Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. (4204) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

I am Keita Kato, President and CEO. Thank you very much for joining us today despite your busy schedule. Please turn to Page 1. Here are the key points of today's presentation and the messages that I wish to convey. Let me start with the first half results. We started the first half amid an uncertain market environment, partly due to the impact of the U.S. tariff policies. Despite this, we believe our efforts and preparations eyeing next fiscal year and beyond, including our focus to shift toward high-performance products progressed largely as planned. However, the deterioration in certain markets, particularly the auto sector was greater than anticipated, resulting in operating profit falling short of the July forecast. For the second half, we continue to anticipate growth in net sales and each profit lines. The full year guidance was revised up based on the first half results. While operating profit will fall short of the target set for the final year of our midterm plan, we expect to achieve record high profits. We will return to steady growth trajectory in the second half and step up our efforts in development and preparations aimed at sustainable growth for next fiscal year and beyond. Later, I will also talk about the Perovskite Solar Cell business. And last item on this page is shareholder returns. In the first half, we repurchased and canceled 4 million shares. For dividends, we plan an annual dividend of JPY 80 per share as previously announced, achieving a hike of JPY 1 per share and 16th year of consecutive dividend increase. Furthermore, at today's Board of Directors meeting, additional share buyback initiative was approved. Our intention is to maintain sufficient cash for future growth while actively returning profits to shareholders. This will bring our total return ratio for the current fiscal year to approximately 100%. Page 2, please. I'd like to share some information on our Perovskite Solar Cell business, which we position as a key growth theme. This October, the acquisition of Sharp Sakai Plant and machine installation were underway as planned. The schedule for the production line buildup remains unchanged from what was presented at the previous results briefing, with plans to commence operations of a 100-megawatt production line in FY '27. We also plan to start product sales within this fiscal year. At the Expo 2025 Osaka, as noted in the lower left, we confirmed full power generation during the event period and Nighttime LED lighting using our film type solar cells installed on the bus terminal roof. We will continue our efforts on development and production line launch to advance to commercialization. Now that concludes my remarks. Thank you very much.

Yes, I am Tatsuya Nishida, Head of Corporate Finance and Accounting Department. I will walk you through the first half results. Page 3, the actual effects for the first half are as stated. Page 4 is the overview of the profit and loss. In the first half, net sales reached JPY 629.8 billion, setting a new record high. OP, however, was significantly impacted by deterioration in some markets, resulting in a profit decline to JPY 45.4 billion, falling short of the July forecast. Ordinary profit increased to JPY 49 billion year-on-year, benefiting from improved foreign exchange gains. However, net profit decreased to JPY 31.7 billion, impacted by the absence of last year's stock sale gains. The interim dividend will be JPY 40 per share, an increase of JPY 3 as guided in July. Page 5 shows the segment results for the first half. Although the Housing Company achieved higher profit, it was insufficient to offset declines in HPP and Medical business, resulting in sales growth, but profit decline for the group. Compared to the July forecast, the slowdown in certain markets within the Mobility segment of HPP had a significant impact, leading to results below expectations for the entire group. The segment details will be provided later. The breakdown of the other segment is as shown on the slide, and we will continue to invest in next-generation business such as Perovskite Solar Cells. Page 6 shows results for Q1 and Q2. While July forecast is not shown here, the Housing segment exceeded both plan and forecast in Q2 as well as Q1. Moving on to Page 7, analysis of the first half results. Left shows net sales, which increased by JPY 700 million year-on-year to JPY 629.8 billion. The right shows OP analysis. The significant impact of stagnation in the part of auto market and continued downturn in domestic and international market led to a substantial deterioration in sales volume and product mix compared to the July outlook. While we try to secure spreads between selling price and raw materials to control fixed cost, OP fell below the July outlook, resulting in a decline. Page 8 is revised second half plan. Now starting with exchange rate assumption. It is set at JPY 148 for dollar. This assumes a slightly stronger yen compared to the initial assumption. Page 9 is outlook for market conditions. Top left, number of global automotive production in Q2 was slightly below the previous year as expected. For Q3 onward is expected to stay below the April assumption. Bottom left, Smartphone Shipment in Q2 were in line with the previous year as expected. Q3 shipments are expected to be slightly below expectations, but on par with the previous year, while Q4 is expected to slightly exceed the previous year. Top right is number of visitors for housing. In the first half exhibition, visitors dropped significantly and overall visitors remained below previous year level. We don't expect recovery in the second half, and it will remain below the previous year's level. Regarding housing starts, while some said second half of last year have seen a surge in demand, we expect the downward trend to continue. Bottom right is Domestic Naphtha. We anticipate Q2 to be in line with expectation, yet fall below expectations from Q3 onward. Page 10 is second half revised plan by segment. For the second half, we plan net sales of JPY 693.4 billion and OP of JPY 64.6 billion, aiming to new record highs, respectively. It's a JPY 5.3 billion increase in profit year-on-year, and we plan to secure profit growth across all 4 segments. The other segment is as stated. We'll continue planned investment in the second half. Page 11 is second half revised plan analysis. Left side is net sales, which is projected at JPY 693.4 billion, an increase of JPY 24.7 billion. Right is OP. Although volume is significantly lower than the April plan, product mix improves due to larger sales of high-performance products, resulting in substantial Y-o-Y increase. High Performance Plastics and Housing will continue to drive its growth. We stay focused on improving selling prices, securing spreads through favorable raw material costs and controlling fixed cost. The revised plan is JPY 64.6 billion, up by JPY 5.3 billion year-on-year. Page 12 is revised full year plan. By segment, we plan growth in revenue and profit in 3 segments, excluding Medical business. Company-wide net sales is planned at JPY 1,323.3 billion, up by JPY 25.4 billion Y-o-Y and OP plan is JPY 110 billion, an increase of JPY 2 billion year-on-year. Page 13 is a summary of the revised full year plan. We aim for record high profits in both OP and ordinary income, JPY 110 billion for OP and JPY 112 billion for ordinary income. Net income is expected at JPY 72 billion. Dividend will increase by JPY 1 per share as planned to JPY 80 annually, marking the 16th consecutive year dividend growth. Furthermore, we conduct another share buyback of 10 million shares, making total amount of share buyback of this fiscal year to be 14 million shares. Finally, consolidated performance on Page 14. Although this revision makes it not possible to reach our midterm target, we believe our earning power is steadily strengthened as evidenced by the continued expectation of record high EBITDA. Looking ahead into the next MTP, starting next fiscal year, we'll continue to focus on readiness and growth. Thank you.

I am Akira Asano, Company President of HPP. Let me update you on HPP's business. First, on Page 16. This shows the trend of the company's performance since FY '21. For the first half of FY '25, while both the Electronics and Industrial business performed solidly, Mobility was impacted by slower-than-expected growth in the EV market and recovery in Europe. As such, results fell short of the July guidance. For the second half of FY '25, we expect continued strength in the electronics and industrial fields. In Mobility, growth in head-up display wedge films is projected to continue, and we project year-on-year growth in both net sales and profit, aiming for record high profits for the second half and the full fiscal year. Next, on Page 17, I will explain the performance for the first half of FY '25 and the year-on-year change. While both the Electronics and Industrial business performed firmly, Mobility was impacted by the slowdown in EV market, resulting in sluggish trend for designed interlayer film. As such, sales volume and product mix contribution did not expand as much as the July projection. Furthermore, to settle dispute related to resin sales in Europe, we recorded a total onetime expense of JPY 2 billion in the second quarter, including the JPY 1.3 billion projected at the time of the Q1 results. While selling price factor improved largely as forecast in July, fixed costs such as investments in development and human capital increased. Net sales grew by JPY 2.4 billion year-on-year to JPY 223.5 billion, and OP declined year-on-year by JPY 1.5 billion to JPY 28.4 billion. However, excluding the JPY 2 billion one-off expense, operating profit actually increased year-on-year. We, therefore, view the overall business as expanding steadily. Page 18 shows the analysis of the revised plan for the second half of FY '25 and factors behind the change compared to the previous year. We expect continued solid performance in the Electronics and Industrial fields. In the Mobility field, we anticipate further growth for NHPP films, particularly the head-up display wedge films. Furthermore, aircraft-related demand, which is on a recovery trend is expected to continue growing through improvement in selling price, raw materials and control over the fixed cost, we project sales to be up by JPY 14.1 billion year-on-year to JPY 240.4 billion and OP to increase by JPY 2 billion to JPY 33.4 billion, marking the third consecutive year of record high profit for the second half and the full year. Lastly, on Page 19, let me explain the trend in sales and KPIs for the 3 strategic fields. First, in the electronics field, the smartphone and semiconductor markets remain robust. We anticipate continued growth in the second half of FY '25, following the trend in the first half. We'll continue to focus on expanding market share and winning new business in the non-LCD field, mainly driven by advanced semiconductors. For heat-release materials, expansion into the electrical equipment application, primarily for chip testers is progressing, and we will pursue further sales growth. In the Mobility field, while the slowdown in the EV market is expected to persist, leading to continued weakness in designed films, sales expansion of NPP films, particularly for head-up displays, is projected to continue. In the aircraft business, Sekisui Aerospace is expected to make profit contribution throughout the year, driven by steady progress in customer production rate recovery and securing new businesses. In the industrial field, although the domestic market remains stagnant, we anticipate steady growth in the second half due to progress in improving selling prices and the steady expansion of labor-saving environmentally friendly products, including sensors and care materials. We'll continue to focus on maintaining the spread while expanding our strategic business. This concludes my explanation. Thank you very much.

I am Yoshida, President of Housing Company. Now let me offer you the presentation of our company. Please refer to Page 21. First, here is the first half results and the revised second half plan. Regarding the first half, despite weak new housing market conditions, we increased revenue through improved product mix in the Housing business and expanded orders in the Renovation business. OP achieved a significant increase, surpassing the July forecast driven by higher sales and reduced fixed cost. For the second half, we plan for an increase in net sales exceeding April forecast through higher unit price by expanding sales of high-end products and growing the renovation business. Now Page 22 is first half result analysis. The left graph shows net sales. Housing, Renovation and Residential business secured revenue growth. Overall, it increased by JPY 5 billion to JPY 258.6 billion. To the right, we have OP analysis. For the Housing business, although the number of units sold fell short of the forecast by -- of 60 units, this was offset by improved product mix, cost reduction and fixed cost control, resulting in a JPY 0.9 billion increase in profit. In the Renovation business, marginal profit grew, thanks to strengthened sales capabilities, resulting in a JPY 0.7 billion increase in profit. Overall, we achieved JPY 16.3 billion OP exceeding the July forecast by JPY 1.7 billion. Page 23 is revised second half plan. On the left is net sales. For the Housing business, we do not anticipate a market recovery in the second half and are planning for sales to be on par with the previous year. On the other hand, the Renovation business is expecting a continuous growth. And overall, we plan for revenue to increase by JPY 3.4 billion to JPY 273.8 billion. On the right, OP. We plan for an overall increase of JPY 3.8 billion to JPY 20.7 billion. In the Housing business, we plan to offset the impact of reduced sales volume and rising material cost through improved product mix, cost reduction initiatives and fixed cost control, resulting in a JPY 2.5 billion increase in profit. We'll strengthen product strategy per region. For urban areas, we launched our high-end flagship model, ElVIA today. We'll intensify proposals targeting affluent customers. For the renovation business, we plan to increase profit by JPY 1.6 billion through expanding orders by enhancing periodic diagnosis and strengthening proposal capabilities while also promoting workload labeling by improving progress management. Finally, Page 24 shows our KPIs by business. First, upper left is new housing orders. In the first half, both order value and units progressed almost as per July forecast. In particular, sales of high-priced products like apartment buildings expanded nicely, securing the similar order value as the previous year. For the second half, while we do not expect market recovery, we plan to achieve a 3% growth in order value year-on-year by strengthening orders for high-end products. Next, in the middle section is the breakdown by building type. Detached housing struggled in both rebuilding and the new construction, but we expect apartment buildings to remain steady heading into second half. Regarding the end of the period order balance below, the first half saw an increase of JPY 6.5 billion Y-o-Y as order amounts were secured at the same level as the previous year. For the second half, we'll focus on securing order backlog for the following year by achieving our order targets. Next, on the right is the orders by unit price and the price range. We are seeing upward trend in unit prices on the back of increased value added in detached housing and strong performance of 3-story apartment buildings. The ratio of high-end products over JPY 50 million is also steadily increasing. In the second half, we'll focus on the sales expansion of ELVIA and continue aiming to increase unit prices. Next, in the lower left, the renovation business. Efforts to secure and strengthen sales personnel have borne fruit, leading to growth in orders originating from periodic inspections or diagnosis. Installation renovations centering around openings are also progressing steadily. For non-Heim owners, we'll further grow sales capacity by increasing dedicated personnel to sustain growth in the second half. To the right is the residential business. In the real estate business, we'll expand our operations by increasing the number of dwelling units under management and expanding brokerage services while strengthening preparations for buy and sell and asset businesses. Finally, the Town and Community Development business. While sales progress has been delayed for some projects in suburban areas, we will focus on selling the properties up for handover this fiscal year while also continuing to strengthen the preparation for new projects. That concludes my presentation.

This is Yoshiyuki Hirai, Company President of UIEP. I will start my presentation on Page 26. This is a recap of the FY '25 first half results and the plan for the second half, which was revised. In the first half, despite maintaining spreads with new pricing, the impact of the sluggish market was significant, resulting in decline in net sales to JPY 112 billion and drop in OP to JPY 8.1 billion. For the second half, while challenging conditions such as longer construction periods due to labor shortages will persist, we plan to achieve higher sales and profit with sales of JPY 135.1 billion and OP of JPY 16.7 billion by expanding sales of prioritized products in overseas business. Achieving this plan would result in full year OP of JPY 24.8 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of record highs and operating margin reaching 10% for the first time. Next on Page 27 is the analysis of the first half results. As noted on the left, net sales were JPY 112.1 billion, down by JPY 1.4 billion year-on-year and falling short of the forecast by JPY 2.8 billion due to reduced construction site operations in Japan caused by the intense heat and sluggish Indian construction market overseas. The OP waterfall chart on the right shows a significant decline in both volume and mix due to lower sales that I explained earlier. Furthermore, as communicated in July, we recorded repair costs for specific products as one-off charge. We also made steady progress in expanding sales of prioritized products and getting acceptance on new pricing. While striving to control fixed costs, the OP fell short by JPY 400 million. Nevertheless, excluding the onetime repair cost of JPY 500 million, the result exceeded the previous year. Next, Page 28 shows the analysis for the revised second half plan. On the left is the sales projection of JPY 135.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of JPY 8.1 billion. Growth will be driven by key products in our growth driving businesses, fire-resistant pipes, fire-resistant and nonflammable materials, pipeline renewal products and FFU or sleepers for the overseas market. As shown on the right, OP is projected to grow by JPY 2.3 billion year-on-year to JPY 16.7 billion. We expect the market to remain largely unchanged from the first half. While FX will be unfavorable for the chlorinated PVC business, we will rigorously maintain spreads and grow volume, focusing on key products from the growth-driving businesses. Lastly, on Page 29 is a snapshot of the 3 strategic fields. For Pipe Systems at top left, the plan calls for sales decline in the first half and the sales growth in the second half. The first half was challenging for pipe materials due to chronic labor shortages and longer construction periods caused by extreme heat, while CPVC faced intensified competition from subdued construction demand in India. For the second half, we aim to expand sales of prioritized products and increase market share with new CPVC formulations. [indiscernible] in Thailand for the CPVC resin compound is scheduled for completion in January 2026. In the building and infrastructure composite materials at upper right, a lot of sales growth in the first half and concrete growth in the second half are projected. In the first half, fire-resistant nonflammable materials and overseas FFU performed steadily, but construction materials faced challenges due to lower housing starts. In the second half, for fire-resistant nonflammable materials, we'll focus on new customer acquisitions and launching 3 new products. For railway sleeper FFU, we aim to expand adoption primarily in Europe and the U.S. Infrastructure renovation at bottom left is expected to achieve sales growth in both halves. Aqua Systems saw steady progress on large-scale plant equipment projects. Pipeline renewal will focus particularly on securing projects in Japan arising from the results of special inspections. Bottom right are the growth areas and sales of prioritized products grew steadily in the first half, owing to firm trends in fire-resistant earthquake-resistant polyethylene pipes. With successful design-in activities, we expect further growth in the second half. Overseas, sales declined in the first half due to challenges with chlorinated PVC in India, but we aim for recovery in the second half with new compound products. In the West, we anticipate growth driven by FFU. Sales for growth driving businesses are as stated. That concludes my explanation. Thank you.

I am Yamashita. I assumed the position of President of Sekisui Medical in July this year. Now I will explain the overview of Medical business. First, Page 31 shows the performance trends and the second half revised plan. For the first half of FY '25, actual sales was JPY 44.3 billion and OP was JPY 4.5 billion, indicating a Y-o-Y decrease in both sales and profit. In the first half Diagnostic business, demand for test kits remained sluggish due to delayed timing of infectious disease and the worse-than-expected deterioration of overseas market, resulting in performance below the July forecast. For the second half of FY '25, we anticipate a slight drop in demand for infectious disease testing in Japan and the U.S. compared to our April projections. We also expect that China market to stay sluggish. Consequently, we have revised down our second half sales forecast to JPY 50.3 billion and OP to JPY 6.9 billion from the April plan. Next, Page 32. I will explain the result analysis for the first half. Sales was JPY 44.3 billion, down by JPY 3.6 billion year-on-year. OP was JPY 4.5 billion, a decrease of JPY 1.4 billion. Analysis of OP is shown to the right. For domestic diagnostics, demand for test kits decreased due to the delayed timing of infectious disease. For overseas diagnostics, the termination of a U.S. government project that existed last fiscal year, combined with the delayed timing of the infectious disease impacted result. In China, the health care cost containment measures also had impact on result. The Pharmaceutical Science business remains solid, but some projects have shifted to the second half. Again, under such circumstances, we've controlled fixed cost, however, on revenue and the profit side, we've seen decline falling below the July forecast. Page 33 is the revised plan for the second half. For the sales, we have revised the plan to JPY 50.3 billion, down by JPY 1 billion from the previous fiscal year. For OP, we have revised the plan to JPY 6.9 billion, an increase of JPY 100 million. Regarding the analysis of OP, domestic testing demand centered on infectious disease has declined slightly. And for overseas diagnostics business, the U.S. has revised downward its forecast for infectious disease outbreaks compared to the April plan, while China continues to be impacted by health care cost containment measures. For Pharmaceutical Science business, we expect profit growth due to steady sales of key APIs and the carryover of the project delayed from the first half. We plan to control fixed costs in the second half to secure profit growth. Finally, Page 34 shows overview by business. First, regarding the domestic diagnostics in the upper left, demand for testing kits in the first half fell short of expectations due to the delayed spread of infectious diseases. In the second half, we'll continue to capture testing demand, focusing primarily on immunology items. Next, overseas diagnostics in the upper right. The first half was significantly impacted by the delayed timing of the infectious diseases in the U.S. and the deterioration of China market. For the second half, we'll focus on sales expansion of new infectious disease products in U.S. and controlling the fixed cost while prioritizing cost reduction in China. Finally, pharmaceutical science in the lower left. In the first half, sales of key KPIs and contract testing exceeded last year's result. We'll continue to focus on new business acquisition in the second half. That concludes my part in Medical business. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]