■Performance trends of Maxell ＜6810＞

3. Earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending 2025/3

Financial results for the fiscal year ending 2025/3, which is the first year of the new medium-term management plan MEX26, are expected to be sales of 128,000 million yen (down 0.9% from the previous fiscal year), operating income of 8,000 million yen (down 1.0% from the same period), and net income attributable to parent company shareholders of 6,000 million yen (down 20.5% from the same period). Optics/systems, life solutions, etc. are thought to be maintenance, and there is a possibility that they will improve. Note that the exchange assumption is expected to be 145 yen per dollar, the same as the previous fiscal year.

As for the global economy, in addition to changes and developments in Europe and China, there are concerns about rising energy prices and stagnation in logistics due to the worsening situation in the Middle East. As for the company's business environment, the automobile market remains steady, and although the semiconductor market is on a recovery trend, it is expected that it will take time to adjust customer inventory. Under such an environment, it is a policy to actively invest, develop, and acquire new markets and new customers in line with MEX26's growth strategy, and solidify the foundation for further generating profits with the next medium-term management plan, which is the 3rd phase. As a result, although sales are expected to expand in the growth business, a slight decrease in sales is expected due to a decrease in rechargeable batteries and license revenue, and operating income is expected to expand the growth business and improve profits, profit is expected to decline slightly due to a decrease in license revenue. Furthermore, with regard to capital investment, 8 billion yen is planned, centering on preparations for medium- to long-term growth, and investment in not only all-solid-state batteries but also primary batteries will be accelerated with maximum energy. Also, in optics and systems, we plan to invest in automotive camera lens units and semiconductor DMS, and we are planning to invest in industrial rubber products for functional materials.

Things are going well except for automotive optical parts during the borderline period

4. Earnings Forecast by Segment for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2025

Financial results by segment include energy sales of 32,500 million yen (down 7.1% from the previous fiscal year), operating income of 700 million yen (up 38.9% from the same period), sales of functional materials of 32,400 million yen (up 7.5% from the same period), operating income of 16 million yen (up 18.5% from the same period), sales of optics and systems as a whole, 40,200 million yen (down 2.8% from the same period), operating income of 4,700 million yen (down 16.2% from the same period), and life solutions sales of 22,900 million yen (same increase) 1.1% increase) and operating profit is expected to be 1,000 million yen (up 60.5% from the same period).

In terms of energy, with primary batteries, an increase in sales and profit is expected due to an increase in orders for medical devices, a recovery in demand for electronic devices, and an increase in production capacity for automobiles, and the degree of operation is also expected to recover. As for rechargeable batteries, profitability improvements are being promoted by improving production efficiency, but a drastic decrease in orders is assumed for consumer lithium batteries, and a decrease in sales and profit is predicted since there are many inquiries for all-solid-state batteries that begin full-scale mass production for FA devices, it takes time to contribute profits due to the launch period (losses are expected to remain during the MEX26 period). As a result, energy sales and profits are expected to decline and increase as a whole.

As for functional materials, sales are expected to increase due to the steady growth of high-value-added products such as those for construction and building materials and semiconductor processes, and industrial components are expected to increase due to strong sales of coated separators against the backdrop of the expansion of the xEV market and an increase in adopted vehicle models. In terms of profit, in addition to the fact that the reflection of soaring raw material costs on sales prices has almost penetrated, a 2-digit increase in profit is expected due to an increase in the composition ratio of high value-added products.

Although price revisions and new product introductions are planned for automotive optical components for optics and systems, a decrease in sales and profit is anticipated because the first round of orders and Tier 1 new product development have not progressed. Semiconductor-related companies, which are increasing production facilities in line with medium- to long-term increases in orders, anticipate an increase in sales and profit in anticipation of an increase in orders as the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market recovers. As for license revenue, although the baseline is strong, temporary revenue for the previous fiscal year will disappear, so sales and profit are expected to decline. From the above, sales and profit are expected to decline in optics and systems as a whole.

Life Solutions anticipates a slight increase in sales but a significant increase in profit due to the elimination of reform costs for the previous fiscal year and the improvement of the product mix due to the strengthening of the profitable OEM business.

(Written by FISCO Visiting Analyst Miyata Hitomitsu)