We are committed to continually improving and expanding our technical development team and growing into a fine chemical company.
Business environment
In the electronic components industry, demand was generally sluggish due to a decline in production volume for smartphones and PCs as well as production adjustments related to a refrain from investment in cloud/data centers. As a result, soaring raw material prices associated with inflation, the global economic slowdown, and the optimization of inventory that had been built up due to COVID-19. Additionally, the demand for automotive electronic components increased due to an increase in the number of components installed in final products per vehicle as a result of the shift to electrification and the shift to electric vehicles. However, supply chain issues prevented the resolution of supply shortages in some semiconductors, resulting in prolonged automobile production adjustments and only a gradual recovery trend.
Status of the current interim period
In the Company, sales of plating chemicals for connectors increased from the previous fiscal year due to growth in sales of products containing noble metals. However, sales of plating chemicals for printed circuit boards and semiconductor substrates as well as for lead frames decreased significantly from the previous fiscal year.
As a result, net sales were ¥16,254 million (down 13.1% year on year), operating profit was ¥567 million (down 52.8% year on year), ordinary profit was ¥753 million (down 43.7% year on year), and profit was ¥569 million (down 41.5% year on year).
The status of each final product is as follows:
(For printed circuit boards and semiconductor substrates)
Net sales for noble metal plating chemicals applied to printed circuit boards and semiconductor package substrates were ¥4,637 million, down 22.4% from the previous fiscal year, affected by production cutbacks in memory and other applications due to sluggish demand for use in smartphones, PCs, and cloud/data centers.
(For connectors and micro switches)
Net sales for hard gold plating chemicals for micro connectors increased 6.1% to ¥3,165 million compared to previous year due to growth in sales of products containing noble metals, despite the impact of reduced production for smartphones.
(For lead frames)
Sales of palladium plating chemicals for lead frames were ¥8,261 million, down 14.1% from the previous fiscal year, due to weak sales affected by production cutbacks for smartphones and PCs, as well as a decline in palladium prices.
(Others)
Net sales of noble metals for decorating clocks and watches and other items increased 41.2% to ¥189 million compared to the previous fiscal year.
