Japanese chemical maker Asahi Kasei reported a net profit of ¥46.8 billion ($450.0 million) for the first half of this fiscal year (April-September), a decline of 39.9% year-on-year. During the six-month period, sales were down 7.4% year-on-year to ¥989.4 billion ($9.6 billion). Despite falling sales and profit, Asahi said it saw improvement in demand during the period. For the July-September quarter, operating income stood at ¥46.7 billion ($451.7 million), rising from ¥30.1 billion in the previous quarter. Sales increased to ¥534.2 billion ($5.2 billion) from ¥455.2 billion over the same period.
Operating income rose 36.6% year-on-year to ¥35.4 billion ($342.4 million) in the company’s healthcare segment, with sales growing 22.2% year-on-year to ¥204.9 billion ($1.9 billion). Asahi Kasei’s homes segment recorded a 3.1% year-on-year decline in operating income to ¥31.7 billion ($306.6 million). Asahi’s basic materials segment reported an inventory-valuation loss due to decreased prices for feedstocks such as naphtha.
Asahi Kasei projects the group’s earnings and sales would decline for the full fiscal year ending 31 March 2021. Net profit is expected to be ¥87 billion ($841.5 million), fell 16.3% from the previous fiscal year. The company anticipates full-year operating profit of ¥140 billion ($1.3 billion), 21.0% lower than a year earlier. Sales are expected to decrease by 5.5% from a year earlier to ¥2.03 trillion ($19.6 billion). The company said the coronavirus fallout remained unpredictable. The uptrend in the July-September quarter is expected to continue through the end of this fiscal year.
