Canon Inc. Press Release 28/07/04

Canon Inc. Reports Results for First Half 2004

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—July 28, 2004 Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ - news) and a leader in imaging technologies, today announced Canon Inc. first half 2004 consolidated net sales of 1,648.4 billion yen (US$ 15,263 million), which represents an increase of 7.3% over the first half of fiscal year 2003.

Canon reported first half net income of 160.8 billion yen (US$ 1,489 million), a significant increase of 25.8% over the same period last year and an earning per share of 181.84 yen (US$ 1.68).

Canon Inc. also reported second-quarter revenue of 850.4 billion yen (US$ 7,874 million), 5.8% higher than second-quarter 2003 with net income of 76.5 billion yen (US$ 708 million), 36.2% higher than second-quarter 2003.

“Although the yen was a negative factor, we were able to achieve this through continued strong sales growth of both digital cameras and color copying machines and higher sales of IC steppers along with a recovery in the semiconductor market. Consequently, we achieved our eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in both net sales and profit,” said Toshizo Tanaka, Senior Managing Director and Group Executive for Finance and Accounting Headquarters, Canon Inc.

For more detailed information and tables, please refer to our Announcement of First Half 2004 financial results at http://www.canon.com/finance/index.html.