Casio Computer Co.,Ltd. (6952) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you very much for tuning into our earnings briefing despite your busy schedule. I'll take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for U.S. [ savy ] support and input from multiple perspectives. Now I would like to give you an overview of our full year results for the fiscal year that ended in March 2026. We will also share with you a new 3-year midterm management plan that starts in the fiscal year ending March 2027. First, results for the past fiscal year. Starting with the consolidated results for Q4 January-March period. Net sales, JPY 68.3 billion, up 3.5% year-on-year; operating profit, JPY 4.9 billion, up 63.4%; OP margin, 7.2%; ordinary profit, JPY 5.4 billion, up 85.8%; profit attributable to owners of parent, JPY 2.8 billion, down 26%; EPS was JPY 12.4. Here are the Q4 results by segment. The Time business segment reported higher net sales and profit with an OP margin of 13.1%. The Consumer segment saw a lower revenue and higher profit with an OP margin of 3.3%. Note that the businesses that were previously reported under systems are now reported under the Other segment. The previous year's results have been revised accordingly. Corporate adjustment came to minus JPY 1.6 billion. Now full year results for the just ended fiscal year. Look at the table on the left. Net sales, JPY 276.3 billion, up 5.5% year-on-year. Operating profit, JPY 23.1 billion, up 62.1%. OP margin, 8.4%; ordinary profit, JPY 25.7 billion, up 81.8%. Profit attributable to owners to our parent, JPY 18.2 billion, up 126%. Both sales and profits topped the full year forecast announced in January. EPS was JPY 80.05. ROE was 8%. The table on the right shows full year results by segment. Timepieces reported higher sales and higher profit with OP margin of 14.7%. Consumer reported largely flat sales and higher profit with an OP margin of 4.2%. Corporate adjustment came to minus JPY 6.2 billion. I will now talk about Q4 results by segment. First, the Timepieces business remained strong with an OP margin of 13.1%. Our G-Shock strategy has proven successful. We are beginning to see signs of recovery. A significant increase in watch orders in Q3 caused shortage of our hot selling models in Q4. We were able to mitigate the problem with increased production. Next, Q4 results by segment and by region. Overall, net sales rose by 6% year-on-year on local currency basis. Domestic sales were strong, particularly the G-Shock metal line. North America had strong demand for watches, posting good results for both in-store as well as online sales. The expansion of CASIO WATCH lineup in the region helped win new customers. In Europe, CASIO WATCH sales remained steady, led by the U.K., Spain and Italy. Chinese business seems to be improving from its worst time. In other regions, both G-Shock and CASIO WATCH are showing growth. In the key market of India, both offline and online sales were strong. ASEAN business varied by country. The main drivers were Vietnam and Indonesia. In the trends set in South Korea, CASIO WATCH remained strong, thanks to our social media strategy. Latin America sales were also strong, thanks in part to our brand ambassadors. The percentage of G-Shock was about 42% in Q4. While CASIO WATCH boom continues globally, our strategy for G-Shock are beginning to bear fruit and helping our business. Product-by-product figures are shown in this slide. In the G-Shock metal, GST-B1000 with easy-to-wear minimal design remained popular worldwide, particularly in Europe. For G-Shock resin, GW-M5610U and GA-2100 led sales driven by a renewed promotion strategy for best-selling iconic entry models. Among new products, GA2100CM was popular. It features a camouflage pattern to suit outdoor fashion. CASIO WATCH is growing globally as young people continue to embrace retro vintage trend, models such as A159 and MTP-1302 are performing well. In the EdTech business, sales of scientific calculators were largely in line with our plan. The sound business appears to be bottoming out globally, while Japan still faces challenges. Now I'll move to our new 3-year midterm management plan, which starts in the fiscal year ending March 2027. This chart shows annual performance during the previous medium plan period, which started FY 2023. We spent the first 2 years streamlining our business portfolio, optimizing our workforce structure and reforming our corporate culture. Then in the final year that ended March 2026, we shifted to a growth trajectory. We focused on Timepieces business, boosting its sales, earnings structure and capital efficiency. As a result, both sales and profit exceeded our targets and ROE recovered to the 8% range in the final year. I'll talk about what we achieved in the previous midterm plan. In the Timepieces business, CASIO WATCH expanded globally and our two core watch brand strategy proved successful. Structural reforms of the systems equipment and other businesses helped establish an agile executive management structure. Our challenge in the new midterm plan is to build a foundation for sustainable growth for G-SHOCK, accelerate expansion into growth markets such as India and Brazil, return the sound business to profitability and make new businesses contribute to our business. This is how our new midterm plan is positioned. As I said, we focused on the turnaround to growth trajectory in the previous midterm plan. We will aim for maximizing corporate value by 2030 under the new midterm plan. Here is how, the establishment of a foundation of sustainable growth, strengthening of our management base and ROE of over 10%. Next, key business targets for the initial year, the fiscal year ending March 2027 are, net sales, JPY 295 billion; operating profit, JPY 26 billion; OP margin, 8.8%; ordinary income, JPY 26 billion; profit attributable to owners of parent, JPY 18.5 billion; and earnings per share, JPY 82.28. Goals for the final year of the new midterm plans are: net sales, JPY 315 billion; operating profit, JPY 35 billion; and OP margin, 11.1%. We'll address cost increases due to conflicts in the Middle East and the rising material prices by passing increased cost to customers. Here are key targets by segment for the final year of the new midterm plan ending in March 2029. In Timepieces business, net sales, JPY 207 billion; operating profit, JPY 32.5 billion; and OP margin, 15.7%. In the Consumer Business and EdTech Education business, Net sales, JPY 68 billion; operating profit, JPY 8.5 billion and OP margin of 12.5%. We project an operating loss in the sound business in the initial year. We'll implement all out profit improvement and generate profit by the final year. Note that the sales from new businesses such as Moflin will be recorded in the other segment this fiscal year. By the final year of the plan, we aim to make these new businesses a profitable independent business segment. Here is an outline of our midterm management plan. Through innovation in new growth areas and a stronger management foundation, we will improve short-term profitability while establishing foundation for medium-term growth so that we can maximize corporate value as global brand. Our capital allocation policy calls for utilizing JPY 50 billion of what we define as surplus cash. Of that amount, JPY 30 billion is for strategic investment, JPY 20 billion is for next-generation environmental investments. We will first make strategic investments such as M&A and alliances to drive further growth in our core businesses and expand into new areas with high growth potential. Fund for new generation environmental investments will be spent on building a new Hamura Technical Center and renovation of our headquarters to revitalize our organization to promote co-creation and to sophisticate our decision-making through DX initiatives. JPY 25 billion for regular capital investment will be made, not exceeding depreciation costs. We are expecting net profit of JPY 60 billion over the next 3 years. The whole amount will be spent on shareholder return to improve capital efficiency. The Board of Directors decided on May 14 that JPY 10 billion from the fund for shareholder return will be used for share buyback. The buyback period will run from May 15 through July 30 with up to 6 billion shares to be purchased. All purchased shares will be retired on August 31 to eliminate concerns over possible dilution. We will flexibly take this measure considering market conditions and business results. These are our target financial indicators. We aim to enhance corporate value by achieving over 10% ROE and about 9% ROIC in the final year of the new midterm plan. Through the effective use of surplus cash on hand, cash and cash equivalents are expected to be around JPY 100 billion and the net equity ratio will be 60% to 65%. We plan to maintain stable dividend payment at around 5% DOE with a target payout ratio of around 60%. As I said earlier, since we will allocate the entire net profit to shareholder return, total return ratio will be around 100%. This is our business portfolio for the new midterm plan. We will make targeted investment in Timepieces and Education businesses to make them growth businesses. We will also make strategic investment such as M&A. We will implement fundamental reforms in the unprofitable sound business to rebuild its profit structure. We will also expand the new field of sound creation. We will pursue global expansion of the smart companion Moflin and establish it as an wellness and peripheral growth business. Next, strategies for each business segment. In the Timepieces business, we aim to achieve higher sales and maximize profits through growth driven by our two core G-Shock and CASIO WATCH brands. As a key initiative to revitalize G-Shock, we will strengthen our entry-level models to reengage younger consumers. We are improving profitability of CASIO WATCH and we will make investment in the brand to drive further expansion. We will also continue to expand into new markets and new domains. G-Shock and CASIO WATCH, the two core brands for our growth strategy are complementary in terms of product features, user bases and price ranges. CASIO WATCH is drawing women and younger generation customers. In profit structure, G-SHOCK generate high gross profit and high margin, while CASIO WATCH achieves high profitability through a low cost relative to gross profit. They will continue to contribute to business expansion with their respective unique features and customer bases. We will work to reinforce G-SHOCK's global brand appeal. We will launch new products tailored to user segments of 3 main categories: the premium, the middle and the entry lines. In addition to unified global promotion campaigns, we will enhance content that resonate with younger audience and promote brands' core values. To improve customer loyalty through enhanced CRM strategies, we will explore global rollout of fan community sites and implement content marketing for enhanced user experience. CASIO WATCH will continue to expand its high-end product lineup while also enhancing its affordable price lineup with trendy designs. While women remains the main CASIO WATCH users, we will expand its customer base through investment and marketing communications to Gen Z. We will also expand touch points through new concept stores. As part of regional strategy, we will accelerate expansion of high-growth potential markets like India, ASEAN and Brazil. In India, we will strengthen local marketing while expanding our sales network through more touch points in some metropolitan and provincial cities. In ASEAN, we will expand business through priority investments in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Our focus in Brazil is G-SHOCK. We will capture demand for younger consumers by using our brand ambassadors. We will also promote renewed growth and revitalization considering characteristics of key regions such as North America, Europe, Japan and China. Next, EdTech business. Like Timepieces, we will continue to expand these core businesses, market share, profitability and future ICT-related services. As a key initiative, we will push for replacement of scientific calculators with a new class web. We will also expand our market share in emerging economies. We will increase sales of general purpose calculators by strengthening our product range. In the Educational App business, we will expand the number of schools adopting ClassPad.net and enhance the services delivery a subsidiary since 2024 ahead of digitalization of textbooks in 2030. We will strengthen product development for the new ClassWiz scientific calculator series, revamping the UI to meet educators' needs and developing models tailored to different regions. In emerging market, we will implement rigorous anti-counterfeit measures. We will enhance education app services to support the ongoing adoption of ICT in education. In March, we released Q.Bank, a teaching tool by livery. We will also boost our adaptive learning initiative through the use of AI technology. In the Sound business, we are working to rebuild its profit structure. Our initiatives include a shift to online sales, cost reduction by switching to direct sales, streamline of our workforce in low profit areas, higher production efficiency and cost reduction. We will also provide new [indiscernible] experiences through new products and app integration. The aim is to start generating profit as soon as possible. We aim to establish a wellness business using Moflin. We will continue to expand this business through global rollout of Moflin, enhanced product strength and peripheral services. We will leverage our existing assets to expand into new areas. We will strengthen structures for new businesses through reorganization such as placing R&D under the direct control of the present. In doing so, we will strengthen collaboration and enhance our agility in business. We will strengthen our management foundation by optimizing our organization and fixed cost structure. We will optimize personnel assignments across departments in line with our business strategy and streamline our organization. We will also optimize overseas production sites and promote production outsourcing for higher efficiency. We will boost profitability by reviewing our fixed cost structure. Next, human capital management and the development of next-generation environments through DX. We will strengthen human capital to maximize employee performance and corporate value and drive value creation. Our DX strategy calls for AI and data-driven business transformation, tighter security and stronger resilience by improving operational efficiency. In next-generation environment investment, we are building a new Hamura Technology Center and renovating our headquarters to promote innovation and co-creation. Next, R&D strategy. In addition to boosting the competitiveness of our existing businesses, we will drive longer-term growth through new businesses and cutting-edge technologies. We will integrate our core technologies with cutting-edge fields such as AI and data utilization to create new value. We will reorganize our R&D organization to report directly to the present. By being selective about research themes, we will accelerate decision-making and development. We have established new targets for material issues in line with our midterm plan. For details, look at our sustainability website. The following slides are supplementary materials. This concludes my presentation. Thank you so much.