Hirano Tecseed (hereinafter HT) reported FY25 Q1~Q3 OP of ¥1,745mil (-4.6% YoY) on sales of ¥25,673mil (-34.1% YoY), generating an OPM of 6.8% – a significant improvement from OPM of 4.7% as in the same period last year. The weak sales performance was mostly triggered by the Coating and Laminating Machinery [C&LM] segment, reflecting the cautious investment sentiment among the firm’s customers. However, HT has worked through its order backlog, especially in C&LM for secondary LiBs, and several projects that had been postponed finally got underway. HT revised its FY25 guidance from OP of ¥1,500mil (-10.8% YoY) on sales of ¥33,500mil (-30.7% YoY) to OP of ¥2,100mil (+24.9% YoY) on sales of ¥31,000mil (-35.9% YoY). HT revised the full-year guidance on the back of likely shortfall in sales given likely impact of cancelled order backlogs [¥7,229mil] in the C&LM segment. On the other hand, OP was revised up thanks to (1) stricter control on production costs, (2) more efficient operation processes, and (3) recovered costs associated with cancelled order backlog under the percentage of completion method.
