 107.5 billion yen (+ 16.3%), which was the highest result among all business areas of the company.

In Imaging Solutions and Document Solutions, the annual profit was 15.6 billion (-37.8%) and 73.3 billion yen (-30.2%), respectively.

In its report, Fujifilm noted the growing sales of portable X-ray and ultrasound devices, which are actively used in medical institutions for the diagnosis of pneumonia.^[1]

2018: Medical business grew by 15.3% to 443 billion yen

In fiscal year 2018, which ended at the end of March 2018, Fujifilm's revenue reached 2.4 trillion yen, which is 4.8% more than a year earlier.

In Healthcare & Material Solutions (medical IT solutions, endoscopes, ultrasound scanners, in vitro diagnostic devices, pharmaceuticals, industrial printers, as well as electronic materials), the turnover exceeded 1 trillion yen, which is 11.5% more compared to fiscal year 2017. The medical business accounted for 443 billion yen of revenue - 15.3% more than a year ago.

Fujifilm Results of the Year: Medical Business Added 15%

Imaging Solutions, a division specializing in digital cameras and optical devices (lenses, binoculars), ended the reporting year with sales of 383 billion yen against 341.8 billion yen a year earlier. Thus, growth in this business amounted to 12.1%.

Revenue in the direction of Document Solutions (office printers, print services) decreased by 3.1%, amounting to 1 trillion yen.

Fujifilm's net profit in fiscal year 2018 amounted to 140.7 billion yen, which is 7% higher than a year ago.

The profit in the Healthcare & Material Solutions structure turned out to be 92.8 billion yen, an increase of 11.8% compared to the previous year. In the direction of Healthcare, a profit of 20.7 billion yen was recorded, which jumped 67% compared to last year.

As part of Imaging Solutions, the Japanese company made a profit of 56 trillion yen, which is half the value of a year ago. Fujifilm's printer division showed an 83 percent decrease in profit - up to 14 billion yen.

The financial downturn of Document Solutions in the company was associated with a reduction in the production of low-cost office printers, as well as with high one-time restructuring costs. At the same time, the manufacturer noted the growing export of printing office equipment to the United States, Europe and China.^[2]

History

2021

Investing $850 million in gene therapy

At the end of June 2021, it became known that Fujifilm will invest $850 million in gene therapy development of its CDMO Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies division. The company will divide the funds provided between its plants in the UK and the USA. The planned costs "are mainly aimed at significantly increasing the capacity to produce biopharmaceuticals, such as COVID-19 vaccines and advanced treatments," said a company spokeswoman. More details here.

Ransomware attack and subsequent shutdown of IT systems

In early June 2021, Fujifilm reported stopping several servers after an ransomware virus attack. According to Bleeding Computer, the malicious campaign was organized using the Qbot trojan, which first became known ten years earlier.

In the late evening of June 1, 2021, we became aware of a possible ransomware attack. As a result, we have taken measures to suspend the operation of all affected systems that are in cooperation with our various global facilities, the Fujifilm website said in a statement.

Fujifilm stops IT systems after ransomware attack

The company added that the network was partially disconnected, and incoming emails ceased to be accepted. Fujifilm refrained from revealing any details of the incident.

Fujifilm refused to report the amount requested by the extortionists, saying that she still did not pay the ransom.  Instead of a buyout, the company decided to restore the system using backups.

Bleeding Computer writes that the cyber group behind the creation of Qbot works with the REvil hacker community. It is known that the Qbot trojan has a long history of using network software to hack into further extortion and provides remote access to compromised networks.

Earlier, ransomware groups ProLock and Egregor collaborated with the Qbot team, after the alleged end of their activities, the REvil group switched to using the corresponding botnet.

According to Jake cyber security Moore of the company, ESET the refusal to pay extortionists is not a decision that is easily made. Such criminals usually threaten to put the stolen data in public access or sell it to interested customers if there is no payment.^[3]

Goto Teichi - new head of Fujifilm Holdings

On March 31, 2021, Fujifilm Holdings announced the appointment of Teiichi Goto as the new CEO instead of Shigetaka Komori, who has led the Japanese company since 2003. More details here.

2020: Launch of the Medical System Integration Business

In January 2020, Fujifilm announced the start of system integration services in the medical equipment market. To do this, a separate division was created in the structure of the Japanese company, called Systems Integration. It was launched as part of a group dealing with medical and endoscopic systems. More details here.

2019: Xerox sold stake in joint venture with Fujifilm for $2.3 billion

On November 5, 2019, it was announced that Fujifilm was buying out from Xerox a stake in Fuji Xerox, a joint venture (JV) that specializes in the production of copying equipment and the provision of document management services. More details here.

2018

Entering the projector market

On September 25, 2018, Fujifilm announced the launch of projectors into the market. More details here.

Lawsuit against Xerox for rejecting takeover deal

On June 18, 2018, Fujifilm filed a lawsuit in a US federal court for Xerox's failure to comply with the terms of the contract in order to prevent the latter from refusing the previously proposed $6.1 billion takeover transaction. In a 36-page statement of claim, Fujifilm accused Xerox of not having a reason to break the agreement to sell control of the American company to Japanese Fuji.

Fujifilm and Xerox agreed on a deal in good faith and on an official basis, based on a fair valuation, the Fujifilm lawsuit says. - Fujifilm still considers the merger of Fuji Xerox and Xerox to be the only right solution to ensure exceptional returns for shareholders of both companies in the short and long term.

The agreement was announced in January 2018; it was agreed by former Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson. The terms of the deal sparked outrage from two major shareholders, Carl Aikan and Darwin Dison, who relentlessly attacked the company through the media and launched a lawsuit to oust Jacobson and stop the deal. The result of shareholder pressure was the resignation of Jacobson in May and Xerox's announcement to cancel the deal with Fujifilm due to the fact that the Japanese company refused to discuss better terms and publish financial statements related to the sale.

Fujifilm at the same time announced its intention to defend the deal through the court.

This is incompatible with the will of shareholders - to allow Karl Aikan and Darwin Dison - minority shareholders who own only 15% of Xerox shares - to dictate what the fate of the company will be, Fujifilm said in a statement.

In a response statement issued hours after Fujifilm filed its lawsuit, Xerox denied the accusation that its refusal to do so was a breach of contract.^[4]

We remain absolutely confident that the former Management Board correctly exercised its net right under the contract to lawfully terminate the transaction agreement, including due to the growing number of outstanding issues with the accounting records of Fuji Xerox, the statement said. - Xerox will strongly defend its decision and use all remedies available to it due to unsatisfactory management and unfair behavior of Fujifilm.

Termination of merger with Xerox

On May 14, 2018, Xerox officially announced its refusal to enter into a merger deal with Fujifilm Holdings. The sale of the American company fell through under pressure from the largest shareholders. More details here.

Purchase of JXTG biotechnology units for $800 million

At the end of March 2018, Fujifilm Holdings announced the purchase of two biotechnology divisions of Japan's largest oil and gas company, JXTG Holdings, in order to strengthen its position in the healthcare market. More details here.

Fujifilm acquires Irvine Scientific (founded in 1987) and IS Japan (1989) from JXTG Holdings for $800 million. Both "daughters" of the Japanese holding are engaged in the development of a nutrient medium for growing cell cultures for the biopharmaceutical and medical markets, as well as the cell therapy market.

Fujifilm gains control of Xerox

On January 31, 2018, the Japanese photographic equipment manufacturer Fujifilm Holdings announced it would gain control of Xerox and merge the American joint venture company (JV) - Fuji Xerox. This is done in order to reduce costs. More details here.

2017: $4.5 billion in acquisition costs

At the end of August 2017, Fujifilm Holdings announced plans to spend more than $4.5 billion on the acquisition of other companies. One of the main markets to which emphasis is planned will be health care.

According to Reuters news agency, citing a statement by Fujifilm, the company allocated 500 billion yen (about $4.54 billion) for asset purchases over three years. Vendor is promoting this strategy in an attempt to reduce dependence on the traditional photographic business.

Fujifilm allocated $4.5 billion for company purchases

It is noted that due to strategic acquisitions, Fujifilm is going to maintain the dynamics of revenue growth. According to Fujifilm forecasts, in fiscal 2020, the company's revenue will reach 2.6 trillion yen ($23.9 billion), operating profit will increase to a record 230 billion yen ($2.1 billion), net profit will be 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion).

Fujifilm did not say which companies are planned to buy from which areas. Due to the fact that the manufacturer has a large medical business, and Fujifilm claimed to take over the Toshiba medical equipment division, it can be assumed that the company will pay increased attention to healthcare.

At the end of 2016, Fujifilm reached an agreement to acquire a 70 percent stake in the manufacturer of chemical drugs for laboratories and diagnostic reagents Wako Pure Chemical Industries for 198.5 billion yen ($1.7 billion) from the pharmaceutical company Takeda.

Asset acquisition became part of a three-year strategy called Vision 2019, announced at the end of August 2017. It has three main tasks: improving profitability to achieve stable cash flow, accelerating the growth of key business areas to increase revenue and profit, as well as developing high-margin divisions that can become the basis for the company's growth in new markets.^[5]

2016: Kenji Sukeno - new president

In early June 2016, the manufacturer of photographic, computer medical equipment Fujifilm Holdings announced the appointment of Kenji Sukeno as the new head of the company. He is tasked with bringing the pharmaceutical business to profit.

Kenji Sukeno, 61, became president of Fujifilm instead of Shigehiro Nakajima, who resigned for health reasons. Sukeno became the main candidate for the role of successor to the chairman of the board of directors of Fujifilm Shigetaka Komori.

Notes