The Ricoh name is about older than dirt when it comes to the optical drive market. This, unfortunately, is just a sign of the times:

Ricoh is withdrawing from the optical disk drive business, citing price competition and declining sales internationally.

The company now thinks it can’t make a profit in the optical disk business, according to spokesman Satoshi Aoki.

Shrinking Sales
“I guess you could say it was the drop in prices, and the arrival of new makers,” Aoki said.

Thursday, the company reported that its net income for the first six months fell 15.2 percent to $323 million as of September 30, compared to last year’s sales of 8.25 billion, down 1.4 percent from the same period the year before.

Decreased sales of optical discs together with the appreciation of the Japanese yen accounted for a 7.4 percent drop in overseas sales, the company said.

The company also predicted a 7.4 percent drop in its net income to 800 million for the full year to March 31, 2005.

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