Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (7011) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, everyone. This is Eisaku Ito, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us today. Allow me to make a few brief comments on my assessment of our FY 2025 financial results as well as on our strategy for FY 2026. Order intake in FY 2025 rose 20% year-on-year, reaching JPY 7.7 trillion. This growth was mainly driven by strong orders for GTCC in North America and Asia. Orders for large frame gas turbines increased significantly from 25 units last year to 35 units in FY 2025. Revenue was around JPY 5 trillion, supported by steady growth in GTCC, Nuclear Power, and Defense. Business profit increased year-on-year in all segments to a total of JPY 432.2 billion. Based on these results, I have the utmost confidence in our ability to achieve our 2024 medium-term business plan targets while realizing even greater growth going forward. Turning now to our operating environment. Demand for data centers is rising due to advances in AI technology, which in turn is driving increased electricity demand. Additionally, carbon neutrality-related policies around the world are moving in a more practical, achievable direction. Contrastingly, geopolitical risks, particularly in the Middle East, have emerged, leading to ongoing concerns about global supply chain instability and rising inflation. Within this uncertain environment, MHI will actively pursue business opportunities in areas that contribute to solving societal issues while carefully managing risk. Next, I will share some highlights from the ITO initiatives we pursued in FY2025, then outline our strategy for FY 2026. Aiming to unleash our growth potential in the medium to long term, we are working to implement ITO, which is supported by the 2 pillars of group-wide optimization and reach expansion. In FY 2025, the ITO concept took root throughout the organization, generating a myriad of synergies. To provide one example, we won a construction contract for the next-generation general purpose frigate program in Australia after around 8 months of negotiations. During this process, we deployed personnel with experience working on plant projects overseas from the initial phase of contract negotiations. By building an organization that leveraged these synergies, we were able to conclude the contract smoothly. In GTCC, we actively deployed many engineers, including those from facilities other than Takasago Machinery Works, our main base of operations for the business. This has increased our project execution capabilities, enabling us to meet booming demand in the market. In accordance with the reach expansion pillar of ITO, we have launched initiatives to create new customer value across all business areas. To that end, we are enhancing our efforts in markets and regions with strong growth forecasts by collaborating with overseas partners. One success story is our partnership with a Turkish construction company, which recently led to our booking a large plant project in Turkmenistan. We are also preparing to expand sales of cooling systems in the U.S. and India. Moreover, in GTCC and several other businesses, we are actively deploying capital expenditures to increase manufacturing capacity as well as R&D investments to accelerate technological innovation. Through these efforts, we will respond to rising demand while increasing competitiveness. optimization of our portfolio of businesses is another area of focus for us. As was the case with our decision to sell Mitsubishi Logisnext, we are working to optimize the management of our businesses by considering strategic fit and synergies, including the option of selling businesses to their best owners. Through this approach, we aim to maximize corporate value by directing management resources toward areas with strong growth potential. By implementing these measures, we are targeting JPY 540.0 billion in business profit in FY2026, a figure which significantly exceeds our initial 2024 medium-term business plan goal of JPY 450.0 billion or higher. In closing, I will provide more details on these initiatives and our corporate strategy at the 2024 medium-term business plan progress briefing scheduled for the end of May. We hope to see you there and appreciate your continued support and understanding. This concludes my presentation. Continuing on, we will now go over the details of our FY 2025 financial results and the FY 2026 earnings forecast, limiting ourselves to the main takeaways.

[AI Agent - Jiro] I am Jiro, MHI Investor Relations' AI narrator. First, a few notes. As indicated at the bottom of this page, in accordance with our accounting standards, the figures for order intake, revenue and business profit exclude those related to the former Mitsubishi Logisnext. Also, assets and liabilities directly related to that business are grouped together under assets and liabilities held for sale. Please turn to Page 4. Order intake, revenue and business profit are as outlined during Ito's presentation. Net income reached JPY 332.1 billion, up 35% year-on-year, marking a new record high alongside business profit. Free cash flow was strong at positive JPY 893.4 billion, and interest-bearing debt decreased to JPY 515.7 billion. Order backlog exceeded JPY 13 trillion, up around JPY 3 trillion from the end of the previous fiscal year. Please refer to Page 31 for a breakdown by segment. Pages 6 to 8 provides some highlights on our 3 growing core businesses, starting with GTCC. As shown in the bar graph at the bottom left, global demand for gas turbines in CY 2025 was around 100 gigawatts, a significant increase from the previous year on the back of the strong demand. We booked orders for 35 large frame gas turbines in FY 2025, achieving a record high for order intake. The graph on the right shows revenue, which has been steadily rising, both in original equipment as well as services, supported by growing order intake over the past few years. Revenue is expected to increase further in FY 2026. Page 7 shows some highlights in Nuclear Power. In FY 2025, order intake rose in all main business areas, including Japan light water reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities and development work on demonstration reactors utilizing advanced technologies. As a result, revenue grew significantly year-on-year. Nuclear Power revenue, which is shown in the pie chart at the bottom left, has trended around JPY 300 billion in recent years. Revenue is expected to exceed JPY 400 billion going forward. Page 8 covers Defense & Space. Order intake declined year-over-year in FY 2025 due to the booking of several large projects during the previous fiscal year. That said, we still achieved relatively high order intake, mainly thanks to an order for the Australian frigate program. Japan's defense budget for FY 2026 is around the same size as FY 2025. So we anticipate high order intake will continue. Revenue rose 38% year-on-year on the back of a surge in order intake over recent years. We expect revenue growth to continue in FY 2026. Next, I will provide a more detailed explanation of our financial results. Please turn to Page 11, which shows our balance sheet. Total assets increased by around JPY 1.6 trillion to JPY 8,269.7 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year. Shown on the right, contract liabilities, that is, advances received rose significantly. This led to an increase in cash and cash equivalents, which appear on the left under other current assets. Also on the right, equity grew substantially due to higher net income, pension asset valuation gains and the weaker yen, among other factors. Please turn to Page 13, which shows our cash flows. Free cash flow reached a record high of JPY 893.4 billion, supported by EBITDA of JPY 553.7 billion and large advances received booked in GTCC and other businesses. We expect working capital to increase during FY 2026 as we work to execute our extensive backlog. Please turn to Page 14. This graph outlines factors which caused year-on-year changes in business profit. Business profit rose by JPY 77.2 billion from JPY 354.9 billion during FY 2024, excluding Mitsubishi Logisnext. Of this increase, JPY 184.0 billion came from higher revenue and improved margins. Strong backlog execution and the provision of highly profitable aftersales services resulted in this item significantly exceeding the initial target of positive JPY 134.0 billion. Moving on to the negative factors. An American company in our Industrial Power Solutions business, which we acquired during FY 2023, recognized JPY 30.0 billion in goodwill impairment losses in accordance with our accounting standards. Nonetheless, we will continue to focus on our data center business, which was the strategic rationale for acquiring that company and which remains one of our future growth areas. Business profit decreased by JPY 56.0 billion due to the high base effect of large gains realized in FY 2024 from the sale of some land at our Yokohama Dockyard and Machinery Works facility. Moving on, I will now discuss developments in order intake, revenue and business profit by segment. Please turn to Page 17. In the Energy Systems segment, order intake rose significantly in GTCC and Nuclear Power with total segment order intake up 50% year-on-year to JPY 3,936.7 billion. GTCC continued to book high order intake on the back of strong demand for power generation systems, primarily in North America. Revenue grew 13.6% year-on-year to JPY 2,062.6 billion. Business profit rose 30% year-on-year to JPY 267.2 billion, driven mainly by higher revenue and improved margins in GTCC and Nuclear Power, which offset JPY 30.0 billion in one-time losses in Steam Power. Please turn to Page 18. In the Plants & Infrastructure Systems segment, high order intake in Engineering, including a fertilizer plant booked in Turkmenistan, offset a dip in orders in Metals Machinery and Machinery Systems caused by a high base effect from large projects booked in the previous fiscal year. Business profit rose more than 40% year-on-year to JPY 84.1 billion, driven by improved margins, primarily in Metals Machinery and Machinery Systems. Please turn to Page 19. In the Logistics, Thermal & Drive Systems segment, revenue declined due to fewer units sold in Turbochargers and HVAC. Contrastingly, business profit increased on the back of higher revenue in engines, primarily in Asia and the resolution of a supply chain disruption that occurred in Turbochargers during the previous fiscal year. Please turn to Page 20. Order intake in Aircraft, Defense & Space decreased due to a high base effect from several large orders booked during the previous fiscal year. However, we were still able to achieve strong order intake performance due in part to the booking of the Australian frigate program. Revenue rose 35% year-on-year and business profit increased by over 50% due to steady execution of the extensive order backlog in Defense & Space. Next, I will discuss the FY 2026 earnings forecast. Following the organizational changes made on April 1, the Data Center and Energy Management Department was moved to the Logistics, Thermal and Drive Systems segment, which has been renamed the Industrial Solutions segment. Moreover, this earnings forecast does not include impact from the uncertain and evolving situation in the Middle East. Please turn to Page 22, which shows the forecast for order intake, revenue, and business profit. We are guiding JPY 6.8 trillion in order intake. Although order intake is expected to decline due to a high base effect from large projects booked in FY 2025, such as a project for Taiwan Power Company in GTCC, construction work on nuclear fuel cycle-related facilities in Nuclear Power and the Australian frigate program in defense. We expect order backlog will remain high. Business profit is expected to rise 25% year-on-year to JPY 540.0 billion, exceeding FY 2025's record high. ROE is projected to hit our 2024 medium-term business plan target of 12% and free cash flow is guided at JPY 300.0 billion. The full year dividend is expected to increase by JPY 4 to JPY 29 per share. Pages 23 through 28 provide more details about the earnings forecast, including information on each segment and the profit bridge for FY 2026. Supplemental data is provided in the appendix, which starts on Page 29, but please allow me to omit a detailed explanation here. This concludes my presentation.