Showa Denko KK

TSE:4004

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q1

[Hideki Somemiya, executive]

Good morning, everyone. I'm Hideki Somemiya, CFO of Resonac Holdings Corporation. Thank you very much for your continued interest in our business performance. I'd like to present the financial results of the first quarter FY 2023. Please turn to Page 2. There are 2 key takeaways. First is a summary of the first quarter business results. And the second is the forecast for the full year of FY 2023. In the first quarter FY 2023, net sales decreased JPY 9.1 billion year-on-year.

Operating income decreased to JPY 25 billion to the loss of JPY 9.2 billion. This is mainly due to the sluggish business in semiconductor and electronic materials segment caused by diminished demand in hard disk media and semiconductor material and the disposal of inventories and inventory write-downs in hard disk media business. Excluding sales and income from ISOLITE GmbH, which was divested in FY 2022, based on the ongoing businesses, net sales decreased by JPY 5.8 billion and profit decreased by JPY 24.8 billion year-on-year.

As for the forecast for the full year of FY 2023, despite the remained uncertainty in the demand in the semiconductor and the electronic materials industry, under a certain assumption, we estimate the operating loss of JPY 20 billion, down by substantial JPY 81.7 billion year-on-year. we management take the current condition very seriously. And with the promotion of structural reform in this year, we aim to achieve the big shape recovery in FY 2024 at the time of market recovery.

Please turn to the summary of consolidated results on Page 4. This is a consolidated results of the first quarter FY 2023 in the year-on-year comparison. A subsidiary, former Showa Denko Materials adopted IFRS as the accounting standard. But with the transition to the holding company structure this time, accounting standard was changed to JGAAP and the change is applied retractory to 2022. Please refer to the table on the left. Net sales were JPY 298.9 billion, down by JPY 9.1 billion or 3% year-on-year.

Operating income was minus JPY 9.2 billion, down by JPY 25 billion year-on-year. Ordinary income was minus JPY 10.9 billion, down by JPY 31.2 billion year-on-year. And net income attributable to owners of the parent was minus JPY 12.3 billion, down by JPY 21.1 billion year-on-year. EBITDA went down to JPY 17.9 billion, down by JPY 24.4 billion or 58% year-on-year and the EBITDA margin to sales worsened to 0.6%, down by 7.7 percentage points year-on-year. Table on the right shows the year-on-year comparison based on the ongoing businesses.

Net sales were down by JPY 5.8 billion or 2% year-on-year. Operating income was down JPY 24.8 billion. EBITDA was down by JPY 24.2 billion or 57%, and EBITDA margin to sales worsened by 7.8 percentage points. Please turn to Page 5. For the breakdown of operating income changes. This chart shows the difference between minus JPY 9.2 billion of operating income in the first quarter of this year and JPY 15.8 billion in the same quarter of last year by factor.

From operating income of JPY 15.8 billion in the same quarter last year, sales volume impact was minus JPY 24.8 billion, with a sales volume decrease in semiconductor and electronic materials. Sales price impact was plus JPY 18.1 billion, with a sales increase due to pass-through of the shoring raw material cost to the price, mainly in the Chemicals segment. Variable and fixed cost was minus JPY 12.4 billion, and it includes a surge in the raw material cost, but considerable part corresponds to the sales price improvement.

Finally, others were JPY 5.8 billion, and it includes a loss on the disposal of inventories in HD media as mentioned at the beginning, and the inventory write-down through lower of the cost or market method application. Please turn to Page 6 for sales, operating income and EBITDA by segment. All are shown in the year-on-year comparison. Each segment details will be explained on the next slide onward. From Page 7 to 9 show the detailed results by segment.

Details are described in the performance overview column on the right, so please refer to them later. Or talk about the outline only here. As for the semiconductor and electronic materials on Page 7, sales decreased 35% year-on-year to JPY 69.4 billion. Operating income decreased JPY 23.5 billion to the operating loss of JPY 10.4 billion. Sales decreased substantially year-on-year as the sluggish demand has continued since the second half of the previous year in the back-end semiconductor materials and HD media business and Device Solutions and in the front-end materials, customers' production adjustment was observed.

In addition to the substantial sales decline, write-downs due to the [LCM] method application and the posting of loss on the disposal in the inventory in HD media led to the profit decline. Mobility segment on Page 8. Sales decreased 4% year-on-year to JPY 42.5 billion. Operating income decreased JPY 1 billion to the operating loss of JPY 0.5 billion. In Automotive products, sales decreased due to the divestiture of ISOLITE GmbH in the previous year, but due to the product launch of the new model of vehicles and the recovery of the automobile production in North American region, sales based on the ongoing businesses increased.

In lithium-ion battery materials, sales decreased due to sluggish products for consumer products and the segment profit decreased mainly due to the decreased sales. Upper part of Page 9 is innovation enabling materials. Sales decreased 13% year-on-year to JPY 30 billion, and operating income decreased JPY 0.9 billion to JPY 2 billion. Sales decreased with sales volume decreased despite the selling prices increased backed by the shoring raw material prices and profit decreased due to the time lag of pass-through of the shoring raw material cost.

Lower part of Page 9 is Chemicals. Sales increased 34% year-on-year to JPY 127.1 billion, and operating income increased JPY 1.7 billion to JPY 3.9 billion. In Petrochemicals, sales increased substantially due to the selling price increase caused by the naphtha price increase as well as the absence of the 4-year cycle shutdown maintenance and the earthquake shutdown, which took place last year. In basic chemicals and graphite electrodes due to pass-through of the shoring raw materials and fuel cost and price hike to catch up with the cost increase, sales increased.

Operating income also increased in petrochemicals and Basic Chemicals and the segment profit increased. Please turn to Page 10 for nonoperating income and expenses and extraordinary profit and loss shown in the year-on-year comparison. Nonoperating income and expenses deteriorated by JPY 6.3 billion year-on-year due to the purchase of preferred stock by the financing through subordinated loan in the previous year, interest payment increased.

And mainly interest and dividend income and expenses deteriorated by JPY 1.6 billion and the deterioration of JPY 4.5 billion, which is due to the contraction of FX gain included in other are the major factors. As shown Page 18, preferred stock dividends, JPY 3.2 billion, which was posted in the first quarter last year is 0 this year. Extraordinary profit and loss deteriorated by JPY 1.5 billion year-on-year, mainly due to the impairment loss.

Please turn to Page 11 for consolidated balance sheet. Total assets were JPY 2,026.3 billion, down by JPY 67.4 billion due to a decrease in cash and deposit and notes and accounts receivable. Next, total liabilities were JPY 1,470.4 billion, down by JPY 48.7 billion year-on-year due to the decrease in notes and accounts payable. Total net assets decreased to JPY 556 billion, down by JPY 18.8 billion year-on-year due to the quarterly loss attributable to owners of the parent and the dividend paid in the previous year, which resulted in a decrease in shareholders' equity by JPY 23.7 billion.

Due to less shareholders' equity, net D/E ratio One of the KPIs worsened by 0.04 points to 1.12x and the equity ratio worsened by 0.1 points to 26.2%. And as shown in the footnote in small letters again this time, 50% of subordinated loans are considered as equity capital in net D/E ratio calculation, and it is based on the credit rating given by Japan Credit Rating Agency. Please turn to Page 13 for the consolidated forecast for the full year of FY 2023. Net sales are JPY 1,340 billion, down by JPY 52.6 billion or 4% year-on-year.

Operating income is loss of JPY 20 billion, down by JPY 81.7 billion. Ordinary income is loss of JPY 31 billion, down by JPY 92.7 billion and net income attributable to owners of the parent is loss of JPY 46 billion, down by JPY 78.4 billion year-on-year. As for the extraordinary profit and loss, only the highly probable initiatives are as of today are incorporated. But in the case of change, due to the additional measures to clear the negative assets, we disclose in time manner.

As for dividend, due to the still uncertain business prospect, we kept it as TBD, we will let you know upon decision. Please turn to Page 14. For sales and operating income forecast for FY 2023 by segment. In the full year forecast for FY 2023, net sales will be down by JPY 52.6 billion and operating income will be down by JPY 81.7 billion year-on-year. This is mainly due to the sales decrease by JPY 77.2 billion and the profit decreased by JPY 67.5 billion in semiconductor and electronic materials segment caused by sluggish demand.

In Mobility segment and Innovation Enabling Materials segment, both sales will be almost flat year-on-year, but both profit will decline. And in Chemicals segment, sales will increase and profit will decrease. In Chemicals segment, graphite electrode profit will decrease. But in petrochemicals and Basic Chemicals, sales and profit are increase in robust business performance. The business results of this year are due to a large position taken in semiconductor and electronic materials by Resonac. So we were prepared for this.

And toward the market recovery in the next year onward, we'd like to promote the structural reform, which I will explain later. Difference from the first quarter forecast that we announced in February is also listed here. Sales were down due to the more-than-expected impact by the customers' production adjustment in semiconductor and electronic materials segment, but mainly due to the fixed cost saving and the spread improvement in petrochemicals in Chemicals segment worked to contract the operating loss more than our expectation.

As of February, we assume to hit the bottom in the first quarter. And with the uncertainty, we expected to see the recovery in the second half to some extent. However, as some -- semiconductor materials will hit the profit bottom in the second quarter and the progress of the reduction in fixed cost, which increased through the upfront investment has not been sufficient. We assume that the level of loss in the second quarter will be equivalent to that in the first quarter.

And the pace of the demand recovery in the second half will be moderate. So even with a fixed cost reduction related to the head office, we just recover to the breakeven in the second half, and we management take it seriously. Please turn to Page 15 for the structural reforms underway. Under such severe external environment, we'll take thorough and non-consecutive actions with a grasp of changes in business environment. To be more specific, their production capacity optimization, deeming cyclicality unavoidable.

Strategy shift, including changes in market and product forecast and the resource shift based on the new strategy. In hard disk media, based on the constant volume decline, we optimize our production capacity, cutting the production capacity by 20%. And by the end of the first quarter, we disposed the most of the slow-moving inventories. As for mobility, with a shift to environmentally friendly vehicles, including EVs from the engine cars, we formed a team designated for structural reforms in the mobility segment to accelerate the structural reform.

To be more specific, we are boosting the negotiation with customers to either increase prices drastically or exit the business to review the combination of customers and unprofitable products, which accounts for 30% of the total sales, and we decided to close and integrate the plant in Kansai region. As for other businesses to eliminate the unprofitable products, we have already identified the combination of unprofitable products and customers in our list, mainly in Japan.

And for those long-tail products, we are accelerating the planning and execution of the profit improvement initiatives. At the end of March this year, we have completed improvement measures, either price increase or exit for 51% of the product category listed based on the earnings structure in the previous year, and we will continue to promote initiatives for the business whose earnings will be deteriorating this year as well. Page 16 onward is appendix. So please refer to them at their convenience. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention.