TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (7911) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

My name is Kurobe, CFO. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend our fiscal 2026 first quarter results briefing today. I will now begin with an overview of our financial results. Please turn to Page 2. Our consolidated results for the first quarter came in above plan. We achieved record high profit for first quarter. Net sales increased 15% year-on-year to JPY 457.3 billion, driven by the impact of new consolidated entities and strong performance in the Living & Industry and Electronics segments. Non-GAAP operating profit, which adjusts for amortization of goodwill and intangible assets, increased 57% to JPY 25.4 billion, driven by higher sales. EBITDA increased 33.6% to JPY 43.1 billion, while non-GAAP net profit increased 175% to JPY 25.7 billion due to a reduction in the tax burden following the integration of the 3 operating companies. As for per share indicators, EPS increased year-on-year. Please turn to Page 3. Here, we show the results by segment. In Information Solutions, net sales increased 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to JPY 211.2 billion, and non-GAAP operating profit increased 11.8% to JPY 7.6 billion. In Living & Industry, net sales increased 57.3% to JPY 214.2 billion, and non-GAAP operating profit increased 85.5% to JPY 18.5 billion. In Electronics, net sales decreased 33.4% to JPY 37.6 billion, while non-GAAP operating profit increased 2.4% to JPY 9.3 billion. Excluding the financial contribution of Tekscend Photomask Corporation, or TPC, in the previous year, the Electronics segment recorded increases in sales and a significant increase in profit. All segments recorded profit growth in the first quarter. Relative to our profit plan, Information Solutions was largely in line with plan, while Living & Industry and Electronics came in above plan. I will explain each segment in more detail later. Next, please turn to Page 4. I will explain the year-on-year changes in non-GAAP operating profit. As TPC transitioned to an equity method associate, we used JPY 9.9 billion as the starting point after excluding JPY 6.2 billion attributable to TPC. Foreign exchange had a positive impact of JPY 2.6 billion. Excluding foreign exchange effects, Information Solutions contributed a positive JPY 300 million. Living & Industry suffered a negative impact of JPY 1.9 billion due to onetime costs in the Packaging business in the Americas. Excluding these onetime costs, Living & Industry contributed a positive JPY 10 billion, driven by strong performance in packaging and decor materials. Electronics contributed a positive JPY 4.6 billion, mainly due to growth in the semiconductor-related business. As a result of these factors, non-GAAP operating profit for the first quarter was JPY 25.4 billion. Next, I will explain the results of each segment. Please turn to Page 5. Information Solutions recorded increases in both sales and profit, driven by strong performance in the Security business. Looking at the results by subsegment, Security recorded higher sales due to the new consolidation of dzcard. Profit also increased due to factors such as DPS price increase in Japan. IoT Solutions recorded higher sales due to acquisition of public sector projects. In marketing, sales remained flat as project wins from private sector companies offset the post demand decline from World Expo-related projects in the previous year. The first quarter tends to have a relatively small number of projects, but we have been steadily expanding orders for high value-added projects through integrated proposals based on customer challenges. In BPO, sales remained flat as project wins from the public sector offset the decline in private sector projects. BPO tends to be weighted towards the latter half of the fiscal year. Meantime, we will continue to reduce costs and scale back low profitability projects with the aim of improving the profit margin from the second quarter onward. In Securities & Business Printing, capturing demand for election solutions overseas contributed to increases in both sales and profit. Domestically, we withdrew from the supplies business as part of structural reform. Information Printing recorded decreases in both sales and profit due to continued market contraction. As we explained at IR Day, we will continue to implement structural reforms in Information Printing, including the closure of the Sakado plant and consolidation of prepress sites to maintain and improve profitability. Please turn to Page 6. Living & Industry recorded increases in both sales and profit, driven by strong performance in both overseas packaging and decor materials. In Packaging, sales increased due to the new consolidation of the packaging business in the Americas and strong demand in the Asian region. Profit increased due to sales growth as well as contributions from cost synergies achieved through global procurement and other initiatives. The market environment in North America has been improving since the previous fiscal year. Factors related to the Middle East had a positive impact on first quarter profit due to the inventory valuation methods used in accounting. However, this is purely an accounting impact and will be offset once the situation in the Middle East stabilizes. Decor Materials recorded increases in both sales and profit due to market share expansion for decorative sheets in Europe and North America. Please turn to Page 7. In Electronics, sales decreased due to the impact of TPC's deconsolidation. However, growth in FC-BGAs and the positive impact of foreign exchange more than offset the decrease in profit from TPC, resulting in higher profit. In the semiconductor-related business, FC-BGAs recorded increases in both sales and profit due to the Niigata line's contribution to production and an increasing proportion of AI-related products. Improvements in TAT time were also completed ahead of our expectations. For advanced packaging, expenses came in below plan due to factors such as a review of the accounting treatment method for development expenses. In displays, sales of antireflective films increased due to strong performance in products for OLEDs. Next, please turn to Page 8. I will explain the key points of the consolidated statements of income for the first quarter. The gross margin improved by 0.2 percentage points year-on-year to 24.2%. While there was an impact from the removal of TPC from the scope of consolidation in Electronics, increased profitability driven by expanded FC-BGA production and the recovery in packaging business demand in the Americas contributed to the improvement. SG&A expenses increased by JPY 9 billion year-on-year due to the impact of newly consolidated entities, while the SG&A ratio improved by 0.8 percentage points, primarily due to reduced personnel expenses. Nonoperating income and expense line increased year-on-year from positive JPY 1.5 billion to a positive JPY 2.9 billion this quarter. Interest expenses increased due to increased borrowings, while investment income increased following TPC becoming an equity method associate. Gain on sale of investment securities decreased by JPY 2.2 billion, while we continue to reduce strategic shareholdings as planned. Please turn to Page 9. I will explain the progress of the priority initiatives under our medium-term plan. To execute the 3 priority initiatives set out in the medium-term plan announced in May, business portfolio transformation, corporate reform and balance sheet reform, we have established an integrated project structure, bringing together the holding company and business units with the COO as project owner and are driving these initiatives top down. We have established subprojects for each of the items under the priority initiatives. Through close collaboration, we are currently analyzing the current situation, identifying target opportunities and examining their expected impact in detail. We will disclose and explain the progress and results of each project as appropriate going forward. Please turn to Page 10. Although our first quarter results came in above plan. Given factors, including the continued uncertainty over when the situation in the Middle East will stabilize, we have made no changes to our full year forecast for this current fiscal year, including the segment forecast shown on Page 11. That concludes my overview of our financial results. Thank you. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]