Ricoh’s camera business continued to perform strongly in the first half of its financial year, driven mainly by demand for the RICOH GR series, according to the company’s latest results – a striking turnaround for a brand that has recently scaled back its Pentax DSLR line-up.

In its quarterly report for the six months to 30 September 2026, Ricoh says: “The camera business continued to perform strongly, driven mainly by the RICOH GR series, resulting in higher sales and profit.” Its results presentation similarly says cameras performed well and increased earnings, primarily on the strength of GR series demand.

The numbers

Ricoh doesn’t publish camera-only figures. Cameras sit within its “Other” segment, alongside 360-degree cameras and environment and healthcare businesses. That segment’s first-half sales rose 35.3% to ¥25.6 billion, with operating profit of ¥0.3 billion – an improvement of ¥2.9 billion on the previous year.

Across the whole Ricoh group, first-half sales rose 5.9% to ¥1,294.4 billion, while operating profit more than doubled to ¥73.4 billion. Ricoh has raised its full-year operating profit forecast from ¥95 billion to ¥103 billion.

Why the GR keeps winning

The GR series has become something of a cult object – a pocketable APS-C compact with a superb fixed lens and a devoted following among street photographers. The GR IV has clearly kept that momentum going, and it’s part of a wider trend that has seen premium fixed-lens compacts sell out across the industry as photographers look for something smaller and more deliberate than a phone.

It’s worth keeping the scale in perspective: the segment’s profit is modest, and Ricoh is a large office equipment and services company first. But for camera fans, it’s encouraging to see a small, focused product line pulling its weight. As Digital Camera World points out, it’s a very different picture from Pentax DSLRs, with the K-series now discontinued.

Key figures (six months to 30 September 2026)

What next

Ricoh has not announced any new camera products alongside its results.