Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd

TSE:4204

Earnings Call Transcript 2025-Q2

[Keita Kato, executive]

This is Keita Kato, President and CEO. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today. On Page 1, I'd like to highlight the main points and the key message of today's presentation. The upper table is a snapshot of the first half results for FY '24 and the forecast for the second half as well as the revised plan for the full year. For the first 6 months of FY '24, we achieved a JPY 17.8 billion growth in net sales and JPY 7.6 billion growth in OP. Despite the sluggish domestic housing market, all segments, including the housing company, which steadily implemented measures to strengthen profitability, achieved profit growth. In particular, the High Performance Plastics Company, or HPP, drove the performance and the OP reached JPY 48.7 billion, overachieving the July forecast by JPY 3.9 billion.

Next, let's look at the revised plan for the second half. Although the domestic housing market remains stagnant, we expect a gradual recovery in the nonresidential and global markets. We set the currency assumption at JPY 145 against the dollar and factored in a certain level of exchange rate risk. We will continue to focus on expanding sales of high-performance products and maintaining the margin whilst anticipating the impact of measures to strengthen profitability in the housing business with the aim of achieving increased sales and profits in all segments. We also revised our OP outlook for the full year by JPY 3 billion from the July forecast to JPY 105 billion. We will accelerate the shift towards growth as a lead up to the next fiscal year, which is the final year of the current midterm management plan. As for shareholder returns, we bought back and canceled 4 million shares during the first half. As for dividends, we plan to hike the dividend by JPY 1 to JPY 75 per share for the full year as announced in July.

Last topic from me will be about Perovskite Solar Cells, which we position as our most important growth theme. In September, we were selected by NEDO for its Green Innovation Fund to carry out demonstration project for mass production. We'll continue to accelerate development and verification with the support of the Japanese government, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other related organizations with the aim of commercialization in FY '25. This concludes my explanation. Thank you for your attention.

[Futoshi Kamiwaki, executive]

I am Futoshi Kamiwaki, Head of Business Strategy Department. I'll go through the company's first half performance and the second half outlook. Page 2 indicates the exchange rate for the first half. The yen trended significantly weaker than the previous year at JPY 153 against the dollar and JPY 166 against the euro. Page 3 is the overview of the first half results. Net sales grew with substantial increase in profit. All profit lines exceeded the July forecast with OP reaching JPY 48.7 billion. Ordinary profit achieving JPY 48.1 billion and net profit, which was partially boosted by the sales gain of cross-shareholdings, reaching JPY 42.9 billion. Interim dividend was raised by JPY 2 to JPY 37 per share as forecasted. Next, Page 4 shows the first half results by segment. Net sales increased in all 3 segments, except for Housing. We achieved OP growth in all segments in excess of July forecast and the consolidated OP and OP for the 3 segments achieved record high first half profits. I'll explain each segment in more details later.

In the other segment, we continue to invest in the next key businesses, such as Perovskite Solar Cells and Biorefinery business, nearly on track with the plan. Next, Page 5 illustrates the results for Q1 and Q2, respectively. As was the case in Q1, we continue to deliver OP growth in Q2 on a consolidated basis as well as for all the segments. Next on Page 6 is an analysis of the first half results. The left graph illustrates the year-on-year sales growth of JPY 17.8 billion to JPY 629.1 billion. Next on the right is the analysis of the operating profit. First, the benefit of the weaker yen was significant with a positive impact of JPY 3.9 billion. The sales volume and product mix also had a substantial positive impact of JPY 7 billion, mainly driven by the sales growth of HPP. In addition, we were able to secure margin that was higher than the July expectation. On the other hand, fixed costs increased by approximately JPY 5.4 billion year-on-year, mainly due to investment in human capital. In sum, we achieved year-on-year profit growth of JPY 7.6 billion, outperforming the July guidance by JPY 3.9 billion.

Page 7 explains the revised plan for the second half of the year. First, FX assumption. The dollar is assumed to be JPY 149 in the third quarter, JPY 140 in the fourth quarter and JPY 145 in the second half of the fiscal year. Second half expects higher yen than the initial expectation. Stronger yen compared to the initial expectation for the second half.

Page 8 are the assumptions for the market condition. The first top left, global automobile production. We expect the third quarter to be slightly below the April assumption. But from the fourth quarter onward, we expect the recovery to be in line with the April forecast. Next, smartphone shipment. Second quarter shipments are to be in line with the July forecast and the third quarter shipment are slightly below the April forecast, but to recover to the same level as the previous year through fourth quarter. Next, on the upper right, Housing and Visitors. Although exhibition visitors are lower than the previous year, but this will be offset by web channel, and the total is expected to exceed the previous year's level. As for the new housing starts, we expect the demand to be low in the second half of FY 2024, almost the same as the previous year. Regarding domestic naphtha, although the second quarter results were slightly lower than the July forecast, we expect the second half result to be slightly higher than the April assumption and the high price of raw materials will have an impact.

Next, Page 9 is the revised plan for the second half by segment. As you can see at the very bottom of the page, we plan net sales of JPY 679.6 billion and OP of JPY 56.3 billion for the second half, up by JPY 3 billion in profit year-on-year, and all 4 segments are expected to increase their profit. As in the bottom right-hand corner, we forecast a negative JPY 2.9 billion versus the April plan, but this mainly reflects the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and some housing projects moved up in the first half. Segment information is as described respectively. In the Other segment, we continue to invest as planned in the second half in large themes such as Perovskite and Biorefinery project.

Page 10 is the second half revised plan analysis. Net sales increased by JPY 34.4 billion, and OP analysis is as follows: FX is negative JPY 0.3 billion, factoring in the impact of yen appreciation in the fourth quarter. Sales volume and product mix are up significantly by JPY 11.7 billion year-on-year, driven especially by HPP and Medical business. In addition, we'll maintain a better spread of selling prices and raw materials than April forecast, covering higher fixed cost. On the fixed cost side, investments stay focused on mainly human resources and R&D. In total, we expect an increase of JPY 3 billion from the previous year, a slight shortfall from the April plan, but an increase in both sales and income.

Next, on Page 11, full year forecast. As shown at the bottom, we forecast net sales of JPY 1,308.7 billion and OP of JPY 105 billion, up by JPY 10.6 billion from the previous year and an upward revision of JPY 3 billion in OP from the July forecast to JPY 105 billion. All segments have been revised upward from the July forecast. Page 12 is a summary of the revised plan for the full year. Net sales and OP have already been explained. Ordinary income, JPY 102.5 billion; net income, JPY 78 billion and the dividend of JPY 75 per share. We expect an increase in net sales and upward revision of OP. The bottom line to hit a new record high as per our July forecast. And the bottom line is expected to reach a new record high. We plan to raise the annual dividend by JPY 1 per share to JPY 75 per share as forecasted in July. We maintain dividend increase for 15 consecutive years.

Finally, Page 13 for the consolidated financial result. Achievement of this revised plan will result in ROIC of 8%, significant increase from the previous year and ROE of 10.2%, maintaining above 10% level. EBITDA is to reach JPY 160 billion, continuing to be significantly higher than the previous year's record high. OP forecast for FY '24 is JPY 105 billion. We are on track to achieve the JPY 115 billion target of the FY 2025 midterm plan, and this is all for me. Thank you very much.

[Ikusuke Shimizu, executive]

I'm Ikusuke Shimizu, Company President of the High Performance Plastics Company or HPP. First, the trend of business performance on Page 15. In the first half of FY '24, demand recovered in Electronics, mainly driven by semiconductors as well as in construction and consumer goods in the U.S. and Japan. Continued sales growth of high-performance products and efforts, including fixed cost reduction helped us achieve net sales of JPY 221.1 billion and OP of JPY 29.9 billion. Both sales and profit grew with a record high first half profit. Furthermore, we decided to invest to ramp up the capacity for 3 areas of growth: the Interlayer film plant in Thailand for SELFA production, the tape used for chip manufacturing processes and for conductive critical.

For the second half of FY '24, we project sales and profit growth in all 3 strategic fields, assuming a certain market recovery. In addition to improving the sales volume and product mix, we'll also focus on securing the margin and aim to achieve record high profits for 2 consecutive years for the second half as well as for the full year. Next on Page 16 is the analysis of the first half results. The bar graph on the left shows that net sales for the first half of FY '24 grew by JPY 20.8 billion year-on-year to JPY 221.1 billion. The waterfall chart on the right is analysis of OP, which achieved significant growth year-on-year of JPY 6.9 billion. Demand recovery in electronics, as well as construction and consumer goods, mainly in North America and Japan and the steady performance in mobility field delivered big jump in sales volume and product mix.

As the table below indicates, improvement in the selling price, mainly in the industrial field also started to contribute from Q2, and the results exceeded the July forecast. Next, Page 17 shows the revised plan for the second half of FY '24. As indicated by the bar graph on the left, we expect demand to remain strong, and we now guide for net sales to grow by JPY 11.3 billion year-on-year to JPY 223.9 billion. The factors behind the change in OP are shown on the right. We project an OP growth of JPY 1.2 billion year-on-year on the back of better sales volume and product mix, driven by factors such as the increase in new products, mainly for non-LCD applications in electronics field and the expansion of NHPP owing to capturing the opportunity for new models in the mobility field as well as securing margin and promoting CR activities. Although we will not quite reach the April plan due to the impact of FX losses, we plan to achieve 2 consecutive years of record high profits for the second half of the year and for the full year.

Page 18 summarizes the trend of net sales and KPI for the 3 strategic fields. First, in the electronics field at upper left, the smartphone market was strong in the first half of 2024, and the semiconductor market recovered from the second quarter with year-on-year growth. As you can see by the graph at bottom left, sales of chip processing materials, Selfa and MLCC binder resins increased among others, and bio tape products were adopted for new smartphone models, contributing to sales growth, mainly in the non-LCD applications, ultimately achieving sales and profit growth for the electronics field. In the second half, on the back of strong demand for semi-related products and our augmented efforts to get our products adopted in new products, we'll aim to renew the previous record high full year profit for the electronics field. In addition, we decided in the first half of FY '24 to invest approximately JPY 2 billion to ramp up our capacity of conductive protocols and the operation is slated for the first half of FY '28.

Next, the mobility field presented in the middle of the slide. The sales of interlayer film for head-up displays in China decreased in the first half due partly to the sluggish market and market share decline. However, as you can see by the line graph below, we were able to expand NHPP sales as planned in regions other than China, and we were able to achieve year-on-year growth on a global basis. In the second half, we'll continue to expand NHPP by acquiring new model deals for color and design films, particularly in the fourth quarter and increasing our market share for HUDs. For price hikes, our focus will mainly be on the non-NHPP products for margin enhancement. In addition, we aim to turn aerospace into a profit-making business in the second half by reforming its product portfolio, improving sales prices and increasing productivity. Although it's not slated here, the Mobility segment is expected to achieve year-on-year increase in both sales and profits in the first and second halves of the year and to set a new record high profit for 2 consecutive years.

Finally, the industrial field at top right. In addition to the demand recovery for construction and consumer goods in the U.S. and Japan, the improved sales prices also contributed to higher sales and profits in the first half. In the second half, we plan to achieve sales and profit growth with improved sales prices and by managing fixed cost. As you can see in the graph below, sales of labor saving and green products such as insulation materials, long-length craft tapes for packaging machines and blow molded products have also been growing year-on-year since the fourth quarter of FY '23, and we'll continue to focus on expanding sales of these products. In FY '24, we'll continue to drive the entire company forward with OP target of JPY 59.1 billion, renewing the record high profit for 2 consecutive years. Thank you for your attention.

[Masahide Yoshida, executive]

Yes. This is Yoshida speaking. Let me give you the overview of the Housing company. First, on Page 20, this is a summary of the first half and revised plan for the second half. In the first half, sales declined due to a drop in number of houses sold. However, OP increased due to the measures to enhance profitability and expansion of the Stock and Town and Community Development business surpassing the July forecast. Now our second half plan. The number of houses sold is expected to remain unchanged from the previous year and OP is expected to grow due to measures to enhance profitability and expansion of the Stock business and Town and Community Development business.

Next is Page 21, analysis of our first half performance. As shown in the lower left, net sales increased in the renovation business by strengthening the sales force, however, declined in the Housing business, resulting in an overall decrease of JPY 11.2 billion in net sales. On the right side, change in operating income. For the Housing business, the impact of the drop in the number of houses sold was offset by improving the product mix and cost reduction, including fixed cost and higher unit price, resulting in an increase of JPY 1.2 billion. The number of houses sold decreased by 405 units year-on-year. However, this was due to the impact of lower orders in the second half of last year as well as the avoidance of a concentration of completions and sales at the end of the fiscal year and securing of an optimal construction period. This resulted in a better-than-expected increase in income as a result of loss cost containment.

In addition, as I will explain later, we've secured order backlog for the second half and beyond. In the Renovation business, income exceeded the forecast and overall income was JPY 14.6 billion, which is JPY 1.1 billion higher than the July forecast. Slide 22. Next is the analysis of the second half performance. The bottom left, net sales. Housing business plans to maintain the number of houses sold at the same level as previous year. And Renovation and Other segment expect an increase in sales and plan an overall increase of JPY 8.1 billion year-on-year to JPY 273 billion. Operating income on the right is expected to increase by JPY 1.7 billion to JPY 16.5 billion with higher income in each segment.

By business segment, the Housing business plans to increase OP by JPY 400 million by improving the product mix and cost reduction and by reducing fixed costs through measures to enhance profitability despite sharp rise in the price of materials. The Renovation business, we plan to increase OP by JPY 600 million by enhancing periodic diagnosis and strengthening proposals. And in Other business, we expect to increase income by JPY 700 million by expanding the Town and Community Development business.

Page 23, the status of each business segment. Now in the first half of the year, new housing orders were firm in urban areas, but struggled in rural areas and the number of houses built was flat to the previous year. On the other hand, the order was 107% to the previous year's level due to an improvement in the product mix. In the second half, we expect market condition to be on par with the first half, and we plan to achieve the same growth rate as in the first half of the year. Following table shows year-on-year changes in order value and number of houses by building type. The detached housing business, the number of ready-built houses is decreasing, but the number and amount of orders are being covered by the housing and rebuilding. The housing complex business continues to be strong. Below is the balance of orders at the end of the fiscal year. As I explained earlier, the first half saw order increase -- efforts were made to optimize the construction period, and we didn't force ourselves to book sales at the end of September. As a result, it increased by JPY 18 billion year-on-year in the first half.

In the second half of the year, we'll continue to increase the order backlog for the following year to achieve our profit plan and lead into the next fiscal year. In the renovation business to the right, we'll continue to strengthen our sales structure and enhance periodic diagnosis in order to increase orders. As we announced in the press release on October 21, we acquired renovation company in Hokkaido. Through these measures, we intend to accelerate the enforcement of external renovation sales. In the Real Estate business to the bottom left-hand side, we'll continue to expand our rental management brokerage business, which is our foundation, while strengthening the buyback and resale and the asset utilization business. Lastly, with regard to the measures to enhance profitability, the effect of shifting personnel to growth areas have been well realized and the results are generally in line with our goals. In the future, we'll continue to strategically develop and introduce new products, which will also have a positive effect on marginal profit. This concludes my presentation of the Housing Company.

[Yoshiyuki Hirai, executive]

I am Yoshiyuki Hirai, Company President of Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Products Company, or UIEP. I'd like to start on Page 25 with a summary of the first half results and the revised plan for the second half. In the first half, the housing market was sluggish, but the nonresidential market was on a recovery trend. The increase in total costs, including raw materials, logistics and wages were offset by price hikes and fixed cost cuts, and we were able to achieve higher sales and profit with net sales of JPY 113.4 billion and OP of JPY 8.5 billion.

In the second half, we do not expect any material changes in the market. And hence, we'll continue to focus on dealing with the rise in total costs as we did in the first half, projecting sales and profit growth with net sales of JPY 132.8 billion and OP of JPY 15.9 billion. If we deliver, the full year OP would be JPY 24.4 billion, marking the third consecutive year of record high profit with an operating margin of 9.9%. However, we'll continue to strive towards achieving 10% until the very end of the year. Next, on Page 26 is the analysis of the first half results. As indicated on the left, net sales were up by JPY 3.8 billion year-on-year to JPY 113.4 billion.

In Japan, sales of prioritized products grew significantly, mainly in the nonresidential field. Overseas, sales of piping materials for plants struggled due to weaker CapEx demand in China and South Korea, but sales of pipeline renewal and FFE were solid. On the right is the analysis of OP, which grew year-on-year by JPY 0.4 billion to JPY 8.5 billion. The chart indicates a negative JPY 0.2 billion impact from sales volume and product mix, but this reflects JPY 0.6 billion rise in logistics. So the actual volume and mix impact was positive JPY 0.4 billion. Price hike requests mainly for the PVC products were made in Q1. And by the end of the first half, we had largely completed the price negotiations and price revisions. That and with control over fixed costs, we exceeded the July guidance for the first half as a whole.

Next on Page 27 is the analysis on the second half outlook. As shown by the left graph, we project to grow the net sales by JPY 7.5 billion year-on-year to JPY 132.8 billion. In Japan, we expect the recovery trend from the first half in the nonresidential market to continue. However, there is a risk of delays in construction projects due to a chronic shortage of manpower. We expect a slowdown in the housing market compared to our April plan, but aim to offset this by growing sales of our prioritized products and by keeping the revised sales prices achieved in the first half. Overseas, we expect the continued stagnation in the CapEx demand related to plant piping, particularly in China, but we'll focus on acquiring new orders for CPVC pipeline renewal and FFU business.

Next, the analysis of OP is shown on the right. Despite the challenging environment in Housing and overseas plant piping business, we project a positive impact of JPY 0.9 billion from volume and mix, and we plan to cover the increase in total costs, including raw materials, which has continued since the first half by maintaining the improved prices. The OP is expected to go up by JPY 1.8 billion to JPY 15.9 billion. Lastly, on Page 28, I'll cover the 3 strategic fields. For the pipe systems shown at top left, sales have been growing each quarter. For the piping materials business, as housing-related demand is sluggish, we'll focus on expanding sales of priority products in the nonresidential market, which is on a recovery trend as well as securing margins.

For CPVC, the recovery in our main market, India was slow in the first half, but we expect improvement from the third quarter. Sales of building and infrastructure composite materials shown at top right, have also been on the rise since Q2. For the fire-resistant and nonflammable materials, we'll focus on expanding new product sales and developing new applications overseas. For the FAU business, we'll strive to improve the productivity at our European plant and aim to expand the adoption overseas as well as sleepers. For the fabricated bath, we'll aim to capture the nursing care-related demand, which was strong in the first half and renovation demand, including high-end specifications. Infrastructure renovation as shown in the lower left is showing trend of sales growth each quarter.

Overseas demand for pipeline renewal will make up for the decline in domestic demand. And in the Aqua System business, in addition to large-scale order for plant equipment facilities, sales of water storage panel tanks are also expected to remain strong, thanks to improvement in selling prices and capturing of new renewable demand. The growth opportunities are illustrated at bottom right. We expect to see significant growth in our prioritized product sales driven by fire-resistant materials, PE pipes and other functional construction piping materials that contribute to labor-saving installment and improved seismic resistance among others. We also expect sales growth overseas, mainly of CPVC and pipeline renewal in Asia and FFU in Europe. The sales of the growth driving business are also indicated on the slide. That concludes my explanation. Thank you very much for your attention.

[Eiichi Takahashi, executive]

I am Takahashi, President of Sekisui Medical. I would like to take you through our Medical business. Page 30 shows business performance. The Medical business achieved a record profit in FY 2022. However, last year, FY 2023, OP declined from the previous year to JPY 11 billion due to the significant impact of lower sales of infectious disease testing kit caused by the special factors in the U.S. and other factors. For the current fiscal year, we are forecasting OP of JPY 12.6 billion, the highest ever record. In the first half, sales expansion of infectious disease testing kit, including COVID-19 test kit in the U.S., where sales have been delayed, led to JPY 47.9 billion revenue result and OP of JPY 6 billion, a record high for the first half of the year and exceeding the July forecast as well.

As for the revised plan for the second half, we'll continue to capture the demand for testing, including infectious disease, both in Japan and overseas, and we aim to achieve net sales of JPY 55 billion and OP of JPY 7.3 billion by focusing on sales of new APIs. By doing so, we aim to realize record high operating profit of JPY 13.3 billion, which is higher than the initial plan. Next, Page 31, analysis of the first half result. To the left, you see sales. Sales was JPY 47.9 billion, an increase of JPY 4.2 billion year-on-year and OP increased by JPY 0.8 billion to JPY 6 billion. In the Diagnostics business, despite the impact of lower demand for testing due to the national policies in China, sales of COVID-19 test kit, which had been delayed in the U.S. expanded and the sales of influenza test kit remained strong as the stagnation of shipments due to a cyberattack on the influential distributor was resolved.

Sales and profit increased year-on-year partly due to fixed cost reductions and the profit turned out to be better than the July forecast. I'll now explain the revised plan for the second half on Page 32. To the left, sales. We are forecasting net sales of JPY 55 billion, up by JPY 6 billion from the previous year, OP of JPY 7.3 billion, up by JPY 1.5 billion. Although we expect postponement of development cost from the first half and an increase in fixed costs mainly due to increased production of infectious disease test kits in the U.S., we'll continue to focus on expanding sales of infectious disease test kit in the U.S. and Europe and to steadily capture domestic and overseas testing demand and expand sales of new APIs, aiming to achieve record high income for the full fiscal year.

Page 33 explains status of each business. First of all, left top-hand side, let's look at the domestic diagnostic business. In the first half, we steadily captured strong demand for testing. In the second half, we continue to capture testing demand mainly for immunology and infectious disease testing. Next is the overseas Diagnostics business in the upper right corner. Although the first half saw a decline in demand for testing in China, sales of influenza test kit remained strong due to the expanded sales of COVID-19 test kit in the U.S. as well as the elimination of shipment stagnation caused by cyber-attacks on leading distributors. In the second half, we expect sales of COVID-19 test kits to major pharmacies in the U.S. to contribute to our business performance, and we'll continue to expand the sales of infectious disease testing kit and implement initiatives such as getting sales back on track in China.

Finally, to the left bottom-hand side, medical business. In the first half, the contract manufacturing of API was affected by production adjustment of mainstay products, but contract testing for drug discovery support remained strong and the sales of reagent expanded due to the public funding of expanded newborn mass screening. In the second half, we'll continue to focus on capturing new orders. In addition, we've been making preparations for CDMO business expansion at our plant in the U.K., including the construction of a new purification room, which is scheduled to start operation in March 2025. With this, we are able to establish production system fully in compliant with GMP. Thank you very much. That's all for Medical business.