Challenging operating environment for hospital and nursing care divisions due to medical cost containment and other factors

「In the Medical segment, which serves medical institutions, nursing-care facilities and other customers, the challenging operating environment surrounding healthcare, including soaring material and utility costs and higher labor costs due to reforms to physicians' working practices, led to continued softness in demand for durable goods such as equipment, particularly as hospitals sought to reduce expenses and restrain purchasing.」

「The healthcare industry continued to face a challenging environment, with many hospitals operating at a loss due to increases in labor and medical supply costs.」

「The healthcare industry has adopted healthcare cost containment as a medium- to long-term national policy. With regulations on physicians' overtime taking effect, hospital management remains challenging due to labor shortages and the uneven distribution of personnel. … Approximately 70% of public hospitals are running deficits.」

「In the Medical segment, the decline following the prior increase in demand related to COVID-19 subsided, and sales returned to growth on a half-year basis.」

「In the Medical segment, demand for infection-control supplies had been strong in the previous fiscal year when COVID-19 was treated as equivalent to a Category II disease under the Infectious Diseases Act. In the consolidated fiscal year under review, demand subsided under the Category V classification, while the government's release of stockpiled medical supplies caused a decline following the prior increase. Sales to centralized purchasing systems and online retailers increased 31.3% year on year, and sales of storage fixtures, beds and other products associated with new openings and equipment renewals also increased, but segment sales were ¥1,668.3 million, down 10.2% year on year.」

「In the Medical segment, which serves medical institutions, nursing-care facilities and other customers, the seventh and eighth waves of COVID-19 had generated strong demand for infection-control supplies from various sources, including the government, in the same quarter of the previous year when COVID-19 was treated as equivalent to a Category II disease under the Infectious Diseases Act. In the third quarter under review, demand subsided under the Category V classification, while the government's release of stockpiled medical supplies also caused a decline following the prior increase.」

「In the Medical segment, the shift of COVID-19 to Category V changed demand trends, particularly for infection-control supplies. While the seventh wave of COVID-19 spread from July to September of the previous year, the release of stockpiled medical supplies by the national and local governments in the second quarter under review added to the decline following the previous year's increase. … Medical segment sales in the second quarter under review were ¥793.0 million, down 12.2% year on year.」

「In the Medical segment, which serves medical institutions, nursing-care facilities and other customers, the legal classification of COVID-19 shifted to Category V, reducing the involvement of public institutions such as local governments, which had generated demand through the previous year. Demand for routine medical, nursing and caregiving supplies recovered broadly, although sales of pulse oximeters, protective consumables and other products declined.」

「In May 2023, COVID-19 was classified as a Category V infectious disease under the Act on the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients with Infectious Diseases, reducing government involvement. … Demand directed toward emergency infectious-disease measures by the national and local governments is expected to decline, while the number of routine medical examinations and surgeries, which had been delayed to secure personnel and hospital wards, is expected to recover.」

「In the Medical segment, which serves medical institutions, nursing-care facilities and other customers, demand for equipment such as vital-sign monitoring devices and vaccination-related products, which had been in high demand during the fourth and fifth waves of COVID-19 the previous year, underwent an adjustment as demand reached a plateau. Meanwhile, demand for infection-control products, mainly consumables, had become routine, and demand for medical gowns, aprons and other products increased further alongside the seventh wave of COVID-19.」

「In the Medical segment, as the sixth wave of COVID-19 began to subside, equipment such as vital-sign monitoring devices and vaccination-related products, which had been in high demand during the fourth wave the previous year, declined following the prior increase. Overall infection-control products, however, remained at a level only slightly below the previous year as demand became routine.」

「Sales of infection-control supplies, which had surged in the previous fiscal year, declined by slightly more than 20% from October onward due to the comparison with the more than 50% year-on-year increase in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. In absolute terms, however, the trend seen through September continued, and a certain level of demand has become routine.」

「In the Medical segment, which serves medical institutions, nursing-care facilities and other customers, suppliers across the industry established supply systems for infection-control supplies whose sales had risen sharply in the previous fiscal year, resulting in lower retail prices for some products. Sales nevertheless remained high, reflecting the routine adoption of infection-control measures by medical institutions.」

「For infection-control supplies, sales had risen sharply in the previous fiscal year. While suppliers established production systems and signs of easing emerged in the previously tight supply-demand balance for some products, sales remained high, reflecting the routine adoption of infection-control measures by medical institutions, although the best-selling products shifted.」

「Meanwhile, at medical facilities, the resurgence in the number of infected people has again raised concerns about shortages of equipment, supplies and personnel needed to treat seriously ill patients and implement infection-control measures.」

「Meanwhile, medical facilities reached a point where shortages of equipment, supplies and personnel for treating seriously ill patients and implementing infection-control measures raised temporary concerns about the collapse of the healthcare system. Even after the lifting of the declaration, concerns remained about changes in the operating environment due to the impact on routine medical care, along with preparations for a possible resurgence.」

「In the healthcare industry, the government has pursued healthcare cost containment as a medium- to long-term national policy, and the operating environment for hospitals remains challenging. While the number of hospitals and hospital beds is trending downward, the numbers of clinics and nursing-care facilities are increasing. … After experiencing conditions that brought the healthcare system to the brink of collapse due to shortages of hospital beds, medical equipment and healthcare personnel amid the spread of COVID-19」

「During the cumulative consolidated period of the first quarter, there were no material changes in unusual fluctuations, etc., in financial position, operating results or cash flows, or in the "Business and Other Risks" described in the annual securities report for the previous fiscal year.」

「During the cumulative consolidated period of the third quarter, there were no material changes in unusual fluctuations, etc., in financial position, operating results or cash flows, or in the "Business and Other Risks" described in the annual securities report for the previous fiscal year.」

「During the cumulative consolidated period of the second quarter, there were no material changes in unusual fluctuations, etc., in financial position, operating results or cash flows, or in the "Business and Other Risks" described in the annual securities report for the previous fiscal year.」

「In the hospital and nursing-care businesses, the challenging operating environment surrounding medical institutions continued due to healthcare cost containment and other factors.」

「In the hospital and nursing-care businesses, as the challenging operating environment surrounding medical institutions continued due to healthcare cost containment and other factors, the company focused on lower-priced products, and sales of consumables such as treatment-related sanitary materials and vital-sign monitoring equipment increased.」

「In the hospital and nursing-care businesses, as the challenging operating environment surrounding medical institutions continued due to healthcare cost containment and other factors, the company focused on lower-priced products and」