PHC Holdings Corporation (6523) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for joining us today for PHC Holdings FY 2024 Financial Results Briefing. I'm the master of ceremony today. My name is [ Hirai ] from IR Corporate Communications. Thank you for this opportunity. I would like to explain about the participation to this meeting. Today, we have simultaneous translation in Japanese and English. [Operator Instructions] Let me introduce the presenters of today's meeting: Director and the CEO, Kyoko Deguchi; Executive Corporate Officer, CFO, Kaiju Yamaguchi. The 2 of them will provide the presentation, and then we will have time allocated for Q&A session. Deguchi-san, please begin.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Deguchi, President and CEO. Today, we will provide an overview of financial results of FY '24 and forecast for the full year FY '25. I will provide the executive summary, and the financial summary for FY '24 and full year forecast for FY '25 will be presented by our CFO, Yamaguchi. This is the result of FY '24. Revenue was JPY 361.6 billion. Diagnostics & Life Science saw instrument sales down year-on-year due to the continued impact of stagnant capital investment demand, mainly in Europe and the USA and the uncertainty of near future market conditions. On the other hand, the contraction in the BGM business was smaller than the prior year. In addition, the capture of demand for electronic prescriptions in line with the domestic medical DX policy and the impact of acquisitions as well as the positive impact of foreign exchange, we saw year-on-year increase of JPY 7.7 billion in revenues. Operating profit increased by JPY 21 billion year-on-year and amounted to JPY 22.6 billion. Impairment losses recorded in the previous year at LSI Medience and others were not recorded this year, and one-off costs such as business restructuring were reduced. Furthermore, the impact of increased revenues and cost reductions contributed to a significant increase in profits. We landed JPY 1.5 billion higher than the upwardly revised forecast provided in February. Compared to the previous year, profit attributable to owners of the parent company amounted to JPY 10.5 billion, partly due to better foreign exchange gains and losses and lower interest expenses. The year-end dividend will remain at the previously forecast dividend of JPY 21 per share for the annual dividend of JPY 42 per share. This is the review of FY '24. Under the new management structure, we placed more emphasis than ever on achieving our plan steadily each quarter, and from the beginning of the year, we worked on through cost reductions and other measures. As a result, we were able to exceed our plans from the first quarter. Although there were delays in recovery of market conditions and the start-up of new products in the fourth quarter, we were able to finish the year exceeding our upwardly revised forecast for the full year. In November, we also announced our medium-term management plan up to 2027, which sets out the vision we aim to achieve by 2030 and promotes the strengthening of our foundations for future growth. In line with the policy of strengthening the revenue base and portfolio management, which has been positioned as priority measures, the positioning of each business has been clarified and measures in line with the strategy have been implemented in each business. First, in the BGM business, where the market conditions shrink, the extent of the decline in both North America and Europe are slowing down. The impact of the termination of the sales collaboration in the U.S. is also coming to an end, and measures in North America, such as measures to strengthen the U.S. cash segment and to increase market share in Canada are also making progress. In addition, the group is continuing to focus on global profitability, making appropriate investment assessments and cost management, and is making progress towards stabilizing earnings as a foundational business. CGM saw the launch of a 365-day product in the second half of the year as planned. Sales did not reach the planned level, but indicators such as number of leads and the user acquisitions grew more than 50% compared to the previous product. We are continuing to implement measures to expand sales while determining the appropriate investment efficiency. LSI Medience, a healthcare solutions company, has been working on corrective and recurrence prevention activities in response to the inappropriate incident regarding the precision control, and the administrative reporting and other actions have been completed. The company will continue its efforts to restore confidence by continuing its quality improvement initiatives. Fortunately, the impact on performance was smaller than expected and profitability improved significantly, partly as a result of thorough cost-cutting measures. Wemex achieved high growth rates and improved profitability as a base business, thanks to a customer base with a high market share in pharmacies and clinics, government demand for medical DX, particularly for electronic prescriptions and the contribution of M&A carried out in the prior year. In addition, the development of cloud EMR, which will be the core product for the development of cloud-based solutions, a strategy set out in the medium-term management plan has been completed. The product has received high praise in terms of advanced orders and monitoring use since autumn last year and was officially launched at the beginning of this current fiscal year. Diagnostics & Life Science domain, which is positioned as a growth driver for the company, struggled due to stagnant market conditions, particularly in Europe and the U.S. But the Pathology business, in particular, continued to improve profitability due to strong sales of consumables, improved productivity and cost reduction measures that have been implemented in the past. In addition, the Pathology and Biomedical business launched new products in the growth markets of digital pathology and CGT, respectively. At the corporate level, we also executed sales of nonbusiness assets to improve cash flow. Despite some gaps with our assumptions, we have taken steady steps towards achieving our midterm management plan by implementing various measures and improving our performance in FY 2024. Now I'd like to talk about our fiscal 2025 full year forecast. Revenue is expected to be JPY 363.1 billion. In the BGM business, we assume a more modest decline in the impact of market contraction, particularly in developed countries. In the CGM business, we are aiming for continued high growth of 365-day product, which was launched in the previous year. Diabetes Management sales are expected to increase 3.4%, excluding the FX impact. In the Diagnostics & Life Science business, which was affected by stagnant demand for devices in the previous year, we expect a recovery in this fiscal year. Revenue is expected to increase by 4.1% excluding the foreign exchange impact. Operating profit is forecasted to be JPY 17.4 billion. In the Diabetes Management, we plan to increase its profit in this fiscal year by reducing the decrease in profit of BGM and by improving profit of CGM. In Healthcare Solutions and Diagnostics & Life Sciences, we expect a decline in profit, taking into consideration a drop in demand for high-margin healthcare DX-related business and increase in SG&A expenses for sales expansion and the impact of inflation. We have factored in the planned restructuring costs in line with our midterm plan and the potential tariff impacts in the U.S. into the other segment. Group-wide, we expect a JPY 5.1 billion decrease in profits year-on-year. Dividends are currently projected to be JPY 42 per share for the year, unchanged from the previous year. We will make a final decision on the dividend after reviewing the progress of our business performance and the financial situation, considering the large uncertainties in this fiscal year, such as the impact of the tariff. Finally, the positioning of each business for the fiscal year-ending March 2026. For the current fiscal year, we have factored in risks such as onetime restructuring cost and tariff impact. We are forecasting a decrease in profit. We positioned the fiscal year '25 as a year in which we will work on measures necessary for the future growth, and we will continue to promote these measures flexibly in light of a fluid macro environment. BGM is narrowing down the markets and target segments to focus on, while closely evaluating profitability and growth potential based on the strategy to continue to increase market share amidst the continued market contraction. In addition, to strengthen the cash segment in the U.S., we will start local production in Algeria, a growth market, this fiscal year. At the same time, we will continue to cut costs by streamlining the organization and bringing operations in-house in response to the shrinking market. CGM expects to promote sales expansion of its 365-day product in the U.S. as well as Europe through acquisition of the CE mark. LSI Medience, although some effects from the appropriate quality management still remain, has completed special measures in the previous year and has reacquired certification by the association for the promotion of healthcare-related service marks. In this fiscal year, we will work to reacquire ISO certification and grow at the same level as the market. We will continue to implement measures to improve profitability and strive to further improve profitability as a restructured business. Wemex will work to capture healthcare DX-related revenues and to expand sales of newly launched cloud products. In the Pathology business, in addition to growth in demand for consumables, we will work to improve profitability by expanding sales of new digital pathology products and, at the same time, improving productivity and reducing costs. In Biomedical, we expect the capital investment demand to return to a certain level this year. We expect to expand sales of our core products such as ultra-low temperature freezers and incubators, and we plan to launch a bioreactor, a second new product in the CGT. IVD will promote sales expansion of equipment and reagents by utilizing the sales channels in the U.S., which was strengthened in the previous year. And based on the midterm plan, we will realize the effect of the domestic sales integration implemented at the beginning of this fiscal year. In addition, from this fiscal year, we will proceed with the evaluation of capital efficiency through the introduction of ROIC management at the company-wide level and establishment of a framework to strengthen portfolio management. Lastly, in our efforts in FY '25, we are aiming to expand sales of new -- 2 products this fiscal year. We will build a foundation for growth this fiscal year with new products in our focus areas. That is all from me. I will now turn over to CFO, Yamaguchi.

Yes. I would like to start with an overview of the FY '24 results and move on to explain the forecast for FY '25. I will start with the consolidated financial results for FY '24. Revenue and profits increased year-on-year in all indicators, and it was actually higher. We actually achieved the performance forecast that was provided in the third quarter. The overview was already explained by Deguchi-san, but more details will be given later in each segment. Profit before tax increased by JPY 32.1 billion to JPY 18.8 billion. In addition to the increase in the operating profit, this was mainly due to better foreign exchange gains and losses and the lower interest expenses. Including the increased tax burden due to higher profits, profit attributable to the owners of parent was JPY 10.5 billion and earnings per share was JPY 83. EBITDA increased by JPY 4.2 billion year-on-year. The difference between the increase in operating profit of JPY 21 billion and the increase in EBITDA was mainly due to impairment losses totaling JPY 16.1 billion from LSIM, Pathology and the Diagnostics business in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted for one-off income and expenses, increased by JPY 0.4 billion. The difference with a JPY 4.2 billion increase in EBITDA was mainly due to lower restructuring costs recorded in the prior year. ROIC calculated as operating profit after tax divided by average invested capital during the period. And the -- there was an improvement from 0.3% in the prior year to 3.8% in the current year. In the midterm management plan, we will raise this amount to 8% by 2027. And JPY 164 to the euro and JPY 152 to the dollar was used as exchange rate. Both rates were significantly weaker than the prior year. The result for the 3 months in the fourth quarter will be explained on the next page, but the table on the right-hand side on this page will talk a little about the changes compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. All indicators were positive year-on-year until the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, revenue and operating profit declined. Revenue was mainly due to the following factors. In Diabetes Management, BGM significant revenue in the previous year, especially in Europe and Q4 due to distributor stock buildup in the previous year. And in the current year, there was a period phasing to Q3, and the Healthcare IT Solutions and the previous Q4 saw special demand with the Online Eligibility Check System. Operating profit was -- the result was mainly due to higher margins in BGM and Online Eligibility Check System as well as adjustment difference in bonus provisions in the fourth quarter and the restructuring-related provision in Diagnostics & Life Sciences. Adjusted EBITDA, this number is mainly due to lower operating profit as well as one-off gains from sales of nonoperating assets in the C year under review compared to a large number of one-off restructuring-related costs in the prior year. Page 12 shows quarterly trends in revenue and operating profit. Revenue was steadily increased quarter-by-quarter since the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, revenue increased due to year-end demand gains in Japan, including year-end exceptional revenue in the CRO business despite some demand declines in BGM business that could have been seen as phasing. Operating profit decreased by 29% compared to the third quarter. In addition to the impact of lower revenues in the BGM business, this was due to production adjustments in Diagnostics & Life Sciences to reduce inventories and provisions for structural reforms to be implemented in the following year. Factors contributed to the decrease in profit compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year is explained on the previous page. Page 13 describes revenue by segment and business. Diabetes Management revenue in FY '24 was down by 2.9% year-on-year, including the positive impact of FX. Excluding FX, this is down by 6.2%, which means that the decline is more moderate compared to the prior year's minus 8.5%. This was due to a slowdown in the decline in BGM revenue as well as an increase in CGM revenue following the launch of the 365-day's product. Healthcare Solutions was up by 6.7% year-on-year, JPY 128.3 billion. Healthcare IT Solutions revenues increased by 17.7% year-on-year due to the effect of M&A implemented in the third quarter of the prior year as well as the acquisition of demand for electronic prescriptions, which was strong -- has been strong since the second quarter of the year. Revenue in Diagnostics & Life Sciences increased slightly year-on-year to JPY 130.9 billion with a favorable impact of FX, or a 2.7% decline, excluding FX impact. Although consumables performed well, in Pathology, this was not enough to compensate for the decline of biomedical revenue, which were affected by stagnant market demand for instruments. The segment will be explained later on. The bridge chart on Page 14 shows a breakdown of year-on-year changes in revenue and operating profit. The top chart shows revenue. Excluding the favorable impact of JPY 8.2 billion from foreign exchange, the growth rate was almost flat at minus 0.2%. The trend was similar to the third quarter with demand for e-prescriptions in healthcare IT solutions and M&A effects and the continued strong sales of consumables in the Pathology business. On the other hand, sales of Diabetes Management declined by JPY 6.3 billion and Biomedical continued to be affected by stagnant equipment demand. The graph below shows the breakdown of changes in operating profit. The Healthcare Solutions saw a significant increase due to the absence of the JPY 12.7 billion impairment loss recorded in the previous year. But even excluding the impact of that impairment loss, operating profit increased by JPY 6 billion. The JPY 2.9 billion increase in headquarter and others was mainly due to cost reductions, a decrease in onetime restructuring expenses recorded in the last year and onetime proceeds from the sale of nonbusiness assets in the current fiscal year. The foreign exchange impact on operating profit was negative JPY 0.5 billion. Mainly in the Diabetes Management and Pathology business, overseas expenses increased due to the yen's depreciation, and this fiscal year, growth of Biomedical, which is positively impacted by the yen depreciation, was sluggish. I will now provide an overview of revenue and operating profit by segment. First is Diabetes Management. Revenue and operating profit were down 2.9% and 13.2%, respectively, year-on-year. BGM's revenue decline due to the termination of sales collaboration in the U.S. and the shrinkage of the market in developed countries has been narrowing. In the midterm plan, we set a CAGR of minus 2.4% from FY '25 onward. Market share gains and the effects of measures taken in the focused segments are emerging, and we are generally on track to achieve that level. CGM saw an increase in the number of users as a result of the launch of the 365-day product in the U.S. Revenues increased year-on-year, although they didn't reach our projections. Despite improved profitability in CGM and lower restructuring cost in BGM that were recorded in the previous year, operating profit decreased due to the lower profit margins from a change in the mix of sales channels and markets, in addition to the impact of lower revenue and higher expenses from foreign exchange and inflation effects. Next is Healthcare Solutions. Revenue increased 6.7% to JPY 128.3 billion. In LSIM, despite a decrease in COVID-19-related testing, the impact of the inappropriate quality management was smaller than initially expected, and revenue increased mainly due to an increase in general testing. In Healthcare IT Solutions, demand for electronic prescriptions remains strong, offsetting a temporary decline in demand related to the Online Eligibility Check System in the previous year. And M&A effects also contributed to a JPY 7.8 billion year-on-year increase in revenue. In the CRO business, despite year-end demand from domestic companies in the fourth quarter, revenue fell short of projections and recorded a decline. Operating margin in this segment improved to 7.2%. In the previous year, LSIM had an impairment loss of JPY 12.7 billion and onetime expenses of JPY 1 billion for structural reform, et cetera, for the segment as a whole. But even excluding these effects, operating profit increased by JPY 4.7 billion. The main reasons were improved profitability due to profit improvement measures at LSIM as well as the contribution to earnings from the business acquired through M&A in Healthcare IT Solutions. Finally, Diagnostics & Life Sciences revenue segment was JPY 130.9 billion, and Pathology business was affected by market conditions, mainly in China and lower demand in instruments, but continued to grow in consumables in Europe and USA as well as impact of price increase resulting in increased revenue, and excluding the positive impact of exchange rates. Biomedical saw year-on-year decline in revenue as the impact of a stagnant global capital investment demand continued despite the positive impact of foreign exchange rates, and the fourth quarter saw decline in demand due to uncertainty caused by U.S. policy. In the Diagnostic business, revenue declined as a result of lower demand in electric pharmaceutical injectors, which had been strong in the previous year, although there was one-off revenue from the conclusion of the distributorship agreement in North America. Operating profit was affected by changes in the one-off income and expenses. In the same period last year, there was sales of associated company of JPY 2.5 billion and the impairment loss of JPY 3.4 billion and one-off cost of JPY 1 billion mainly related to structural reforms. And in this fiscal year, one-off gains of JPY 0.6 billion were recorded. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding these one-off factors, which is shown on the bottom right-hand side corner, increased by JPY 300 million year-on-year, and decreased by JPY 300 million, excluding the FX impact. Profits improved in the Pathology business due to strong revenue in consumables and cost-cutting measures such as lower transport costs, but this was not enough to offset the decline in profits in Biomedical and Diagnostic business, partly due to provisions made for certain restructuring-related costs. Page 18 shows revenue by region. In Japan, revenue increased by 3.8% year-on-year mainly as a result of lower revenue in the Biomedical and Diagnostic business, offset by demand for prescription in the Healthcare and IT Solutions business and the effects of M&A. In Europe, the Pathology business remained strong despite a positive currency impact. This was not enough to compensate for the decline in BGM. Biomedical and Diagnostic revenue fell by 1.9% year-on-year. In North America, impact of the termination of the BGM collaboration was diminished and the increase in revenues from the Diagnostic business, including Pathology and one-off revenues, offset the decline in revenues from the Biomedical business, which increased by 4.8% year-on-year, including the positive impact of FX. In other regions, same level as prior year, with recovery in the rest of Asia, although the effects of stagnant market conditions in China continued to be felt. Page 19 describes one-off income and expenses included in the operating profit as a reconciling item from operating portfolio adjusted EBITDA. In the previous year, impairment losses amounted to JPY 12.7 billion in Health Science Solutions and JPY 3.4 billion in Pathology and Diagnostics. And this was none in the current year. In terms of adjustments from EBITDA to adjusted EBITDA, in the prior year, there were one-off costs related to the restructuring of JPY 7.2 billion in the consolidated total, including JPY 4.7 billion in Diabetes Management. In the current year, this is JPY 0.9 billion. With regard to one-off gains, in the prior year, there was a JPY 2.5 billion gain in the sale of an associated company in Diagnostics & Life Sciences. In this fiscal year, one-off gains of JPY 0.6 billion were recorded in Diagnostics & Life Sciences on agency contracts and JPY 0.6 billion in the head office and other segments, mainly from the sale of nonbusiness assets. Moving on to the consolidated balance sheet. Compared to the end of last fiscal year, there were no significant changes. A brief description of the main assets and liabilities are shown here. Balance of goodwill, JPY 206.5 billion, a decrease of JPY 2.2 billion. And the total interest-bearing debt was repaid by JPY 27.4 billion, bringing the balance back to -- bringing the balance to JPY 255.3 billion. Due to a decrease in the interest-bearing debt, the adjusted EBITDA multiple for net debt decreased to 4.3x compared to the end of the previous year. And the factors behind this is shown on the next slide. ROE was 7.5% at the end of the fiscal year. At the time of the publication of the midterm plan, 5% was assumed. So this is an improvement. But we want to achieve more than 10% by 2027. In the year, cash and deposits decreased by JPY 7.5 billion compared to the end of the prior year. Operating cash flow was JPY 41.9 billion. Capital investment expenditure was JPY 11.6 billion, which was similar to the prior year. And financing cash flow, which includes repayment of borrowing and lease liabilities, and dividend payments amounted to JPY 39.1 billion. This is all about the performance. Next, I will now explain our full year forecast for the fiscal year 2025. For the fiscal year 2025, we forecast revenue of JPY 363.1 billion, up JPY 1.5 billion year-on-year, and operating profit of JPY 17.4 billion, increase in revenue and decrease in profit year-on-year. In line with the midterm plan announced last year, we have already announced that we will incorporate restructuring expenses in this fiscal year. In addition, we have taken into account the potential impact of tariff actions in the U.S. based on the assumption. Operating profit is expected to decrease by JPY 5.2 billion year-on-year. Details are explained on the next page and thereafter. Profit before taxes is expected to decrease by JPY 6.6 billion from the previous year due to the impact of the decrease in operating profit and the fact that the foreign exchange gains we had in the previous year are not expected in this current year's plan. After factoring in a decrease in taxes due to the lower profit, we forecast profit attributable to owners of the parent to be JPY 7.4 billion and basic earnings per share to be JPY 59. The assumed exchange rate of JPY 155 to the euro and JPY 140 to the U.S. dollar, same as in the midterm plan. The dividend forecast is currently JPY 42 per share for the year, the same amount as the previous year. We'd like to make a final decision after carefully reviewing the progress of our business performance and the future financial situation, taking into consideration the fact that there are many uncertainties in this fiscal year. We summarized the potential impact of the tariff actions, which we took into consideration in our plan for this fiscal year. Assuming that we continue with our existing operations as they are and that the additional tariff rate continues for this fiscal year, which is the same as the May 11 and for the full year, we estimate that annual impact on operating profit will be about JPY 6 billion. We will implement mitigation measures such as operational changes and the price pass-through. We believe that we can absorb most of this impact by these measures. But we have included JPY 1 billion to JPY 1.5 billion as a risk in the other segment. We have a high percentage of production bases in Japan and Indonesia, and our Pathology business has a major base in the U.S. with some manufacturing in China and Europe. In order to minimize commercial distribution between the U.S. and China, which has a significant impact, we will optimize production sites and the shipping destinations by expanding production in the U.S. sites for products destined for the U.S., delivering products manufactured in China to Europe and Asia and establishing production systems at other sites for equipments manufactured in China. In addition, we are considering switching to direct shipment of Biomedical products that are currently shipped via the U.S. to other countries. Regarding price pass-through, we have already implemented or notified some products, but we will continue to study while keeping an eye on the trends of policies and other companies. The chart on Page 25 shows the comparison of revenue to FY '24 by segment. Although the favorable impact of foreign exchange will be eliminated, we expect a 4.1% increase in revenue, excluding FX impact. Diabetes Management has been experiencing a continuous decline in revenue due to the significant impact of market contraction in BGM. But in FY '25, excluding FX impact, we expect the sales to turn around to an increase. We expect the BGM revenue to decline only JPY 3.5 billion due to stabilization in North America and the narrowing of the decline in Europe, as well as gains in market share and sales growth in growth areas, while CGM sales are expected to increase JPY 6.7 billion due to expanded sales of 665-day (sic) [ 365-day ] product. CGM plans are ambitious, but we plan to achieve growth by expanding sales of new products in which we are making major investments. In Healthcare Solutions, LSI will offset some residual impact from the inappropriate quality management and expect to increase revenue in line with market growth. And Healthcare IT Solutions is forecasted to increase revenue by JPY 4 billion, expecting sales expansion of cloud electronic medical records launched this fiscal year and recovery in the CRO business, which struggled last year. In Diagnostics & Life Sciences, we expect demand of consumables in Pathology business to continue to be strong. And in Biomedical, we anticipate high growth, assuming a recovery in market, and an increase in sales of basic products. Although there is a certain amount of risk regarding market recovery at this point, we will consider controlling costs when there is a risk to sales since investment for growth and sales growth are 2 sides of the same coin. The chart on Page 26 shows the difference in operating profit from the previous year by factor. For this fiscal year, we expect a 14.7% decrease in operating profit, excluding the impact of onetime items and the FX. First, we expect a JPY 4.6 billion increase in operating profit due to the impact of higher revenues, including an improvement in the profit margin. The JPY 6.6 billion impact of inflation is expected to be offset by about 70% through price increases and cost reductions. We expect to increase investment by JPY 4.9 billion, including an increase in personnel and so in line with sales growth, but this will be adjusted according to circumstances if the revenue increase plan does not progress as expected. Others include a positive impact from a decrease in depreciation and amortization, et cetera. However, in addition to the tariff impact of JPY 1 billion to JPY 1.5 billion I mentioned earlier, we have factored the cost at the head office, including efficiency measures. In addition, we plan to implement the structural reforms in line with our midterm plan. We have factored in JPY 1.7 billion in onetime expenses for these reforms, resulting in a forecast of JPY 17.4 billion in operating profit for this fiscal year. Excluding the impact of tariffs and onetime charges, we plan to achieve roughly the same level as the previous year. Page 27 shows year-on-year changes for each segment. Revenue was explained earlier, and I'd like to briefly supplement the information on operating profit and adjusted EBITDA. Diabetes Management is forecasting a 3.7% increase in operating profit, although revenue is expected to decrease, including the FX impact due to the increased revenue in CGM as well as the lower depreciation and lower onetime expenses in BGM. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be negative 6.6% due to an adjustment for depreciation and onetime expenses. In Healthcare Solutions and Diagnostics & Life Sciences, we expect increase in revenue and a decrease in profit due to investment expansion in line with higher sales and higher costs, including personnel expenses and inflationary effect. Finally, assumption of the foreign exchange sensitivity. Assuming a depreciation of the yen by JPY 1 throughout the year, we expect a positive impact of JPY 400 million and JPY 550 million on revenue against the euro and the U.S. dollar, respectively, in this year's plan. Operating profit is expected to increase by JPY 35 million against the U.S. dollar. That's all. Thank you.

Now we would like to open the floor for questions. We also want to invite Senior Executive Vice President, COO and CSO, Koichiro Sato, to join us for the Q&A session.

[Operator Instructions] Mr. Ryotaro Hayashi, please unmute yourself and ask your question.

Yes, this is Hayashi, Morgan Stanley. Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

So I can ask 1 or 2 questions. I would like to ask a question -- actually, 2 questions related to the United States. For FY '24 fourth quarter, PHC Biomedical was impacted by the change in the market in the United States' economy. But that was before the tariff became a big issue. So what kind of market status change or U.S. policy change affected your business? Can you please talk about that?

Change in the market status, this was not about tariff. Since the new government, new administration with regard to subsidy, the trend in terms of subsidy and also trend related to the universities, for example, there were some uncertainties, and there was a slight decrease in the demand starting from the fourth quarter that we saw. So as I said before, according to our assumptions, from the end of the third quarter, the market was beginning to recover. But in the fourth quarter, there was another change and the market started to become weak. That's what we meant.

Okay. My second question is, so the tariff impact will be there for this fiscal year, but you are trying to minimize the impact of tariffs. So this is why only JPY 1 billion to JPY 1.5 billion impact will be seen. Now supply chain and logistics will be the focus of your countermeasures. This is my understanding. Biomedical products in the United States or Epredia products, I think many of these products are capital products. So I think that the demand may experience negative impact as well. But your forecast does not really reflect the weakness of demand. Is that correct?

Right. We have just explained the parts that will be directly affected by the tariffs. Supply chain and price pass-through should be able to absorb that. But this impact -- well, overall demand decline is not really reflected in this situation.

I would like to add. Demand can be affected by the market. There is a group of core products for Biomedical in that situation. But we have CGM and also Epredia digital pathology. For these, the demand continues to be strong, and we will be introducing new products as well in order to drive the demand. And fourth quarter and beyond, Epredia is seeing a strength in consumables as well. So we want to increase the ratio of recurrence in consumables in order to drive business as well.

Next is Mr. Seiji Wakao, please.

Wakao from JPMorgan. Regarding Biomedical situation in the U.S. that we have just discussed, you have assumptions of recovery of market conditions to a certain degree. But in the fourth quarter, subsidies trend affected negatively on to the demand. As a backdrop of this, the U.S. Trump administration has been cutting the subsidies to NIH and other colleges and universities. Given those circumstances, I think that it is difficult to expect the market recovery. But what is your assumption on this particular point, not in academia, but in business operators like pharma and biotech. Are you going to make a shift to those private companies? Could you elaborate more on your assumptions, please?

As you said, the public agencies, NIH and the CDCs, I think that they may suffer further subsidy cuts going forward. However, in the private sectors, there are customers, and we are trying to expand our customer base, and we started taking actions since the last fiscal fourth quarter. And also in Biosciences, in IVDs and reagents, we would like to expand furthermore the sales so that we'll be able to increase the overall revenue. So in that way, Epredia, IVD, Biomedical, in those 3 areas, we would like to grow the biomedical businesses.

So the budget has been cut. However, by shifting the targets, you are planning or you are confident to achieve this new fiscal year's objective. Is that right?

Well, if I give you a supplement. At the moment, as Wakao-san pointed out and also as Deguchi explained, to the public organizations and also the universities, subsidies have been cut and that contains a certain risk that is actually the headwinds for us. So overall, there is a certain risk. And at the same time, we are monitoring the tariff movement. And given this current U.S. administration, they give a certain direction, and then after that, they take an opposite direction in terms of policy. Therefore, there may be overshoot expected after turning to a certain direction. But regarding the revenue, as I mentioned, there are certain risks. Therefore, we'd like to control and reviewing and monitoring the situations. We would like to navigate our business. And others, including pharma, private sectors -- and also we launched new products, and with those, we would like to expand our revenues, as Deguchi mentioned.

Understood. I could understand it very well. And if I missed your explanation, I'm sorry. But regarding dividend, I think if the revenue was lower, then you also explained that the dividend may be lower, but you maintained. Could you explain the background?

Last November, we announced the midterm plan, and in that plan, dividend policy is based upon the comprehensive review of performance and the market conditions. And also in terms of capital allocation, the JPY 5 billion to JPY 15 billion, the shareholders' return in 3 years, that's planned and that's also announced. And overall, regarding FY '24, our performance was good. And in FY '25, we'd like to maintain the dividend as much as possible. So we decided to maintain the dividend at this time. In terms of capital allocation, almost JPY 15 billion, almost to the ceiling level, is allocated for dividend payment. But we'd like to achieve our performance target as much as possible in FY '25. That's the first priority. And in terms of priority of capital allocation, shareholder return is a bit deprioritized. Therefore, looking at the financial situation, we'd like to make a decision going forward.

[Operator Instructions] No further questions? Well, thank you very much for joining us for the Q&A session. And that concludes our financial performance briefing. We really appreciate that you took time out of your very busy schedule today. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]