Resonac Holdings Corporation (4004) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good evening, everyone. I'm Hideki Somemiya, CFO of Resonac Holdings. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued understanding and support for the company. Today, I will explain the overview of the financial results for the first quarter FY 2026 ending December. First, please turn to Page 2 for key takeaways. There are 3 main points I'd like to share with you today. First, Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment continued to perform strongly. Although the January-March quarter is usually affected by seasonal factors, Chinese New Year, revenue of the back-end semiconductor materials reached a record high on a quarterly basis due to the continued robustness of products for advanced semiconductors such as AI. Second, core operating profit increased year-on-year. In addition to the stronger performance of the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment year-on-year, the effects of the structural reform implemented in the graphite electrode business in FY 2025 materialized and the reduction in losses in the Chemicals segment contributed to the overall profit increase. Third, we revised the first half 2026 forecast upward. In particular, in the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment, products for advanced semiconductors such as AI grew faster than our previous forecast and that led to a significant upward revision of the previous announcement. Regarding the full year forecast, while progress has been steady, we have not revised the forecast at this time due to the uncertainty related to the Middle East situation. Now let me explain 2026 first quarter consolidated financial results. Please turn to Page 4. This slide shows the consolidated results for January-March 2026 and year-on-year comparison. Revenue for this January to March quarter was JPY 307.9 billion, although the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment showed a significant revenue increase year-on-year. Overall company revenue decreased JPY 13.2 billion year-on-year due to revenue decline at Crasus Chemical and the impact of the transfer of Fiamm Energy Technology, the lead-acid battery business. Core operating profit increased by 2.3-fold year-on-year to JPY 33.6 billion, up JPY 18.8 billion. Nonrecurring items shown below, deteriorated by JPY 10.6 billion year-on-year due to factors such as the recognition of one-off expenses associated with revision of the retirement benefit plan in this quarter. Profit attributable to owners of the parent was JPY 15.3 billion, up JPY 6.5 billion year-on-year. EBITDA was JPY 56.1 billion and EBITDA margin was 18.2%, up 6.2 percentage points year-on-year. EBITDA margin without Crasus Chemical, for which consideration for partial spin-off is ongoing was 21.6%, clearing the target of 20%. Net D/E ratio improved slightly from 0.83 at the end of the previous fiscal year to 0.79x. As usual, and as stated in the footnote, net D/E ratio is calculated by evaluating 50% of subordinated loan as equity capital, based on the credit rating given by Japan Credit Rating Agency. We continue to work toward improving financial position with the goal of stably maintaining a net D/E ratio of 1x or less. Please turn to the next slide, Page 5. This graph shows the breakdown of core operating profit change by factor between JPY 33.6 billion for January to March this year and JPY 14.8 billion in the previous year. Breaking down this year-on-year profit increase of JPY 18.8 Billion. First, the sales volume increased profit by JPY 11.1 billion due to the strong Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment. Next, sales price reduced profit by JPY 5.8 billion. This was due to year-on-year decline in naphtha prices, which led to lower selling prices in Crasus Chemical. Regarding variable and fixed cost, while there were factors in each segment to reduce profit, including fixed cost increase such as labor cost and rising raw material costs, in Crasus Chemicals segment, profit increased due to year-on-year naphtha price decline, and they resulted in JPY 5.8 billion profit increase. Foreign exchange rate increased profit by JPY 1.2 billion, mainly due to the yen depreciation of about JPY 4 to the dollar year-on-year. Finally, others increased profit by JPY 6.5 billion. This was due to increased profit resulting from an improved product mix in the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment, feedstock adjustment and higher sales at overseas sales company. Slide 6 shows segment breakdown. Here, we present revenue, core operating profit, EBITDA and margin by segment and year-on-year comparison. In terms of significant year-on-year changes, the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment served as a key driver with 21% increase in revenue and 74% increase in profit. As for the other segment, except for Process Chemicals, which showed a decline in revenue and profit due to the periodic shutdown maintenance, all other segments increased revenue and profit. From Slide 7 to 10, segment summaries are presented. In Semiconductor and Electronic Materials on Page 7, revenue increased 21% year-on-year to JPY 134.7 billion. Core operating profit increased JPY 14.4 billion or 74% year-on-year to JPY 34 billion. The growth in revenue and profit was mainly driven by back-end semiconductor materials, which increased sales volume for advanced semiconductors such as AI. Device Solutions was almost flat year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of some inventory adjustment for SiC epitaxial wafers. We expect steady expansion of sales in hard disk business in this fiscal year. And as press-released on May 11, we plan to expand the production capacity going forward. The segment's EBITDA margin also improved significantly from 27.1% to 34.0% year-on-year. Page 8. Revenue for the Mobility segment increased by 1% year-on-year to JPY 47.3 billion. Core operating profit increased by JPY 1.8 billion year-on-year to JPY 2.9 billion. Factors for revenue and profit growth includes the recovery of the automotive market in Thailand and increased demand from some customers. The Innovation Enabling Materials segment performed steadily, though results varied by product. Revenue increased 3% year-on-year to JPY 22.7 billion, and core operating profit increased JPY 0.3 billion year-on-year to JPY 2.4 billion. Segment's EBITDA margin was 17.0%, which kept on clearing the target of 15%. Next, Page 9 shows Chemicals segment. Revenue increased 8% year-on-year to JPY 40.8 billion and core operating loss narrowed JPY 4.7 billion to the loss of JPY 1.6 billion. Much of the revenue growth and the reduction in loss was driven by the graphite business, where the revenue increased mainly due to the recovery in sales volume of graphite electrode and the loss shrank due to the realized structural reform effects. The final page of the segment summary, Page 10 shows Crasus Chemical. Revenue decreased by 34% year-on-year to JPY 51.7 billion, and core operating profit declined by JPY 1.4 billion to a loss of JPY 0.5 billion. This was due to the periodic shutdown maintenance from February to April 2026 conducted once every 4 years. The progress toward the partial spin-off of Crasus Chemical has been smooth. We have already completed the approval of amendment to the Article of Incorporation regarding the resolution for dividend at AGM as well as the submission of the listing application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This concludes segment summaries. On the next -- Page 11, as major items below core operating income, we present the details of nonrecurring items on the left and the financial income and cost equity earnings on the right and the year-on-year comparison. Nonrecurring items on the left deteriorated by JPY 10.6 billion year-on-year. This was due to one-off expenses booked in the quarter in connection with the revision of the retirement benefit plan on the right. Financial income and costs improved JPY 2.1 billion year-on-year to a net loss of JPY 2.4 billion. This was due to the foreign exchange loss, which had been recorded in the previous year, was almost 0 in this fiscal year. Finally, equity earnings were flat year-on-year at JPY 2.9 billion. Next, Slide 12 shows consolidated statement of financial position. Regarding assets on the left, total assets at the end of this quarter was JPY 2,109.3 billion, remaining almost flat from the end of the previous fiscal year. Total liabilities were JPY 1,371.3 billion, a decrease of JPY 7.8 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year. This was due to the temporary decrease in accounts payable associated with the periodic shutdown maintenance as well as a reduction in interest-bearing liabilities. Total equity increased by JPY 10.4 billion from the end of the previous fiscal year to JPY 738 billion. This was mainly due to an increase in retained earnings and further depreciation of yen. Next, let me explain 2026 first half performance forecast. Please turn to Page 14, 2026 first half consolidated forecast. Based on the strong performance in the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment, we revised upward the first half forecast that was announced on February 13. Regarding the exchange rate assumption for the first half, we set it at JPY 156.4 to dollar based on the actual rate of JPY 156.9 to dollar recorded in Q1. Under the revised forecast announcement this time, we expect the first half revenue of JPY 650 billion and core operating profit of JPY 74 billion. This is an upward revision of 7% for revenue and 40% for core operating profit vis-a-vis the previous first half forecast. There are no significant changes from the previous forecast in nonrecurring items, financial income and costs and equating earnings. Net income attributable to owners of the parent is forecast to be JPY 38 billion, up JPY 18 billion from the previous forecast. Regarding the KPIs in the first half forecast, EBITDA margin is 18.1% and EBITDA margin, excluding Crasus Chemical, is 21.8%, exceeding the target of 20%. While the progress toward the full year forecast is steady, considering the uncertainty related to the Middle East situation, we kept the full year forecast unchanged. The next slide, Page 15, shows the revised first half revenue and core operating profit forecast by segment. We significantly revised upward the forecast for the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment due to strong performance in AI-related materials. For other segments, we have made revisions based on the currently foreseeable factors, but there are no major revisions to the performance outlook. Forecast for the Crasus Chemical was kept unchanged as we are currently in the process of applying for a listing in preparation for the partial spin-off. Page 16 and beyond are the appendix. So please refer to them as needed. This concludes my presentation. Thank you very much for your attention.