Leica Camera AG doubles sales in first half of fiscal year

Sales of cameras, lenses and accessories rose by approximately 140 %, from Euro 36.6 million (US$ 48.5 million) to Euro 87.7 million (US$ 116.15 million) . According to a press release, sales were driven by the Leica M9 rangefinder camera and the Leica S2 professional system. The Leica X1 compact camera labelled ”Made in Germany“ and the compact travel camera Leica V-Lux 20 also significantly contributed to the favourable development.

”After the successful turnaround in the previous fiscal year and the introduction of new products over the last few months, Leica now experiences a very positive development of business indeed”, commented Alfred Schopf, CEO of Leica Camera AG. „We have recruited more than 30 new employees in manufacturing and are working at full speed to reduce the order backlog as quickly as possible. One thing is clear, however: No quickness at the expense of quality.”

At this year’s photokina in Cologne, the leading photography fair, Leica presented the most comprehensive portfolio of digital cameras to date. The company introduced, among other things, a special edition, of the Leica M9 “Titanium”, designed by the head of the Volkswagen design department, Walter de’Silva. The camera, limited to 500 units, was completely sold out in a short time. The new compact cameras Leica D-Lux 5 and Leica V-Lux 2 and the black design variant of the Leica X1 were also very well received by the market – as were the new binoculars series Leica Silverline coming from Leica sport optics.