Japan’s Asahi Kasei FY2020 net profit falls on weak materials business

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asahi Kasei’s net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2021 declined by 23.2%, weighed down by weakness in its materials business, and as the company booked a one-off loss for the period, the Japanese producer said on Thursday.

in billion yen (Y)	FY2020	FY2019	% change
Sales revenue	2,106.1	2,151.6	(2.1)
Operating income	171.8	177.3	(3.1)
Net income	79.8	103.9	(23.2)

The materials segment was hit by global economic deterioration amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company said.

Sales for the segment declined by 9.3% year on year to Y991.2bn, with operating profit falling by 28% to Y66.5bn.

“Performance recovered from the second quarter with recovery of automotive-related markets and recovery of petrochemical market prices, but there was a significant impact from the pandemic especially in the first quarter,” Asahi Kasei said.

Meanwhile, the company booked an extraordinary loss of Y22.3bn for the fiscal year 2020 due to a fire at its semiconductor plant, it said.

For the fiscal year ending March 2022, Asahi Kasei expects higher sales and operating income, backed by “significant recovery of performance in Material”, aided by improving automotive, petrochemicals and apparel-related markets.

($1 = Y109.7)

Photo: Osaka port in Japan – 18 Aug 2019 (By Andy Wong/AP/Shutterstock)