LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--April 27, 2004-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. and a leader in imaging technologies, today announced Canon Inc. first quarter 2004 consolidated net sales of 798.1 billion yen (US$ 7,529 million), which represents a year-over-year increase of 9.1% over the first quarter of fiscal year 2003. Canon reported first quarter net income of 84.3 billion yen (US$ 795 million), or 95.50 yen (US$ 0.90) per share, which represents a year-over-year increase of 17.1%. "We exceeded our projections and results, for the same period last year, in both net sales and profits. The increase in net sales was due to continued strong sales of digital cameras and color network multifunction devices as well as increased unit sales of IC steppers. Operating profit and net income increased over 10 percent compared with the same period of the previous year, despite the strong yen environment. This was mainly due to effects of increased sales volume and our efforts to realize cost reduction through the reinforcement of collaboration between development and production, and to reduce SG&A expenses. As a result, on a quarterly basis, operating profit and net income reached record high levels," said Toshizo Tanaka, Senior Managing Director and Group Executive for Finance and Accounting Headquarters, Canon Inc.