Increasing Revenue and Profit through New Product Development, Expanded Domestic and Overseas Sales, Marketing and Cost Reduction

「With a commitment to becoming a proposal-driven solutions partner that handles not only the provision of high-performance materials, but also their development into modules, components and equipment, the Group is accelerating investment and taking on challenges in fields ranging from semiconductors to medical applications and space」

「As an independent toner manufacturer, the Group will continue to seek to increase its market share by leveraging its No. 1 positions in sales, development capabilities, quality, raw-material purchasing power and supply stability, and prevailing over price competition in a shrinking market.」

「During the current consolidated fiscal year, the Group sought to offset some of the cost increases from the upfront burden of launching new products for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, higher labor costs associated with improved employee treatment, and rising energy and materials prices through price pass-throughs and higher revenue, mainly from the toner business, which accounts for slightly more than 30% of consolidated revenue, and the functional nonwoven-fabric business, where new products were launched in the previous consolidated fiscal year, with the aim of achieving the initial plan.」

「Although market conditions in the semiconductor-related business deteriorated, the toner business remained strong, and yen depreciation through the middle of the third quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year lifted overseas-related revenue. As a result, revenue was ¥25,865 million, an increase of ¥1,611 million, or 6.6%, from the same period of the previous year, when revenue was ¥24,254 million.」

「The Group's core toner and semiconductor-related businesses remained strong, while yen depreciation also lifted overseas revenue. As a result, revenue was ¥17,532 million, an increase of ¥1,878 million, or 12.0%, from the same period of the previous year, when revenue was ¥15,653 million.」

「The strong performance of the Group's core toner and semiconductor-related businesses continued from the previous consolidated fiscal year, while yen depreciation also lifted overseas revenue」

「The semiconductor-related business, which recovered in the second half of the previous consolidated fiscal year, remained strong, while firm orders continued in the toner business. Yen depreciation, particularly from the beginning of the third quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year, also provided support.」

「During the first six months of the current consolidated fiscal year, semiconductor- and electronic-materials-related businesses, which had recovered in the second half of the previous consolidated fiscal year, remained strong. In the toner business, firm orders were supported by yen depreciation. In addition, new orders for optical films for smartphones contributed to consolidated revenue of ¥15,653 million, an increase of ¥1,702 million, or 12.2%, from the same period of the previous year.」

「Within the electronic materials business, sales volumes in the semiconductor-related business and the toner business, which accounts for approximately 40% of the Group's consolidated revenue, continued to recover from the second half of the previous consolidated fiscal year, while the optical-film-related business prepared for new projects.」

「Although sales increased from July onward as demand recovered in industries using the related materials, revenue declined year on year overall because of the effects of the spread of COVID-19.」

「During the first quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year, the Group made every effort to expand sales of existing products, and began bringing iCas-related new products to market. However, the stagnation of economic activity in major markets caused by the spread of COVID-19 had a significant impact on the Group's performance」

「Revenue from new products launched during the current fiscal year increased 56.7% from the previous consolidated fiscal year to ¥1,272 million.」

「Revenue from new products launched during the current fiscal year increased substantially」

「Although toner sales volumes remained higher than in the same period of the previous year, sales value declined because the effects of US-China trade friction and intensified price competition in the Chinese market spread to other markets, including Europe, and because the yen remained stronger against foreign currencies than in the previous fiscal year.」

「The toner business made every effort to strengthen sales activities and maintained volumes at approximately the same level as in the same period of the previous year. However, sales value declined because of the reaction to unintentional early orders in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, intensified price competition in the Chinese market, and delays in launching new products.」

「In the fourth quarter, new product sales for smartphones, wearable devices and other applications in the electronic materials business made a growing contribution, while the toner business also benefited from the deployment of proactive sales activities, including pricing measures.」

「In the electronic materials business, new products offset declining sales of existing products due to deteriorating market conditions, limiting the decline in revenue to a slight decrease from the previous year. In the toner business, meanwhile, sales expansion through pricing measures progressed, but revenue declined substantially from the strong previous fiscal year.」

「In the Group's electronic materials and functional paper businesses, expanded sales of existing products and contributions from new products enabled the Group to secure revenue above the previous year.」

「Electronic component-related products for the semiconductor market and display-related products continued sales expansion efforts amid the supply-demand adjustment that began in the previous fourth quarter, while sales of new display-film products also contributed, enabling the company to secure sales at the same level as in the same period of the previous year.」

「Within the Group, sales volumes in the toner business, including new products, continued to increase. Electronic-component-related products for the semiconductor market and the optical-film-related business for the display market also received substantially more orders than in the same period of the previous year, supported by new products and new contract manufacturing businesses. In the functional paper business, despite some products being in shrinking markets, sales exceeded the previous year as a result of sales expansion efforts and contributions from new product sales.」

「In the globally operated toner business, sales volumes increased and new products contributed to performance. Products related to electronic components for the buoyant semiconductor market also performed well. In addition, the optical-film-related business for the display market continued to receive substantially more orders than in the same period of the previous year.」

「In the toner business, factors included higher sales volumes, contributions from new products launched in recent years, and a temporary increase in inquiries in anticipation of consolidation among equipment manufacturers.」

「The Group is concentrating additional management resources on developing new products in fields where it can leverage its strengths, building results through domestic and overseas sales expansion and marketing, while pursuing various cost-reduction measures to improve profitability, including reducing energy costs by reviewing factory operations, with the aim of increasing revenue and profit.」