Tokyo - Canon Inc on Monday revised down its earnings projections for the year due to a stronger yen and sluggish global economy.

The Japanese electronics company expected its net profit to fall 23.2 per cent for the year through December 31 to 375 billion yen (3.98 billion dollars), which would be the first drop in nine years, it said.

Its operating profit was seen to decline 23.3 per cent to 580 billion yen and sales to fall 5.2 per cent to 4.25 trillion yen from an initial forecast.

For the nine-month period through September 30, Canon said net profit dropped 17.5 per cent to 297.53 billion yen from a year earlier.

Its operating profit slid 18.3 per cent to 460.25 billion yen, and sales were down 3.7 per cent to 3.1 trillion yen. (dpa)