Type: Public
On the web: http://www.leica-corporate.com
Employees: 1,105
Employee growth: 2.0%

Leica Camera's future came into focus in 1914, when one of its employees, Oskar Barnack, invented the world's first 35mm camera. The eruption of WWI kept Barnack's invention on the shelf until 1925, when his cameras were first sold to the public. Today, Leica makes and sells cameras, lenses, projectors, binoculars, and photographic accessories. The company, which has manufacturing operations in Germany and Portugal, collaborates with Panasonic in producing digital cameras. Leica's cameras and equipment are geared toward dedicated amateurs and professional photographers and are sold through retailers worldwide. ACM Projektentwicklung controls 96.5% of the company.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending March, 2011:
Sales: $350.7M
One year growth: 64.7%
Net income: $51.2M
Income growth: 1097.2%

Officers:
Chairman and CEO: Andreas Kaufmann
COO: Stephan Trippe
CFO: Andreas Lobejäger

Competitors:
Canon
Nikon
Olympus

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