LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--April 26, 2002--Canon U.S.A. and a leader in imaging technologies, today announced Canon Inc. first quarter 2002 consolidated net sales of 651.1 billion yen (US$ 4,895 million), which represents a year-over-year decrease of 8.9% over the first quarter of fiscal year 2001. Canon reported first quarter net income of 31.7 billion yen (US$ 238 million), or 36.11 yen (US$ 0.27) per share, which represents a year-over-year decrease of 26.9%. Canon raised its targets on fiscal year 2002 sales, operating profit, and net income, due to stronger than expected first quarter results and higher expectations for the second half. "During this first quarter, signs of a recovery in the U.S. began to appear, but globally the harsh business environment has persisted. Nevertheless, as the contribution of factors such as the steady progress made by competitive new products, cost reduction through the production reformation activities, and the weakness of the yen, we were able to exceed initial projections in both sales and profits. If we compare our forecasts for 2002 with the actual results for last year, we should achieve increases in both sales and profits for the third successive term, and a record-high performance for the second term in succession," said Toshizo Tanaka, Senior Managing Director and Group Executive for Finance and Accounting Headquarters, Canon Inc. First quarter 2002 consolidated net sales of 651.1 billion yen (US$ 4,895 million) and net income of 31.7 billion yen (US$ 238 million), or 36.11 yen (US$ 0.27) per share beat the estimates of 650.0 billion yen (US$ 4,887 million) and 28.0 billion yen (US$ 211 million), respectively.