Smile for the camera; grimace for the manufacturer. Canon, the world’s number one digital camera maker, yesterday published a year-on-year  15 per cent fall in operating profits for the first half. Carnage that began in the banking sector is crimping demand for business machines, such as printers, which make up 65 per cent of the Japanese group’s sales. Profitability has been further undermined by the strong yen.

Can it deliver the forecast 1.8 per cent top-line rise for the full year? Demand is sluggish, particularly in the competitive US market. While Japan will be flattish, Canon reckons it can increase sales in every overseas market. In Europe, the biggest market, sales are expected to rise  7 per cent year on year compared with 1.5 per cent at the halfway stage. That looks challenging.