Constraints on Testing Equipment Orders and Sales Activities Due to COVID-19

「As the impact of COVID-19 subsided, business sentiment among Japanese companies improved and signs of recovery emerged in their willingness to invest in facilities. Orders and inquiries, particularly for made-to-order testing machines, remained solid.」

「As the impact of COVID-19 subsided, business sentiment among Japanese companies improved and signs of recovery emerged in their willingness to invest in facilities. Orders and inquiries, particularly for made-to-order testing machines, remained solid. Although revenue fell below the year-earlier period, operating profit exceeded it.」

「Manufacturing and sales of standard testing machines performed well, allowing both revenue and profit overall to exceed the year-earlier period.」

「During the three-month period ended the first quarter, product orders in the testing-machine business had remained relatively steady since the second half of the previous consolidated fiscal year. As a result, revenue, centered on standard testing machines, remained solid, and despite deterioration in the cost ratios of some made-to-order testing machines, both revenue and profit increased from the year-earlier period, which had been affected by COVID-19.」

「During the nine-month period ended the third quarter, the easing of overseas travel restrictions led to initial signs of recovery in overseas product sales and maintenance services. However, the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity remained, while customer companies reviewed or postponed capital investment and the company faced restrictions on sales activities, repairs and maintenance services, as well as intensifying price competition. Revenue fell below the year-earlier period, and operating profit also fell below the year-earlier period, mainly because of deterioration in the cost ratios of made-to-order products.」

「During the cumulative second quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year, the market was affected by COVID-19, leading customers to cancel or postpone capital investment. The Company was also affected by restrictions on sales activities, product installation work, repair and maintenance services, intensifying price competition and rising procurement costs. Although sales remained at roughly the same level as the same period of the previous year, operating profit fell below the previous year's level, mainly because of deterioration in the cost ratio of made-to-order products.」

「During the three-month period ended the first quarter, the market was affected by COVID-19, and customer companies canceled or postponed capital investment and faced restrictions on sales activities, product installation, repairs and maintenance services. Nevertheless, both revenue and operating profit remained at the year-earlier levels.」

「Sales and operating profit were lower than in the previous fiscal year because customer companies cancelled or postponed capital investment, repairs and maintenance, price competition with competitors intensified as a result, and sales to South Korea and Southeast Asia declined due to restrictions on overseas travel.」

「In the testing equipment business, although some capital investment showed signs of recovery amid the prolonged impact of COVID-19, customers continued to cancel or postpone capital investment, competition with rival companies intensified as a result, and both sales and operating profit fell below the year-earlier period.」

「In the testing-machine business, cancellations and postponements of capital investment by customer companies continued amid a challenging environment in which the industrial production index declined and the assessment of the production trend was revised downward, as the effects of the prolonged spread of COVID-19 persisted. Restrictions on sales activities, product installation, repairs and maintenance services also caused revenue and operating profit to fall well below the year-earlier period.」

「The cancellation or postponement of capital investment by customer companies, together with restrictions on sales activities, product installation, repairs and maintenance services, caused both revenue and operating profit to fall well below the year-earlier period.」

「From the middle of the current consolidated fiscal year onward, restrictions on sales activities and on-site work, including product installation, resulted from the spread of COVID-19. In addition, major customers froze or postponed capital investment budgets, causing orders received to stagnate compared with the previous consolidated fiscal year and affecting revenue.」

「Although the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on revenue was limited in the first-quarter consolidated accounting period, restrictions on sales activities and on-site work, including installation and repairs, affected the company from the second-quarter consolidated accounting period onward. The company focused on securing revenue by using remote meeting tools and providing or outsourcing on-site-work training to distributors for overseas projects. Revenue for the nine-month period fell below the year-earlier period. As a result, revenue in the testing-machine business was ¥2,185.140 million, down 9.2% year on year, and operating profit was ¥332.025 million, down 15.1%.」

「Sales were less affected by the spread of COVID-19 during the first quarter of the current consolidated accounting period because many orders had already been received. However, conditions became difficult during the second quarter, mainly because of restrictions on order-taking activities and on-site work such as installation and repairs, and sales for the first half of the current fiscal year fell below the same period of the previous year.」

「Orders, however, came under severe pressure as COVID-19 reduced inquiries through restrictions on sales activities such as customer visits and prompted customers to review their capital investment plans.」