Mitsui O.S.K. Lines New

Thank you all very much for joining us today. This is Mitsui OSK Line's fiscal year 2022 second quarter business performance briefing. My name is Sonoda, head of corporate communications department. Today's main presenters are President and CEO of the company Hashimoto and Umemura, CFO responsible also for corporate communication. Also present here today is Nakanishi, Assistant to the Executive Officer. Thank you for joining us today. This is President CEO Hashimoto. In the first half of the fiscal year from April to September, business profit, which is the sum of operating profit and equity gains of affiliated companies, was 575.2 billion yen, ordinary profit 599.7 billion yen, and net income 601.5 billion yen. a significant increase of nearly 330 billion yen over the first half of the previous year. Both of these are record profits for a half year. The July-September period as a whole also marked a record quarterly profit. In light of the first half results and taking into account the impact of the yen's depreciation, we have revised our full-year forecast for ordinary profit upward from 710 billion yen announced on July 29 to 800 billion yen. As a result, both ordinary income and net profit are expected to reach their record highs. The year-end dividend is expected to be 250 yen per share, up from the previously announced 200 yen per share. And together with the interim dividend of 300 yen per share, the full dividend is expected to be 550 yen in total. The dividend payout ratio is maintained at 25%. Now, our CFO, Memura, will explain the details. Here onwards will be explained by me, Uemura. First, please refer to slide 3 and 5 of the blue document, Business Performance in Fiscal Year 2022, Second Quarter. Revenue increased by ¥224.2 billion compared to the first half of the previous year. The increase came from the strong performance in the dry bulk and car carrier businesses and with the impact of the yen's depreciation. Business profit and ordinary profit both increased significantly compared to the first half of the previous year. The main reasons for those increases were generally favorable market conditions in all three business segments, dry bulk, energy and product transport, and the impact of foreign exchange rates. In particular, strong demand for container ships continued through the second half of the fiscal year, resulting in higher equity in earnings from Ocean Network Express , an equity method affiliate, and a flexible replacement of routes and cargoes in car carriers in response to fluctuations in demand. The product transportation business has significantly increased in its ordinary profit base by approximately 300 billion yen from the first half of the previous year. Although ONE continues to make a significant contribution to profits, ordinary profits excluding its contribution has exceeded 100 billion yen in the first half of the year. I will now explain the results by segment. Please refer to slide 4 in the middle of page 5. First is the dry bulk business. The dry bulk carrier business posted ordinary profit of ¥34.5 billion, an increase of ¥20.2 billion from the first half of the previous year. The market for ore and coal carriers peaked in mid-May but the market deteriorated significantly due to a slackening supply-demand balance caused by an increase in shipping capacity utilization due to the relaxation or elimination of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions at port facilities and the uncertainty over the global economy. As a result, although the forecast fell short of the previously announced profits from medium- to long-term contracts, and other factors supported an increase in profits compared to the first half of the previous year. In the small and mid-sized bulkers operated by MOL dry bulk carriers, wood chip carriers are performing very well. Multipurpose vessels, which were previously referred to as short-sea vessels, also posted an increase in profit as a result of generally favorable market conditions, including increased demand for the transport of coconut shells, PKS biomass fuel. In addition, open hatch vessels operated by GearBulk, an Equity Method affiliate, also made a significant contribution to profits. Profit increased due to a recovery in cargo movement of pulp paper, the main cargo for outbound, and improved market conditions for general bulk carriers, which boosted profits on return trips. Next, let's look at the energy business. The energy business posted ordinary profit of 22.1 billion yen and an increase of 11.2 billion yen from the first half of the previous year. The tanker and offshore business and the liquefied gas business all achieved increased profits. Now moving on to briefly explaining each segment. Tankers and offshore businesses. The market for crude oil tankers improved from the latter half of the first half due to 1. A recovery in cargo volumes from the Middle East and 2. an increase in cargo transported as a result of the release of U.S. strategic stockpiles. The market for oil product tankers saw an increase in ton miles due to increased transportation needs for alternative procurement demand for oil products shipped from Russia. And the market for chemical tankers also remained high due to tight supply and demand for the same reason. As a result, the tanker business posted an increase in profit compared to the first half of the previous year. In the offshore business, the FBSO business recorded an increase in profit compared to the first half of the previous year due to the start of operations of a new project offshore Brazil. liquefied gas business the l energy carrier business is secured stable profits through existing long-term contract in the fsru business one existing vessel will be additionally put into operation in singapore before the operation of the hong kong project resulting in an increase in a profit compared to the first half of the previous year next is the product transport business In Container Ships business, we recorded an investment profit of ¥494 billion from ONE and Equity Method Affiliate, which together with other profits resulted in an ordinary profit of ¥537.7 billion and an increase of ¥296.4 billion from the first half of the previous year. Let me also cover each sub-segment. Container Ships Please refer to page 3 of ONE's magenta-coloured document. As noted in the outline section, there is a softening trend in supply and demand, and although spot freight rates have fallen, average freight rates, including term contracts, have remained at high levels. As a result, O&E reported an after-tax profit of $5.5 billion for the second quarter from July through September. Combined with the first quarter, after-tax profit was $11 billion for the first half of the year. Market conditions in the second quarter were as follows. Number one, global cargo demand reversed from the stronger cargo activity in July, with the transport demand declining from August into September. Number two, on the supply side, port congestion has shown signs of improvement in some areas, but a disruption continued to persist on the east coast of North America and in Europe. Thirdly, the supply chain disruptions are continuing in many parts of the world still. Please find the waterfall chart in the lower portion of the slide. This shows the factors behind O&E's first half profit increase. The chart is comparing it to the first half of the previous year. You can see that the increase in the revenue due to higher freight rates was a major factor. Lifting was slightly lower than in the first half of the previous year. However, the firm utilization rate was maintained and the freight average rate level exceeded that of the first half of the previous year. This is due to the profit contribution from term contracts reflecting the high spot freight rates to date. Please refer to slide 4 of the O&E material later for details. Now, please return to page 6 of the blue document. In the car carrier business, despite a decrease in the number of finished cars handled due to shortages of semiconductors and other old parts, the number of cars transported remained at a similar level as the previous year. The number of car carriers increased from the first half of the previous year due to continued flexible ship allocation adjustments in line with the production and shipment conditions of completed vehicles, including the capture of demand for transportation of second-hand vehicles. The next is the terminal and logistics business. In the terminal business, container handling volume increased. And in the logistics business, air and ocean cargo movements remained strong. Accordingly, profit increased compared with the first half of the previous year. Ferries and coastal rural ships. Passenger volume improved significantly from the first half of the previous year as a result of capturing demand during peak seasons such as the May long holiday golden week and summer vacation. The logistic business also maintained a recovery trend, and the ferries and coastal railroad vessel business uh says as a whole posted higher uh revenues and a profit compared to the fiscal first half of the previous year real property business daibiru the core of the group's real estate business secured stable profits despite a decrease in a profit compared to the first half of the previous year due to a decline in a rent income resulting from the reconstruction of some office buildings owned by the company. Affiliated businesses This is the only loss-making segment in the first half results. The cruise ship business is the main reason for the loss. The cruise ship business has not yet reached full operation due to the COVID-19. The number of operating days has increased compared to the first half of the previous year, and profitability has improved as a result, but the segment remains in the red. Until here was an overview of the second quarter financial results. I will continue to explain our full year forecast for fiscal year 2022. Please refer to pages 7 and 9 of the financial results or presentation. In the second half of the fiscal year, there are concerns about a slowdown in the global economy due to inflation and other factors. As a result, we expect a decline in demand for container ship transportation. However, we expect other segments to maintain generally strong performance, though factoring in a certain degree of market decline there too. In addition, we have revised our foreign exchange assumptions, and hence we now expect profits to be equivalent to the forecast we announced back at the end of July. The full year forecasts have been revised upward to reflect the upward swing in the first half of the fiscal year, as explained earlier. Our vision of the second half of foreign exchange assumption is from 125 yen to the dollar to 135 yen to the dollar. Full-year revenue has been revised upward by 130 billion yen from the announcement on July 29 to 1.6 trillion yen, and business profit has been revised upward by 80 billion yen from the previous forecast to 700 billion yen. 70 billion yen ordinary income and net income has been both revised upward by 90 billion yen from their previous forecast if these figures are achieved the company will record its highest profit in its history excluding container ship of business ordinary profit is expected to be 165 billion yen now each segment Dry bulk carrier business. We expect the dry bulk business to remain almost unchanged from the forecast announced at the end of July, with ordinary profit of 51 billion yen for the full year. In the ore and coal carriers business, although cargo demand is expected to remain firm, A sharp rise in charter rates, as we have seen in the previous fiscal year, is not expected because of the slack in supply-demand balance coming from the improved tonnage utilization as a result of the relaxation or removal of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions in ports and shipping facilities. We expect the market for small and medium-sized bulkers to be supported by a certain increase in cargo movements in coal and grains toward the end of the year, but we expect a decrease in profit compared to the first half of the year, especially when the impact of rough weather in winter and other periods is factored in. On the other hand, we expect profits from open-hatch vessels operated by Gearbulk, a company with a December fiscal year end, to exceed those of the first half in the July-December period, a second half of the company's fiscal year, on the back of demand for pulp transport on outbound. Energy business This segment's forecast was also revised upward by 14 billion yen from the forecast announced at the end of July to a full-year forecast of 40 billion yen in ordinary profit. Now I will briefly explain each sub-segment. This is the tanker and offshore business. In the crude oil tanker business, despite the OPEC plus production quarter reduction and concerns about the global economic slowdown, we expect the market to remain strong, given the favorable current market conditions and the arrival of the winter demand season in the northern hemisphere. For oil product carriers, as explained earlier, we expect freight rates to remain firm due to factors such as ton-mile growth resulting from alternative procurement of oil products from Russia. Chemical carriers are also expected to make a large contribution to profits due to tight supply and demand for the same reason. In the offshore business, One new FPSO is expected to be completed in the second half of the year and the business is expected to continue to generate stable profits. Liquified gas business. In the liquefied gas business, the LNG carrier business will continue to maintain stable profits, although profits are expected to decrease from the previous year due to the expiration of some long-term contracts. We plan to deliver more than 20 newly built LNG vessels in the future and it will help us to build up stable profits from the fiscal year 2024 onwards. next product transport business we have revised upward our forecast of this business by 70 billion yen from the previous forecast of july to 700 billion yen in ordinary income for the full year For each sub-segment, I will first explain the container ship business. The container ship business has been revised upward by 50 billion yen from the forecast announced at the end of July, reflecting the impact of the yen's depreciation. We expect ordinary profit to be 635 billion yen, an equivalent to the previous year in yen. Please now refer to page 6 of OENE's magenta-colored document. OENE expects to post an after-tax profit of 15.269 billion dollars for the full year of fiscal year 2022. a year-on-year decrease due to the deterioration of freight market conditions caused by declining demand. Ongoing supply chain disruptions and rising inflation are increasing costs, particularly in cargo handling and inland transportation. Due to the inventory build-up situation in North America and Europe's entry into recession, it is expected to take some time for cargo movements and short-term freight rates to recover. As a result, after-tax profit of $4.25 billion is projected for the second half of the year. Of O&E's projected profit, the portion corresponding to our 31% stake in the company will be our equity in the company's earnings. At the current second half exchange rate assumption of 135 yen to the dollar, we expect a full year profit in yen to be equivalent to that of the previous year. In incorporating ONAE's investment profit in yen, we use the exchange rate at the end of each quarter for the whole results from the beginning of the quarter. In the full year results, the exchange rate at the end of the fiscal year is applied. Now please go back to the blue document again. Now on the product businesses. Car carriers. In the car carrier's business, we expect the number of completed cars handled to remain steady as economic activity moves toward normalization. We're expecting increase in profit by continuing flexible ship allocation according to cargo movements, while closely monitoring the impact of rising inflation and other factors on auto sales. terminal and a logistics business in the terminal and a logistics business we expect a decrease in a profit as the supply demand environment which had been tight due to supply chain disruptions will soften in the second half of the year and thereafter and handling volume is expected to decline I will skip the ferries, coastal railroad vessel and real estate businesses as the comments on them are largely the same as what I made in the first half section. Lastly, let me touch upon the dividend. As CEO Hashimoto explained earlier, we have raised the planned year-end dividend to 250 yen from the 200 yen dividend. per share previously announced at the end of july and together with the interim dividend of a 300 yen per share which has already been paid we plan to pay a total of 550 yen for the full year the dividend payout ratio will remain at a 25 thank you for your listening this concludes my presentation This concludes all the presentations we have for today. Please do reach out to us should you have any questions or inquiries. Thank you very much once again for your joining us today.