Leica in serious financial trouble?

[Sandy Martin]

Saw this earlier
German website, Spiegel Online, has reported that Leica is in financial crisis after many banks cut its credit lines following an announcement last week which said it stood to lose half its operating capital. Leica are expected to end the financial year with an operating loss of €10 million (approx $13 million). Last year it reported a loss of €1.6 million (approx $2.1 million). Shareholders will hold a meeting on May 31 to discuss the future of the company. Spiegel Online says that Leica has missed the boat where digital photography is concerned and it is also suffering due to the low rate of the US dollar versus the Euro.

Sandy Martin

[Pinewood]

Here is the google translation of the article:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.spiegel.de/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dspiegel%2Bonline%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26 sa%3DG
Leica is really three companies. The article seems to deal with the Camera and Sports Optics Division. The other two divisions, microscopes and surveying equipmet are not mentioned. Their competetive pressures in the camera market seem to be at the heart of the problem.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

[salty]

hmmm, the cameras seem to price themselves out of the market, but i thought they would make a decent profit from optics as a whole - selling to other manufactures etc.

[Blackstart]

One can only hope that they have a huge going-out-of-business sale.

-Adam

[Adey Baker]

The frequent delays in the introduction of the digital back for the R8/9 cameras can't be helping them much. Anyone who already has a Leica system may be prepared to wait but they must have lost potentially new customers to their rivals - and if they're satisfied, they won't get them back!