Kokusai Electric Corp

I am Kao Kami, Managing Executive Officer and CFO. Thank you for joining us today at Kokusai Electric's Earning Call. I will begin by going over our second quarter financial results as well as our full year earnings and dividend forecast. I will skip this disclaimer page. First, here is a summary of the second quarter results. Page 4 are highlights. Although sales and profits decreased in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, cumulative sales and profits for the second quarter exceeded the previous forecast. Specific details are explained in the following pages. Page 5 is a summary of consolidated financial results for the second quarter and the first half. Since we consider adjusted profit to be an important management indicator, our briefing will be in adjusted profit terms. As explained in the first quarter earnings call, the second quarter sales and profits exceeded the previous forecast, although the second quarter sales and profits were lower than the first quarter due to the frontwarding of equipment shipments to the first quarter. Factors behind the upswing will be explained later. Equipment sales increased across all applications in the second quarter cumulative period compared to the same period last year, resulting in a 47% increase in overall revenue from equipment and services combined and an 84% increase in adjusted operating income. Gross profit margin exceeded the previous forecast, rising 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. as the projects that boosted cumulative second quarter sales included those that were brought forward from the second half of the year and those that were not priced in the previous forecast and were generally highly profitable. In addition, the adjusted net income margin rose about 5 percentage points year-on-year due to the increase in sales revenue. R&D capital expenditures and depreciation were generally in line with previous forecasts. Page 6 shows the underlying factors to the year-on-year changes in revenue and adjusted operating income for the second quarter. In the second quarter, equipment sales for DRAM and Logic Foundry increased, while NAND equipment sales, other equipment sales, and service sales decreased due to a slowdown in equipment shipments, which were concentrated in the first quarter. Adjusted operating income increased slightly as higher equipment sales and higher gross profit margins offset increases in R&D expenses and depreciation and amortization expenses. Page 7 shows the quarterly sales composition by business. In the second quarter, the equipment sales composition ratio expanded due to a marked increase in equipment sales compared to the same period of the previous year. On the other hand, compared to the first quarter, the concentration of equipment shipments settled down and the sales composition ratio of service business increased. Page 8 shows a quarterly breakdown of equipment sales by application, including 300 mm equipment, which comprises the equipment business and legacy equipment of 200 mm or less, which is included in the service business. In the second quarter, sales of equipment for DRAM and Logic Foundry increased compared to the same period last year, and their respective composition ratios increased. On the other hand, compared to the first quarter, the ratio of Logic Foundry sales increased as the concentration of shipments of equipment for Chinese DRAM and legacy equipment settled down and instead equipment sales for Logic Foundry increased. We will explain the future outlook later. Page 9 shows a quarterly breakdown of combined equipment and service revenue by destination. The ratio of sales to China in the second quarter was 47% as the concentration of shipments to China subsided. We will explain the future outlook later. Page 10 shows quarterly R&D expenses, capital expenditures, as well as depreciation and amortization. Research and development expenses for the second quarter were 3.9 billion yen, roughly in line with our previous forecast, and accounted for 7.9% of net sales. We will continue to invest in the development of next-generation products as planned, but due to the rapid pace of sales expansion over the medium term, we plan to keep R&D expenses as a percentage of sales revenue in the 6% range. Regarding capital investment, construction of the Tanami plant was completed as scheduled in October, but the amount of capital investment recorded peaked. In the first quarter, so large capital investment settled down in the second quarter. Since the main capital investment related to the Tonami business site will be completed in the fiscal year ending March 2025, we plan to make an annual capital investment of 4 to 6 billion yen in the medium term for fiscal year ending March 2026 and beyond. Page 11 is the balance sheet. Total assets decreased by 13.2 billion yen from the end of the previous period due to a decrease in cash and cash equivalents related to the acquisition of Treasury stock with cash on hand, despite an increase in tangible fixed assets resulting from the construction of the new Tonami plant. Total liabilities decreased by 8.7 billion yen from the end of the previous period due to a decrease in trade and other payables, debt repayment, and contract liabilities. Total shareholders' equity decreased by 4.5 billion yen from the end of fiscal year March 2024 as the increase in retained earnings was more than offset by the effect of share buyback. Page 12 shows quarterly cash flows. In the second quarter, operating cash flow improved and free cash flow turned positive owing to the collections from sales recorded in the first quarter. Regarding financing cash flow, there was a significant increase in expenditures due to a cash outflow of 18 billion yen for the purchase of treasury stock. Cash and cash equivalents remain sufficient for working capital. Page 13 shows key management indicators related to the balance sheet. The capital adequacy ratio was 50.5% and remained above 50%. Regarding the relationship between cash and debt at the end of the second quarter, net debt was 20.6 billion yen due to cash outflow for share buyback. Free cash flow is expected to improve towards the end of the fiscal year, but net cash is expected to be negative at the end of the fiscal year ending March 2025 due to cash outflows from share buybacks, and net cash is not expected to turn positive until the fiscal year ending March 2026 or beyond. Next, I will explain our full year earnings and dividend forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025. Page 15, our highlights. Currently, demand for DRAM equipment is rising against the backdrop of generative AI spread and other factors. In addition to this, we expect demand for NAND equipment to begin recovering from the third quarter onwards, as demand for logic foundry, where advanced nodes are on the road to recovery, increases. Given this business environment, we have revised our full-year earnings and dividend forecast for the second half of the fiscal year, as we now expect results for the second half to exceed our previous forecasts. Please see page 16. We have revised our full-year forecast, raising our revenue forecast by 9% to 238 billion Japanese yen, adjusted operating income by 11% to 56.6 billion yen, and adjusted net income by 11% to 39.6 billion yen, up 45% from the previous fiscal year. The annual dividend forecast has been revised upwards by 4 yen to 36 yen per share. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 21% based on adjusted net income. Page 17 shows a breakdown of sales revenue by first half and second half in the forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025. The graph shows semiannual sales revenue broken down into equipment sales to the rest of the world excluding China, equipment sales to China, and service sales. Compared to the previous forecast announced on May 10th, First half sales of equipment for DRAM worldwide included in blue and component sales included in the service business in green were higher. Our previous forecast for the second half of the fiscal year was based on a conservative estimate of demand for equipment for China and assumed a recovery in demand for equipment for advanced devices worldwide. The latest forecast shows that equipment sales to China are expected to exceed the previous forecast due to continued strong sales for DRAM. Worldwide equipment sales are expected to be lower than previously forecasted due to delays in some shipments for NAND, but sales for DRAM, Logic Foundry, are expected to be higher than previously forecasted. Service sales are also expected to exceed the previous forecast, owing to strong sales of legacy equipment. Combined with the first half upward revision of approximately 5 billion yen and the second half upward revision of approximately 15 billion yen, the full-year forecast for sales revenue is 20.5 billion yen higher than the previous forecast. Page 18 shows the reasons for the increase or decrease in the revised forecast against the previous forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025. We revised net sales upward by 20.5 billion yen owing to strong global DRAM equipment sales, equipment sales for Logic Foundry with recovery trend and advanced nodes, part sales and service business, and increased legacy equipment sales. The decrease in sales of NAND equipment is due to the fact that some equipment shipments are expected to shift to fiscal year ending March 2026. Owing to the increase in gross profit from this sales increase, adjusted operating income was raised by 5.6 billion yen from the previous forecast. The slight decrease in gross profit margin from the previous forecast is due to the change in project mix and an increase in one-off expenses, such as bonuses. The increase in SG&A expenses compared to the previous forecast is due to an increase in R&D expenses resulting from proactive investments. As noted on page 16, there is a difference in the gross profit margin between the first and second half of the year, but this is due to the concentration of highly profitable projects in the first half of the year, including projects that were brought forward from the second half to the first and skew one-off expenses such as bonuses towards the second half of the year. Page 19 shows the sales composition by business segment, reflecting the revised full-year forecast. In the current forecast, the pace of recovery of sales in the equipment business is expected to be faster than in the previous forecast and the normalization of sales composition ratio is expected to be more advanced. Equipment sales increased 39% to 164 billion yen, up 10% from the previous forecast. And service sales increased 18% to 74 billion yen, up 8% from the previous forecast. Page 20 reflects a revised full-year forecast breakdown by application of sales of 300 mm equipment, which comprises the equipment business and legacy equipment of 200 mm or less, which is included in the service business. In the current forecast, the sales ratio of DRAM, which is performing well globally, is expected to increase compared to the previous forecast, while the sales ratios of Logic Foundry and NAND are expected to decrease. However, sales of equipment for Logic Foundry are already on a recovery trend, especially for advanced nodes, and are expected to increase compared to the previous fiscal year, while sales of equipment for NAND are also expected to recover compared to the previous fiscal year, owing to an upward trend in the sales of equipment for pilot production and expansion of mass production capacity.

Page 21 shows the sales composition by destination for the full year. For the fiscal year ending March 25, we are forecasting 48% of total equipment service sales to China, slightly higher than our previous forecast. This is due to higher than expected sales of equipment for DRAM in China. We expect the ratio to return to the previous level as investment in advanced devices recovers around the world and to settle at around 30% in the fiscal year ending March 26. Even if the relatively high profitability of sales in China declines, we believe that the gross profit margin can be maintained and improved because the sales composition of equipment for high value-added advanced devices will increase. In the medium term, we aim to achieve our medium-term target of an adjusted operating margin of 30% or more by leveraging our operating leverage through sales scale expansion. That is the end of my explanation. I am Kanai, President and Chief Executive Officer. I will explain the outlook for the future. Looking at the business operations through the second quarter, it can be said that the growth initiatives we have described so far have made steady progress, and this has been reflected in our business performance. I will now explain the specifics of these efforts. Page 23 is the outlook for the business environment. In the semiconductor device market, demand for HBM is growing with the spread of generative AI, and we expect the demand for other advanced devices to increase in the future. On the other hand, active CapEx spending in China is expected to continue at a reasonable level for the next few years, although it is slowing down for mature node logic and foundry. In the SPE market, sales of equipment for DRAM are increasing globally due to growing demand related to generative AI used in HBM and are expected to remain strong. Although some device makers are curbing investment in logic and foundry, we expect the demand for equipment, especially for advanced nodes, to continue to increase. For NAND, device manufacturers are continuing development in pilot production, and we expect the equipment demand to be on a recovery track, however, at a slower pace than previously assumed. In the Chinese market, equipment sales for DRAM are far exceeding our previous forecast. Although sales of equipment for mature node logic foundry have been slowing down, we expect relatively stable demand in the highly difficult area of film deposition. However, we will continue our policy of carefully formulating business plans for China for the fiscal year ending March 26 and beyond in anticipation of the impact of possible export restrictions. In the medium to long term, the outlook remains the same that the semiconductor-related market is expected to grow significantly due to the growing demand for electric devices such as smartphone and PC and the expansion of data centers and the GX. Page 24 summarizes the business environment and our effort by application. For DRAM, new PORs have been acquired in the highly difficult DRAM deposition process. and new PORs have also been acquired in the treatment process, which had been 3D NAND-centered and are beginning to contribute to sales. This confirms our explanation that the demand for treatment equipment will increase in addition to batch ALD equipment as devices evolve, and we are working to acquire new PORs and expand sales. For logic and foundry, sales for GA first generation have been accumulating, totaling approximately 3 billion yen in the first half of the year. Although some device makers are curbing investment, we expect sales to be in the 10 billion yen range for the full year, and we expect sales to continue to expand in the fiscal year ending March 26 and beyond as demand for GAA first-generation products increase and the transition to GAA second-generation product continues. On the other hand, sales of equipment for interposers in advanced packaging business are growing faster than expected, and are expected to reach ¥10 billion in the fiscal year ending March 25, double the previous forecast. We expect business expansion in new business areas over the medium to long term. For NAND, we have a high market share in the 3D NAND deposition process, and entering the fiscal year ending March 25, sales of equipment for pilot production and expansion of mass production capacity are on upward trend. In the fourth quarter, although the scale will be smaller than previously forecasted, we expect to sell equipment for mass production for the generation shift and expect the sales to recover as the market recovers in the future. For SIC power devices, which are included in the service business, sales are expected to increase by about 50% from the previous year due to expanded sales of existing products. New high-temperature activation annealing products are being evaluated jointly with customers and are expected to contribute to sales from the fiscal year ending March 26. On page 25, we have summarized the drivers for our future growth along with our development roadmap. There are no major changes to what we have described so far. We believe that as semiconductor devices become more complex and three-dimensional, there will be increasing opportunities to take advantage of our expertise in batch ALD and treatment equipment. In the short term, demand for DRAM will increase, followed by a recovery in demand for advanced logic foundry and NAND. In the medium term, we will expand the demand for Logic GAA second generation and next generation DRAM, expand sales for mature node logic foundry and SIC power devices, and grow Interposer, a new business area for us in advanced packaging. In the long term, there are several inflection points, such as a transition to 500-plus layer NAND, vertical channel transistor DRAM, 3D stacked DRAM, and logic CFET. And we aim to achieve sustainable growth with a balanced portfolio. We will take these opportunities to achieve sustainable growth. Finally, please see page 26. This report summarizes the results of the share buyback program implemented to mitigate the impact of the deteriorating supply and demand resulting from the stock sale, as well as our future shareholding policy. We repurchased approximately 5 million shares using 18 billion yen of our own funds, which had been capped at 18 billion yen. our policy for holding Treasury stock had been to set the maximum number of shares to be held and to cancel those in excess of the maximum. We had intended to use Treasury stock primarily for stock-based compensation plans, but the Treasury stock acquired this time will cover all existing and immediate stock-based compensation. Therefore, the Treasury stock acquired this time will not be cancelled and will be used as stock-based compensation. However, in order to utilize a small portion of the Treasury stock acquired in the future for stock-based compensation to be granted in the future, we have decided to hold less than 1% of the total number of outstanding shares of a treasury stock. That is all. Thank you very much for your attention.