Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (9107) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

A, financial highlights for fiscal year 2021. A-1, financial results for fiscal year 2021. Consolidated operating revenues increased by JPY 131.5 billion from the previous fiscal year to JPY 757 billion. Operating income rose by JPY 38.9 billion from a loss to JPY 17.7 billion. Ordinary income was JPY 657.5 billion, representing an improvement of JPY 568 billion. Net income improved by JPY 533.7 billion to JPY 642.4 billion. The average exchange rate for the fiscal year was JPY 112.06 per U.S. dollar, and the average bunker price was USD 551 per metric ton. Turning to the major financial indicators. Equity capital at the end of the fiscal year was JPY 884.6 billion, while interest-bearing liability was JPY 423.5 billion. The equity ratio improved significantly to 56%, while the net DER also improved substantially to 20%. For the year-end dividend, we plan to add an additional JPY 300 to the previous dividend forecast of JPY 300 per share, resulting in a full year dividend of JPY 600 per share. A-2, financial results for fiscal year 2021 by segment. In the Dry Bulk segment, in addition to the cargo movement recovery for the fiscal year, supply and demand remained tight due to longer port days of vessels associated with the tightening of pandemic control measures. Cost reduction in fleet optimization was also successful. As a result, ordinary income increased by JPY 32.9 billion from a loss in the previous year to JPY 23.7 billion. In the Energy Resource Transport segment, there were temporary costs such as drill ships in the previous fiscal year. Nevertheless, demand for thermal coal carriers recovered, resulting in ordinary income increase of JPY 3.7 billion to JPY 4.8 billion. In the Product Logistics segment, supply and demand was tight for the Containership Business, the largest in the segment, due to supply chain disruptions and accompanying robust market conditions. Against this backdrop, ordinary income rose by JPY 520 billion over the previous year to JPY 623.8 billion. Moreover, the Car Carrier, Logistics and Coastal and Short Sea Businesses have all recovered, including car carrier operations, which accounted for about 2/3 of the total recovery. Ordinary income for the Product Logistics segment as a whole improved by JPY 536.3 billion to JPY 640.8 billion. A-3, business summary in fiscal year 2021 insights. One, the profitability of 4 of "K" LINE's own businesses improved compared to the previous fiscal year. Two, for the Containership Business, there was an improvement of JPY 520 billion from the previous year. Three, against the backdrop of improved business performance, an extraordinary loss of JPY 26 billion was also recorded. This was due to structural reforms that involved the selling and disposing of unprofitable vessels ahead of schedule and also the unprofitable Offshore Support Vessels Business. On the other hand, we recorded an extraordinary profit of JPY 20 billion for the sale of noncore businesses based on our portfolio strategy. As a result, Four, the company's financial foundation improved significantly. B, forecasts and initiatives for fiscal year 2022. B-1, forecasts for fiscal year 2022 and key factors. Our full year operating revenues forecast is JPY 780 billion. Operating income is expected to increase by JPY 23.3 billion year-on-year to JPY 41 billion, mainly due to the anticipated recovery of the Car Carrier Business. Ordinary income is expected to decrease by JPY 187.5 billion year-on-year to JPY 470 billion. The Containership Business is the main reason for this, which will be explained below. Net income is expected to deteriorate by JPY 182.5 billion to JPY 460 billion. The average exchange rate is assumed to be JPY 115 to the dollar from May onward. The exchange rate sensitivity would be JPY 4.5 billion for each yen in fluctuation. We are considering extra shareholder returns of at least JPY 100 billion in addition to the basic dividend of JPY 300 per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. To distribute the additional returns, we plan to consider the share buyback in addition to dividend payments. B-2, forecasts for fiscal year 2022 by segment. We expect the robust market conditions in the Dry Bulk segment to gradually ease compared to the previous year through a loosening of the tight pandemic supply situation. On the other hand, due to the effects of our structural reforms in the previous fiscal year and the renewal of contracts when market rates were high, we expect ordinary income of JPY 24 billion. This is about the same as the previous fiscal year. In the Energy Resource Transport segment, due to our withdrawal from the Offshore Support Vessel and chemical Tanker businesses, we expect ordinary income to climb by JPY 1.2 billion year-on-year to JPY 6 billion. Improvement is also expected in the Product Logistics segment. Freight rates are set to rebound significantly for the Car Carrier Business, and the benefits will be further supported by the ongoing route rationalization. The discontinuation of unprofitable routes for the Coastal and Short Sea Businesses and the improvement of market conditions for the short sea routes will further enhance profitability. In the Containership Business, the annual contracts for East-West routes such as Asia to North America and to Europe, which account for 50% to 60% of the total, are expected to improve significantly from the previous fiscal year. On the other hand, short-term rates are based on the assumption that the supply chain disruptions will gradually ease in August or soon after, causing the short-term rates to drop in the second half of the fiscal year. As a result, we expect ordinary income of JPY 451 billion in the Product Logistics segment. B-3, the Russia-Ukraine situation. The Dry Bulk segment will see troughs in coal and grain exports from Ukraine and Russia, while the Product Logistics segment will handle fewer finished vehicles destined for Russia and the Containership Business will similarly handle less cargo in certain regions. All of these expected impacts only account for a small proportion of the total revenues, and at the moment, they can be offset by shipments of other cargo. On the other hand, there are concerns about possible impacts on the real economy arising from soaring energy prices, measures to curb inflation and the tightening of monetary policy in the United States. These factors could suppress economic growth and cool demand, so we will continue to follow them closely. Medium-term management plan. Devising the new medium-term management plan. We believe that our management situation has been altered significantly by changes in the business environment in and outside the company and by improvements in our business performance. There are 2 major challenges that we face. Now that we have achieved a dramatic improvement in our financial position, the first major challenge is how to effectively use our capital and growth strategies to improve corporate value. The second major challenge is the growing importance of emissions reduction and decarbonization to society, along with the need for environmentally sound business management over the long term. While in the short term, we must still appropriately deal with changes in the business environment such as those caused by the pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine and monetary tightening in the United States. In order to tackle these 2 major challenges, since last summer, we have been carefully investigating measures from multiple perspectives to improve corporate value through group-wide projects. In addition to devising a growth strategy for the future, we have reviewed difficult experiences in the past. To avoid repeating those mistakes, we have enhanced our investment discipline, including the setting of vessel investment guidelines. We have also spent time considering both defensive and proactive measures. Our capital and shareholder return policies have been investigated by us with reference to the advice of third-party experts, and the resulting measures are reflected in the new medium-term management plan. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. Evaluation of management plan in fiscal year 2021. We steadily tackled the 5 challenges of the previous fiscal year and were able to achieve a certain level of results for all of them. As part of this, 2 critical challenges have emerged. The first is the implementation of a growth strategy for "K" LINE's own businesses based on emissions reductions and decarbonization. And the second is capital policy initiatives to improve corporate value. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. Business environment surrounding the "K" LINE Group. Our business environment remains uncertain due to global divisions caused by geopolitical factors and the rise of emerging Asian economies. The world is at a turning point in a major transition towards a cleaner energy mix. As a company that plays a role in the world's shipping infrastructure, we believe in reducing our environmental impact. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, shifting to alternative fuels and responding to the demand for greener transport, we can ensure the sustainable growth of our company while enhancing our corporate value. Based on relevant knowledge, the "K" LINE Group will seize the opportunities and work toward achieving this vision. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. New corporate principle, vision, values the "K" LINE Group prizes. To enable "K" LINE officers and employees to promote management and business execution with the same sense of purpose in a new development stage, we again thoroughly discuss and update our corporate principal vision and values the "K" LINE Group prices. First, the group reconfirmed that its core business area is logistics centered on shipping. In this business domain, we aim to improve corporate value by promoting emissions reduction and decarbonization for our company and society. To achieve this, we will focus our management resources on "K" LINE's own businesses with role of driving growth. We will seize growth opportunities by further strengthening partnerships with customers who want to engage in environmental activities, such as emissions reduction and decarbonization. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. Long-term management vision of "K" LINE Group. In order to achieve profit growth, along with reduced emissions and a decarbonized society, we need to concentrate our management resources on businesses that drive growth. By doing so, we aim to become a sustainable growth company that can weather market volatility based on our 2 mainstays of containership and "K" LINE's own businesses. We will undertake capital investment based on appropriate policies while keeping the cost of capital in mind. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. Measures for improvement of corporate value. We have devised 5 capital policies to promote corporate growth and maximize corporate value. In "K" LINE's own businesses, we will prioritize capital allocation to the carrier businesses for coal and iron ore carriers, LNG carriers and car carriers, which will play a key role in growth. Secondly, as a major shareholder of Ocean Network Express, ONE, we will support the further improvement of its corporate value. This will strengthen our resistance to market fluctuations in "K" LINE's own and Containership businesses. Thirdly, we will continue to enhance our business management and maintain investment discipline. Fourthly, we will strive to improve our corporate value through management that is conscious of the cost of capital. Finally, we will continually optimize cash flow allocation and our capital structure based on cash flow awareness to achieve both capital efficiency and financial soundness. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. Contributing to a low carbon/decarbonized society: activity guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a company responsible for a part of the world's transport infrastructure, we believe that efforts for emissions reduction and decarbonization are also our responsibility. At the same time, we recognize that appropriate environmental efforts will become the driving force of our business growth. The International Maritime Organization, IMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, has set a 40% efficiency improvement target for CO2 emissions to be achieved by 2030 compared to 2008. We have set our own goal of 50% efficiency improvement and are already working to achieve the goal through concrete measures. "K" LINE has been included on the Carbon Disclosure Program, CDP A List for climate change for 6 consecutive years and is 1 of only 2 shipping companies in the world. We are proud that our pragmatic activities have been highly evaluated. Objective of the "K" LINE Group. KPIs for business management. In order to quantitatively monitor our efforts to improve corporate value, we are aiming to keep our return on equity, ROE, a measure of shareholder value at 10% or more. As an indicator of the company's earning power, ordinary income will be calculated in fiscal 2026, the final year of the medium-term management plan. The aim is to balance the profits of "K" LINE's own businesses in which we are actively involved and the Containership Business in which we are a shareholder and achieve ordinary income of JPY 140 billion. To attain optimal capital structure, we will balance capital efficiency optimization with financial soundness to enable strategic financing even during a recession. Finally, for our shareholder return policy, we aim to provide shareholder returns of JPY 400 billion to JPY 500 billion during the medium-term management plan period. Our goal is to continually maintain awareness of our optimal capital level and to ensure the capital investment and financial soundness necessary to improve corporate value. Using any capital in excess of the appropriate level, we will proactively distribute shareholder returns, including the share buyback based on cash flow. Objectives of the "K" LINE Group. Portfolio management. While environmental and other capital investments are essential, we believe that focused allocation of limited management resources will lead to the maximization of corporate value. A portfolio strategy is the way to achieve this goal. We have redefined the role of each business portfolio based on 2 axes. One axis is profitability growth based on the company's competitive advantage in the market and its growth potential, and the other is partnership with customers. This axis includes the choice of whether to serve a wide variety of customers or to make substantial transactions with relatively few specific customers. Accordingly, we will focus on investments that can drive growth. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Key points of the 2022 medium-term management plan. We will explain 3 main points on the new medium-term management plan, which are: one, business growth by prioritizing allocation of management resources; two, building a solid business foundation to achieve the business strategies; and three, clarifying capital policy. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Group-wide strategy. Portfolio business classification based on the new medium-term management plan. As to group-wide strategy, we have defined or classified the role of each business portfolio strategically so that we can achieve well-balanced resource allocation. We will make 3 businesses with the role of driving growth, coal and iron ore carriers, Car Carriers and LNG Carriers Businesses as a primary source of revenue by closely getting aligned with our customers for emissions reductions and decarbonization. We intend to achieve growth bigger than the market growth by gaining share among not only existing customers, but also new customers. Regarding allocation of management resources, about 80% of the business investment will be in this coal and iron ore carriers, car carriers and LNG carriers. We have defined energy source transport such as Thermal Coal Carriers and VLGC and VLCC as businesses with the role of supporting smooth energy source conversion and taking on new business opportunities. We will transform our business structure, minimizing business risk while helping customers transform their energy mix at the same time. In promoting our portfolio, we will continuously study replacement of asset by M&A or business transfer, et cetera. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of driving growth. Growth strategy for coal and iron ore carriers business. Growth strategy for coal and iron ore carrier business will gain new customers from outside of Japan, such as major resource companies, by being aware of their environmental needs, in addition to Japanese or Korean mills that have been our existing customers forming our revenue base. There are very strong needs for reduction on greenhouse gas from our customers by supporting our customers to meet Scope 3 requirement and make our long-term business relationships with customers even stronger. We will establish status as customers partner by responding to customers' demand for alternative fuel vessels such as LNG-fueled vessels and also by improving sales capability as a company, focusing on customers' need for environmental technology. We will also review organizational structure for sales. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of driving growth. Growth strategy for Car Carriers Business. There are a strong demand as coal and iron ore carrier customers or even stronger demand for reduction on greenhouse gas. That said, we will steadily promote alternative fuels vessels and established supply network of alternative fuels. Moreover, we believe we need to adjust to [ alternization ] of industrial structure due to shifting to electric vehicle EV. To expand transaction with emerging battery electric vehicles, BEV, makers such as China and others will strengthen our sales, including overseas offices. And at the same time, we will enhance finished car logistics so that we can proactively attract such emerging BEV makers. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of driving growth. Growth strategy for LNG Carriers Business. LNG has strong demand as alternative fuel during energy transition period. It has been estimated that LNG demand will peak in 2040 to mid-2040s. And until that, demand will increase 4% or so every year. In such a situation, we will capture the demand for LNG carriers by securing businesses in the market where growth is expected, and in the future, such as China, Malaysia, India and Indonesia for both conventional size and midsize LNG carriers, in addition to businesses with LNG suppliers. In order for us to do that, we will strive to focus on sales in overseas offices and providing ship management functions from overseas, strongly enhancing both commercial, safety, operational support. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of supporting smooth energy source conversion and taking on new business opportunities. Path toward conversion of business related to Thermal Coal Carriers, VLGCs and VLCCs. Regarding thermal coal carriers, VLGCs and VLCCs, we will fulfill the supply and transport responsibilities for existing energy by providing high quality of transportation. We will strive to reduce vessel asset risks together with customers. Moreover, we need to capture growth opportunity by responding to customers' demand for new energy transport to be created. Concretely, we will strive to be ready for new demand to transport of ammonia, hydrogen and liquefied CO2. From our experience on owning and managing ammonia carriers we are confident that we can utilize our capabilities derived from such experiences. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of contributing by enhancing profitability. Profitability growth for Bulk carriers, Short Sea and Coastal Ships, port and Logistics Businesses. We have classified Bulk carriers, Short Sea and Coastal Ships, port and Logistics Businesses as businesses with roles of contributing by enhancing profitability. As a result of structural reforms, regarding bulk carriers, the fleet has been optimized, and resistance to market fluctuation has been improved drastically, thanks to high efficiency of operations. Without loosening the reins, we intend to further strengthen sales to enhance access to future growth markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East from newly relocated bases of the business in Singapore and strategically to lightening asset ownership. By putting Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen, which is scheduled to be a wholly owned subsidiary as a center of domestic shipping of our group, we will maximize intragroup synergy and promote modal shift. For Logistics Business, we will focus even more on the fields where we can pursue maximizing of synergy with the principal business. Such fields include finished vehicle logistics, domestic shipping and ferry, offshore wind power support vessels, et cetera. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Role of supporting the business as a shareholder and stabilizing the earning base. Containership Business. We provide support and advice to Containership Business as a shareholder and no need to mention that Containership is an important business segment for the "K" LINE Group. We believe soaring freight rate due to the unique circumstances caused by COVID-19 will be gradually normalized. However, we expect continuous growth as demand increases. As a shareholder, we intend to provide needed support, including human resources for the sustainable growth and the development of ONE. We will also back up ONE so that they clarify their business plan and disclose it so that ONE can have appropriate appreciation in the transition from founding period to growth maturation period. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Reference, EBITDA, multiple or major containerships companies and ONE. Compared to other major container carriers firms, ONE's EBITDA is higher than those of others. We see that ONE is transitioning from founding period into normal period after best practice of 3 Japanese shipping companies realized. We will strive to make sure ONE is reflected to "K" LINE Group's corporate value appropriately through appropriate communication with the market. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. One, expansion of new businesses in fields where "K" LINE can utilize its strengths. We basically focus on fields that would contribute to emissions reductions and decarbonization and avoid pure investment with no acquisition of knowledge or experience or synergy. Current initiatives include "K" Line Wind Service, Ltd., established June of last year jointly with Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen, Ltd. and other domestic subsidiaries. Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen owns anchor-handling tug supply vessels with the biggest bollard pull in Japan, 150 tonnes. We see that we can utilize our group's knowledge and network to great extent in offshore wind power support vessel business and we are actively engaging. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Two, business base. Big picture of functional strategy. By investing in key human resources for business strategy realization, we will continue to strengthen our business foundation. This includes human resources in areas such as digital transformation, environmental expertise, technology as well as safety and vessel quality control. In this way, we can steadily enhance our unique technology and expertise. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Two, investment to HR. Develop and secure expertise, HR and diversity. As part of this investment, we will also develop specialized executive human resources for the shipping business, while also nurturing personnel with maritime technology expertise. To promote greater human resource diversity, we intend to further strengthen our competitive advantage by actively promoting human resources from outside Japan. This includes strengthening offshore sites such as Singapore in business areas such as Dry Bulk and energy, which are seeing market expansion outside Japan. We also aim to increase the representation of women in manager positions to 15%. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Two, digital transformation. One of our strengths is our relationships with customers in the business fields that drive growth. In order to strengthen these relationships and better support customers, we will actively promote the sharing of cargo and CO2 emissions information as part of our digital transformation activities. Moreover, we are working to support safe and optimized operations in collaboration with partners in Japan and elsewhere through the use of not only new hardware, but also software to facilitate digital transformation. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Two, environment and technology, safety and ship quality management. In the area of environmental expertise, technology, safety and vessel quality control, we will strive to be a company that provides various energy-saving technologies and options for customers and encourages them to adopt them. Safe operations and vessel management are the highest priorities for a shipping company, therefore, we intend to build a strong new 3-based system for these activities in the United States, Europe and Singapore. This will also allow us to promote a customer-oriented support system based on global expansion. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, profitability targets. As for profitability targets, we will realize profit growth for "K" LINE's own businesses by promoting the strategies outlined above. Specifically, we are aiming to double profits in "K" LINE's own businesses by fiscal 2026, the final year of the medium-term management plan. The driving force will be ordinary income from the coal and iron ore transport, Car Carriers and LNG Carriers Businesses. By doubling their profits and growing them to the point where they account for 2/3 of "K" LINE's own businesses, we intend to expand the profitability of these businesses to about the same as that of the Containership Business. Ordinary income for fiscal year 2021 was JPY 34 billion. However, this includes a temporary foreign exchange gain of about JPY 8 billion, thanks to rapid depreciation of the yen. Assuming that ordinary income was effectively about JPY 26 billion, a target of JPY 55 billion by fiscal 2026 represents a goal to more than double profits. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, cash allocation. Between fiscal 2021 and 2026, we expect to generate total operating cash flow of approximately JPY 900 billion to JPY 1 trillion. Approximately JPY 500 billion is earmarked for investment and for repayment of working capital financing with the higher interest rate. We will also refinance to purchase competitive equipment as part of appropriate debt utilization. On top of that, we plan to distribute JPY 400 billion to JPY 500 billion as shareholder returns. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, an investment plan that focuses on the environment and the role of driving growth. Looking at the investment details, we will focus on the businesses with the role of driving growth and the environment. About 80% of the business investment will be in the coal and iron ore carriers, car carriers and LNG carriers. Meanwhile, we plan to invest JPY 310 billion out of the JPY 520 billion. This will go to environmental investment, including alternative fuel vessels and will account for about 60% of the total. By concentrating our investment in the 3 key businesses that drive growth, the ordinary income of these 3 businesses can be doubled. By fiscal 2026, the income of these 3 should account for 2/3 of the earnings in "K" LINE's own businesses. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, return to shareholders. For our shareholder return policy, we will consider the cash flow generated in each fiscal year and the necessary business investment. Then we will respond with an appropriate mix of additional dividends and share buybacks on top of the basic dividend. For fiscal 2021, a dividend of JPY 600 per share is planned. For fiscal 2022, in addition to the regular dividend of JPY 300 per share, we will consider extra returns of JPY 100 billion or more in the form of additional dividends and/or share buyback. For fiscal 2023 onwards, our goal is to continually maintain awareness of our optimal capital levels and to ensure the capital investment and financial soundness necessary to improve corporate value. Using any capital in excess of the appropriate level, we'll proactively distribute shareholder returns, including share buyback based on cash flow. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, further advancement of business management. While making a large investment of JPY 500 billion, we will implement a new accounting system that promotes business-specific responsibility. We want to further advance business management and relevant systems that increase awareness of cash flow and the cost of capital. "K" Line will also establish investment guidelines for each vessel type and maintain investment discipline based on an understanding of past mistakes. New medium-term management plan, 5 years. Three, summary of new midterm management plan. With the significant improvement of our financial position, we have entered a new management stage. In our business centered on shipping, we intend to enhance our corporate value by actively meeting the demand for emissions reduction, decarbonization and other environmental measures. Through these efforts, we are aiming to achieve ordinary income of JPY 140 billion by fiscal 2026, based on balanced earnings from our 2 main days of "K" LINE's own businesses and Containership Business. In "K" LINE's own businesses, we will prioritize the allocation of management resources to the 3 businesses: coal and iron ore transport, Car Carriers and LNG Carriers Businesses, which will drive growth. At the same time, we will actively participate in the Containership Business as a shareholder and provide proper information disclosure. "K" LINE will continue to advance as executive management through business-specific management accounting and business-specific evaluation with a focus on the cost of capital. We will also strive to thoroughly promote capital, financial and investment discipline. Cash allocation will be promoted with an emphasis on growth, investment and shareholder returns while always maintaining optimal capital levels.