IHI Corporation (7013) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

This is Fukumoto, Director, Executive Officer, General Manager of Finance and Accounting of IHI Group. I will explain IHI Group's financial results for the third quarter and the forecast for the fiscal year 2024. Please turn to Page 2. This page shows the contents of today's presentation. Please turn to Page 4 for a summary of the group's results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024. Orders received was JPY 1.2142 trillion. Revenue was JPY 1.1499 trillion. Operating profit was JPY 103.4 billion, and the operating profit margin was 9.0%. As with the first half, the group delivered steady results in the third quarter. As shown at the bottom right of the page, indicators for financial soundness are recovering as a result of the solid results. On this page, year-on-year comparisons excluding the special factors are also presented, which is the impact of the additional inspection program for PW1100G and the litigation settlement in the U.S. recorded in FY 2023. Details are explained using the following slides. Please turn to Page 5 for the highlights of the results. Just like the first half, the steady growth in the civil aero engines business continued in the third quarter and higher sales of spare parts, among other factors, resulted in an increase of operating profit to the level exceeding JPY 100 billion. We assess that we are making steady progress towards the full year forecast of JPY 145 billion. Fuel consumption compensation expenses related to the improper conduct regarding the engine test run records in the Power Systems business was recorded in the third quarter. Regarding the impact of the additional inspection program for PW1100G engines recorded in FY 2023, there is no change in the dollar-based total estimated amount and our cost. However, the yen equivalent amount increased by about JPY 6 billion due to the depreciation of the yen to the high JPY 157 range to the dollar towards the end of December. Please turn to Page 6 for the overview of financial results, including orders received, revenue and other major profit and loss items. Year-on-year comparisons, excluding the special factors of FY 2023 are also shown on the page for reference. Please turn to Page 7. This page shows factors of year-on-year change in operating profit in the waterfall chart from JPY 60.7 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year to JPY 103.4 billion, excluding the special factors. Although there were temporary factors which caused decrease in profit, such as increased SG&A and the business structure reformation costs in the vehicular turbochargers business in Europe due to consolidation of business bases as well as recording of the compensation expenses related to the improper conduct in the Power Systems business. Operating profit increased by JPY 42.7 billion due to higher sales of spare parts in civil aero engines, which continued to perform well, the impact from lower cost due to reinforcement of the cost structure as well as the impact from weaker yen. Please turn to Page 8. This slide provides detailed analysis for Aero Engine, Space and Defense, which had a major change in operating profit by JPY 57 billion. Operating profit increased substantially due to continuation of strong sales of spare parts for V2500 and GEnx reaction to maintenance cost burden, which was high in the previous fiscal year as well as delay in recording costs in the current fiscal year. The second bar from the right in the waterfall chart shows change in SG&A, which increased. This was as a result of the impact from recording provisions of allowance for doubtful account receivables from the bankrupt airline, among other factors. Please turn to Page 9 for the financial position. In addition to the temporary increase in trade receivables due to the impact from growth in civil aero engines and the defense systems, the outstanding balance of the total assets increased. Although we expect to see some reductions in the balance toward the end of the fiscal year, we will continue our efforts in transforming the balance sheet structure. As for indicators for financial soundness, both D/E ratio and the ratio of equity attributable to owners of parent improved to 1.39x and 19.4%, respectively, as a result of progress and recovery of the financial foundation. Page 10 shows cash flows. EBITDA is steadily increasing. However, as cash is forecast to build up towards the end of the fiscal year, cash flows from operating activities was an outflow of JPY 52.3 billion, an improvement of about JPY 35 billion from the same period of the previous year. We will strive to reduce the working capital towards the end of the fiscal year through diligent efforts such as delivery of finished goods and collection of payments. Forecast of the consolidated results for fiscal year 2024. Page 12, please. On a consolidated basis, there are no changes to the orders received, revenue and operating profit compared to the previous forecast, but forecast by segment have been updated, reflecting recent situations. Net profit attributable to owners of parent has been upwardly revised by JPY 5 billion to JPY 90 billion after revisiting tax expenses. Please note that the previous forecast on Page 12 and onward are the ones announced on November 6, 2024. Page 13, please. Overviews of forecast of the consolidated results for fiscal year 2024. ROIC and ROE are expected to improve slightly from the previous forecast to 10.8% and to 22.3%, respectively. The exchange rate assumption for Q4 remains the same as the previous forecast at JPY 140 per dollar. FX rate sensitivity on operating profit, excluding the impact of the PW1100G, additional inspection program is expected to be JPY 400 million per JPY 1 fluctuation over the remaining 3 months. Next is cash flow. Operating cash flow target is plus JPY 100 billion, JPY 25 billion upward revision from the previous forecast, expecting more cash collection approaching to the fiscal year-end. In the meantime, we have revisited the cash out timing of investment projects and now expecting the free cash flow to be plus JPY 25 billion. Page 14, please. The upper part shows a waterfall chart of operating profit changes for the entire company by factor and the lower part provides forecast breakdown by segment. The changes in business environment, FX rate and SG&A are mainly related to civil aero engine business, which I will touch upon on the next page. Profit decrease related to the reinforcement of cost structure is reflecting margin decline in part of the conventional businesses. Others include cost impact related to misconducts in Power System and Transportation System businesses. Page 15, please. This page shows the breakdown of the -- another upward revision of JPY 10 billion in Aero Engine, Space and Defense operating profit. Overall trend remained the same as the previous revision. Talking about the business environment, several aero engine spare parts are continuously selling well, and we are reflecting the maintenance and cost pushout into the latest expectation, which are both causing positive impact on the profit, adding the favorable exchange rate impact of JPY 6 billion for the 3 months in Q3. SG&A increase. Increase in SG&A is mainly due to the airline company bankruptcy, as mentioned earlier. Page 16, please. The line graph shows the trend of spare parts handling amount in dollar terms. Although we are expecting a small downturn due to the stronger-than-expected performance achieved during the first half, growth continued in Q3. We are expecting usual seasonality in Q4, meaning we are assuming a small downturn. The bar graph shows sales revenue. In Q4, we are expecting downturn in spare parts sales, some delayed maintenance cost recognition and FX rate impact since FX assumption is JPY 140 for USD 1. Finally, Page 17, please. Status of the life cycle business and conventional businesses. We believe the consolidated basis business performance has been progressing roughly well as end of Q3. The following slides are reference materials, so please review them later. This concludes my presentation.