Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (6503) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

This time, we'd like to now start the financial results briefing of Q1 of fiscal year ending March 2027 of Mitsubishi Electric. Let me introduce the speaker today, Executive Officer, CFO, Kenichiro Fujimoto. Mr. Fujimoto, please start.

[Interpreted] This is Fujimoto of Mitsubishi Electric. Thank you very much for attending this financial results briefing. First of all, I'd like to express deepest condolences to the victims of 2026 Kumamoto earthquake and extend heartfelt sympathies to affected people. Entire Mitsubishi Electric Group sincerely pray for swift recovery of affected areas and will start the initiative to support the people who are affected. In relation to the Kumamoto earthquake, let me share with you the current status of our business. We have 2 production sites in Kumamoto for Semiconductor & Device business. There were no significant impact on buildings, processes that completed the equipment inspection and start-up gradually resumed the operations since yesterday. Now let me start my explanation on the fiscal '27 Q1 consolidated financial results. Please turn to Page 4. Those are the key points of the financial results. Driven by the growing demand and others, Q1 revenue increased year-on-year in all segments, especially Industry, Mobility and Life segments. This was the record high Q1 revenue, JPY 1,497.1 billion. In FA Systems, Defense & Space Systems, Air Conditioning Systems and Home Products, the business scale increased and there were price improvements in mass production businesses, and there was a weaker yen effect. Adjusted OP grew JPY 50.4 billion year-on-year to JPY 144.3 billion, which was a record high as Q1. As for full year fiscal '27 forecast, in Factory Automation System, AI and semiconductor-related demand increased, leading to bigger business scale and the yen weakened in Q1. So the previous forecast is revised upward by JPY 70 billion, revenue of JPY 6.27 trillion and adjusted OP of JPY 620 billion, up JPY 30 billion from the initial forecast. Page 6, this is the results of the Q1. As explained, revenue was up 14% year-on-year. Adjusted OP up 54%. The net profit attributable to MEC stockholders increased 21% year-on-year to JPY 109.8 billion, the highest number as Q1. Page 7. So, this shows the waterfall chart showing the Q1 revenue and adjusted OP year-on-year changes. The weaker yen pushed up the revenue by JPY 85 billion and pushed up the operating profit by JPY 22 billion. Excluding the FX impact, there were price -- procurement price increased, revenue in FA System, Defense Space System, AC System and Home Products increased and also there were price improvements in mass production businesses. And there was an effect of the next-day support program implemented last fiscal year. The AOP increased by JPY 28.5 billion. This shows the consolidated statement of financial position and cash flow. Total assets declined by JPY 109.2 billion from the end of last fiscal year. Inventories increased with the progress of construction in the individual production businesses, but there is a progress in collection of the account receivables. Total equity increased by JPY 88.6 billion from the end of last fiscal year. The MEC stockholders' equity was JPY 4,571.15 billion (sic) [ JPY 4,571.5 billion ] , up JPY 87.2 billion from the end of last fiscal year, reflecting the dividend payment of JPY 61.4 billion, but the booking of JPY 109.8 billion in net profit. And the percentage of this against the total asset increased to 63.1%, plus 2.2 points. Next is the free cash flow. There were increase in the expenses of the inventories, but with the higher net profit and also the return of the retirement benefit trust assets, the free cash flow -- excuse me, the cash flow from operating activities was an inflow of JPY 388.6 billion, up JPY 195.1 billion. There was an increase in the tangible fixed assets. And as a result, the cash flow from investing activities increased JPY 67.7 billion year-on-year. And free cash flow was positive JPY 301.5 billion, up JPY 127.4 billion year-on-year. Next is year-on-year comparison of revenue and operating profit by segment. Revenue increased in all segments. AOP increased in all segments, except for Digital Innovation. I would explain the details on the following pages by segment. And sub-segment-wise numbers will be shown in supplementary materials on Page 20. Please turn to Page 10. I'll start with Infrastructure segment. Demand continued to be robust across all businesses. And for the whole segment, orders, revenue, and adjusted operating profit were up year-over-year. In Public Utility Systems, while orders was up year-over-year, thanks to large orders for UPS systems in North America, revenue fell due to a decline in the domestic transport business. Adjusted operating profit was also down year-over-year due to changes in our project portfolio and absence of one-off factors, which was present in the prior year. In Energy Systems, orders was up year-over-year, driven primarily by the domestic power generation business. Both revenue and adjusted operating profit were up year-over-year, thanks to the growth of our substation business in North America, among others. In Defense & Space Systems, while orders was down year-over-year, last year, we had large projects in the Defense Systems business, revenue rose by, sorry, 37% year-over-year, thanks to increased production capacity and adjusted operating profit was also up year-over-year. Please turn to Page 11 for Industry & Mobility segment. In FA Systems, driven by increased demand for AI and semiconductor-related products in China, Japan, Taiwan and elsewhere, orders rose by 42% and revenue grew by 30% year-over-year. Adjusted operating profit was also up year-over-year, driven by higher revenue and price improvements despite factors such as rising procurement costs. In Automotive Equipment, despite a decline in car multimedia in North America, both revenue and adjusted operating profit were up year-over-year, driven by weaker yen and price improvements. Please turn to Page 12 for Life segment. In Building Systems, orders, revenue, and adjusted operating profit were up year-over-year, driven by the weaker yen and the consolidation of an affiliate in the Middle East as a subsidiary. In Air Conditioning & Systems and Home Products (sic) [ Air Conditioning Systems & Home Products ], despite decline in North America, revenue was up year-over-year due to the weaker yen and solid demand for air conditioning equipment in Europe as well as in Japan. Adjusted operating profit was up year-over-year, driven by the weaker yen, increased revenue due to higher demand and price improvements despite a rise in procurement costs. Please turn to Page 13. In Digital Innovation, demand remained firm, driven by system upgrades and digital transformation, resulting in higher orders and revenue year-over-year, while adjusted operating profit stayed flat. In Semiconductor and Device, demand stayed robust for products such as optical devices for data center communications. Orders was up 53% year-over-year for the whole segment due to growth in telecom optical devices and the power semiconductors for industrial as well as commercial use -- consumer use. Both revenue and adjusted operating profit were up year-over-year, driven by stronger demand and weaker yen. Please turn to Page 14. Revenue by customer location. Revenue increased year-over-year in both domestic and overseas markets. Domestic revenue grew led by Defense & Space Systems, and the number was up 9% year-over-year. Overseas revenue rose by 18% year-over-year, driven by growth in China and Asia, primarily in FA Systems and in Europe, in Air Conditioning Systems & Home Products business. The overseas ratio increased by 2 percentage points to 57%. Please turn to Page 16. Full year forecast for fiscal '27 has been revised from the previous announcement to project higher revenue and profit to revenue of JPY 6.27 trillion and adjusted operating profit of JPY 620 billion. FX assumptions from Q2 onwards remain unchanged at JPY 150 to the U.S. dollar, JPY 175 to the euro and JPY 21.5 to the Chinese yuan. Revenue and adjusted operating profit by segment for the current forecast are disclosed in the supplement on Page 21. The forecast has been revised upwards for both revenue and profit to reflect higher growth in demand for AI and semiconductors in the FA Systems segment in China and Japan as well as higher revenue in Energy Systems in North America and weaker yen in Q1 compared to our assumption. Impact of the earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture on our business performance is expected to be limited. That concludes my presentation. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]