Canon Inc faces a tough second half after it beat quarterly estimates as Europe's economic woes and the strong yen tempers its optimism on growth in developing markets. Canon, the world's No 1 camera maker, ahead of Sony Corp and Nikon reported its strongest profit in seven quarters, boosted by sharply improved sales in both office equipment and cameras. "The market still has a downbeat earnings outlook going forward, and as if as a proof, the company also didn't revise up its outlook," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "It's hard to think the company's earnings will keep up the pace seen in the first half because so many uncertainties remain." The company retained its operating profit outlook for the full year at 360 billion yen ($4.1 billion), below a consensus 384 billion yen estimate in a poll of seven analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.