Can first-half sales absorb the stagnation in belt volumes through price revisions?

First-half sales in the belt segment for the fiscal year ending March 2027 are expected to be roughly flat year on year, indicating that at least nominal sales are set to be maintained. At the same time, there has been no volume growth, and price revisions are compensating for this in sales. Accordingly, even if first-half sales are roughly flat year on year, this cannot be regarded as an expansion in demand. It will be necessary to separate the effects of volume and pricing in determining what drove the change in sales.

In the first quarter, consolidated sales were ¥1,025.9 million, up 15.4% year on year. By segment, Comprehensive Adhesives and Resin Processing generated sales of ¥827.4 million, up 11.2%, while Special-Purpose Machinery generated sales of ¥198.5 million, up 36.6%. Orders from the automotive and steel industries were stable, polishing materials for the display industry performed well, and large machinery for the food industry was also recorded, with multiple applications supporting first-quarter sales growth.

However, apart from the first-half sales outlook for belt-related products, the company has not disclosed sales volume, average selling prices, the scope of the price revisions or the amount of additional sales generated by them. Orders received and order backlog have also not been quantified, and the explanation concerning the food and steel sectors remains qualitative, describing them only as solid. In the first-half results, it will be important not only to confirm belt sales year on year, but also to determine whether volume is still declining year on year, how many millions of yen the price revisions contributed to sales, and whether a breakdown by application is provided.

Even if sales are roughly flat year on year because of price revisions, continued volume declines would make it difficult to regard this as a recovery in underlying demand. In addition, sales alone cannot determine whether the company was able to fully pass through higher raw-material and energy costs. The operating margin in the first quarter was 11.7%, but gross margin and profitability for belt products have not been disclosed. In the first half, we will assess whether maintaining sales through price revisions was achieved alongside maintaining gross and operating margins.