Possibly GREAT NEWS for Yamaha Keyboard Users...

[keynote]

Yamaha released its Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2023 and Full Year Outlook.  As to the Outlook for Performance in FY2023.3, Yamaha Corporation has revised its forecasts *upward* for revenue, core operating profit, and profit for the period attributable to owners of the parent due to revision of foreign exchange rates and other factors.

As a result, the Company has revised the full-year earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023,
which was announced on August 3, 2022, from ¥460.0 billion in revenue (+12.7% year on year) to ¥470.0 billion
(+15.1% year on year); from ¥50.0 billion in core operating profit (+16.2%) to ¥52.0 billion (+20.9%); and from
¥37.5 billion in profit for the period attributable to owners of the parent (+0.7%) to ¥41.0 billion (+10.1%).
Note that the foreign currency exchange rates used in computing these forecasts for the third quarter onwards are
¥140 to US$1 and ¥140 to €1.

Yamaha also expects to hire hundreds of additional employees to its overseas operations in fiscal year 2023 which is a positive sign of growth. The Core Operating Profits (Six Months Results Ended Sept. 30, 2022) for Musical Instruments was 20.6%. Yamaha's revised projection for full year (FY2023.3) in Core Operating Profit estimated to be 44% which is very encouraging from a consumer standpoint. What this conveys to me is Yamaha is predicating these greater revenue earnings in 2023 on TWO NEW & VERY POPULAR Keyboard Models being released in 2023/2024 in my opinion. First to be released would be a successor to the Montage in 2023 since that would follow the normal pattern i.e. Workstation first, then a TOTL Arranger, in this case the Genos 2 about a year later, which is the usual sequence of events by Yamaha over the past several decades if I'm not mistaken. The excitement of such HUGE RELEASES would undoubtedly send the Musician/Music World into a gleeful frenzy since the current Montage has been such a big success and a whole lot of people are interested in a new Montage being released hopefully soon. HUGE SALES POTENTIAL, and thereby, HUGE REVENUE BOOSTERs for Yamaha.

In conclusion, these positive monetary performance outlooks by Yamaha for 2023 and hopefully beyond, may in fact signify the release of a new Montage workstation & a new Genos 2 keyboard sometime in 2023/2024. Montage in 2023 if past is prologue then followed by the Genos 2 sometime in 2024 if all goes according to schedule.

All the best,
Mike   

PS: My personal opinions of course but we can all dream can't we? 😎

[Jeff Hollande]

Hi Mike ( Keynote ) :

Thanks for the Yamaha information.

Genos2 not earlier than 2024 ?


JH

[terryB]

If that is so, Yamaha should consider an update for the current model, maybe fill up the empty space on screen 1 of the the Home page menu  . What could they give us ? 

Cheers
Terry

[Duffy]

If that is so, Yamaha should consider an update for the current model, maybe fill up the empty space on screen 1 of the the Home page menu  . What could they give us ? 

Cheers
Terry

Seamless sound switching and a Hammond and Leslie simulation to match that on their YC61 which is far cheaper than the Genos.
That brilliant Hammond was added simply by a software update.

[mikf]

Arrangers are a mere drop in the ocean in the financials of Yamaha Corp so while this is a nice set of results for the Corp, I wouldn't read much into it re a Genos replacement.
Mike

[travlin-easy]

Sounds like a good time to invest in some  Yamaha stock!

Gary

[mikf]

Nice for Yamaha employees but investor gurus will have had this info some time ago. And despite this actually Yamaha stock has been falling recently. The  OPs hope that this might relate to new arranger models is not realistic. If Genos sales were to quadrupled this wouldn't even be visible in Yamaha Corp revenues, where they might move $5M in acoustic pianos alone EVERY DAY!
Mike

[pjd]

Arrangers are a mere drop in the ocean in the financials of Yamaha Corp so while this is a nice set of results for the Corp, I wouldn't read much into it re a Genos replacement.
Mike

This pie chart -- although it's a bit old -- gives some perspective on the relative size of market segments to the business bottom-line. I agree with Mike. Synthesizers, arrangers, MIDI controllers, etc. are somewhere in "Other".

BTW, it took me a while to separate fact from fan fiction. The Yamaha Annual Report contains nothing about products planned for 2023.

-- pj


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[Al Ram]

Thanks for the info, it is interesting

Yamaha is a multi billion world wide corporation . . . . . with many Divisions . . . . in addition to musical instruments they also produce many other products such as motorcycles, etc.

Wonder if the reading of the Yamaha financial results at high level would really provide an insight into the plans for the relatively small musical division. Although it would be nice if they announce a new top level keyboard . . . .

Thanks and have a great day.

[maartenb]

This pie chart -- although it's a bit old -- gives some perspective on the relative size of market segments to the business bottom-line.

To my surprise I see a pretty large piece for "Microphones". Didn't know that.


Maarten

[pjd]

Yamaha is a multi billion world wide corporation . . . . . with many Divisions . . . . in addition to musical instruments they also produce many other products such as motorcycles, etc.

Hi Al --

Use of "Yamaha" often causes confusion between the musical instrument manufacturer and the motor (motorcycle, jet ski, etc.) corporation. Straight from the source:

"Musical instrument maker Yamaha Corporation and motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha Motor both originate from the same company: Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd."

Yamaha Corporation and Yamaha Motor issue separate annual reports. Yamaha Corporation -- the musical instrument people -- have three core businesses:

• Musical Instruments: 2022 Revenue 276.2B Yen
• Audio Equipment: 2022 Revenue 96.9B Yen
• Industrial Machinery and Components: 2022 Revenue 35.1B Yen

The industrial machinery division makes electronic components, factory automation equipment, and -- wait for it -- golf clubs. Yamaha exploit the factory automation machines in their own factories. Golf clubs are truly the only "odd" business in the Yamaha Corporation portfolio.

Yamaha Motor is entirely separate and is managed separately.

Hope this adds some clarity -- pj

https://global.yamaha-motor.com/design_technology/technology/spread/008/

[pjd]

To my surprise I see a pretty large piece for "Microphones". Didn't know that.
Maarten

Hi Maarten --

This is probably due to NAMM's methodology. They roll up sales statistics from music retailers. I conjecture that the pro audio and microphone businesses are as large as they are because many sales are not strictly "musical". There are a lot of public address, broadcast, podcast, etc. applications that are not strictly "musical". Yet, if a retailer sells it, it gets rolled up in the sales statistics.

Another oddity is "School music." I suspect that the authors put wind, string and brass into this category, i.e., school orchestra and band instruments. Every freaking high school in the USA has a football team -- and a marching band -- so that is a big market segment. 

All the best -- pj

[mikf]

.......would really provide an insight into the plans for the relatively small musical division. . . .

The musical division is not small, it's the mainstay of the corporation. Guitars and acoustic pianos revenues alone are billions. Electronic keyboards are smaller, arrangers an even smaller sub set of electronic keyboards and TOTL arrangers a very small subset of that, so a tiny part of the whole corporation.
Reading implications for Genos in Yamaha Corp accounts is like trying to read into Walmart global accounts that sales of Worcester Sauce have changed.
Mike

[Al Ram]

Thanks for the clarifications about Yamaha corporate structure. . . . and the comments.

The point is that it seems to be difficult to imply the future plan for keyboards reading from the financial reports.

You all have a great day.

[keynote]

The point is that it seems to be difficult to imply the future plan for keyboards reading from the financial reports.

Yes, it's rather difficult to figure out what these positive financial projections mean for consumers since Yamaha is very tight-lipped, usually until just prior to when a product is ready to launch. The Genos & the new MODX+ being prime examples of that. But at least Yamaha expects growth in the musical instrument arena, including keyboard products. One thing for sure. If Yamaha does come through with a new Montage & Genos 2 release in 2023/2024 you can bet your bottom dollar musicians/keyboardists will be lining up to get their hands on them, especially if they exceed our expectations. Korg now has the upper hand with the Pa5X SST (Seamless Sound Transition) feature, which really is a game changer in my opinion. The Pa5X also beats the Genos in the Piano, Organ, and Pads category, plus the Ketron Event sounds are next-level with its audio styles and audio sample integration along with the instrument sounds themselves. As Lee pointed out, Yamaha lacks current technology advancements that both Ketron & Korg now offer. Although, when a new Montage and Genos 2 finally do arrive on the scene, I think Yamaha will have upped the ante in more ways than one, which probably also means, pricewise.  But luxury items are still very much in demand even in the current global economic conditions. Start saving those pennies. 👍 💵💶💷💴

All the best, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Mike