Mitsui O.S.K. Lines New

This is Mitsui OSK Lines Fiscal Year 2023 Second Quarter Business Performance Briefing. I am Takashi Hashimoto, President of Mitsui OSK Lines. I would like to say a few words at the beginning of this presentation. In our operating results, for the six months, from April to September, we recorded business profit, which is operating profit plus equity in earnings of affiliated companies, of 105.3 billion yen, ordinary profit of 154.5 billion yen, income before income taxes of 177.9 billion yen, and net income of 150.7 billion yen. Whilst profits were down year-on-year, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of around 460.0 billion yen, in equity and earnings of affiliated companies, attributable to Ocean Network Express, that is, 1. In the containerships business, our ordinary profit and net income results were ¥19.5 billion and ¥15.7 billion higher than our previous forecasts announced on July 31, mainly due to better-than-anticipated earnings, at ¥1. Based on our performance in the first half and our outlook for the second half, we have left our full-year forecast for ordinary profit unchanged at 220.0 billion yen and raised our previous forecast for net income by 5.0 billion yen to 220.0 billion yen. Accordingly, we have raised our previously announced year-end dividend forecast by 10 yen to 80 yen per share, which will make the annual total dividend 190 yen per share, including the interim dividend of 110 yen. As a result, we will maintain a full-year dividend payout ratio of 30% or above on an annual basis. I will now hand over to CFO, Hisashi Yumemura, to explain each of these matters in detail. Overall, revenue and operating profit were mostly in line with forecasts, and business profit surpassed the previous forecast by around 10.0 billion yen. Ordinary profit was 19.5 billion yen higher than forecast. because we either achieved or exceeded our forecasts in all business segments, including the product transport business, where equity and earnings of affiliated companies, attributable to one, was better than anticipated. As a result, income before income taxes was 177.9 billion yen, and net income also improved by 15.7 billion yen to 150.7 billion yen, This slide shows that we have accumulated profit in each segment. The energy and product transport businesses have made large contribution. I will now explain the financial results by segment. Dry Bulk Business The dry bulk business posted an ordinary profit of 32.1 billion yen, surpassing the previous forecast by 2.1 billion yen. Looking at the rates for each type of vessel, market rates for Cape-sized bulkers were better than anticipated. Holding firm, due to strong Australian and Brazilian iron ore shipments, and although it showed a temporary fall at the end of August, it exceeded the forecast along with end of the rainy season and recovery of the demand for coal shipments to India and China. The market rates for Panamax, Handimax, and smaller vessels were dampened by pessimism over the timing of China's economic recovery and lacked buoyancy, but were still better than forecast due to generally firm rates for the transportation of coal and grain. Meanwhile, open-hatch bulkers also performed better than forecast, benefiting from cargo contracts signed by Gearbulk, an Equity Method affiliate, when rates were high. Energy Business The energy business posted ordinary profit of 37.6 billion yen, exceeding the previous forecast by 4.6 billion yen. I will now explain performance in each sub-segment. Tankers and Offshore Business DLCC charter market rates remained in a downward trend, reflecting China's drawing down of crude oil inventories, in addition to lackluster shipments, due to OPEC+, oil output cuts, and the new norm of market overcapacity. Meanwhile, product tanker market rates remained at a high level, on the back of firm demand for petroleum products, although there were times when shipments weakened, due to scheduled maintenance at oil refineries in the Far East. The chemical tankers business also produced results in line with forecasts, with freight rates remaining at a high level. The offshore business generated stable profit in the FPSO business, thanks to the full-year contribution of two new offshore projects in Brazil, following the commencement of operation last fiscal year, in addition to existing long-term charter contracts. Liquefied Gas Business The LNG carrier business performed better than forecast, accumulating stable profits, reflecting entry into operation, under new contracts. The FSRU business generated profit, mostly in line with the forecast, due to the start of a long-term project, in Hong Kong. Product Transport Business The product transport business reported ordinary profit of 71.6 billion yen, exceeding the previous forecast by 6.6 billion yen, because equity in earnings of affiliated companies, attributable to one, was around 8.0 billion yen higher than forecast, in the container ship business. Starting from this fiscal year, the ferries and coastal Roro ships business, which was previously included in the product transport business, is transferred to the newly established, well-being and lifestyle business. And year-on-year, comparisons are based on results for the previous fiscal year, that have been restated to reflect this change. I will now explain the performance of each sub-segment. Container Ships. Please refer to page 3 of Once Magenta Colored Materials. The outline of financial results for the second quarter, from July to September is as described in the summary. With little sign of any strong rebound in shipments, despite the start of the peak season, and with a softening supply-demand balance, reflecting an increase in new vessel deliveries, the upward trend in spot freight rate could not be maintained. As a result, after-tax profit for the second quarter came to US$187 million. Cargo movements lacked strength in most trades, including Asia-Europe trade, despite rallying to some extent, in Asia-North America trade in August. Meanwhile on the supply side, vessel supply increased with new vessel deliveries, despite reduced vessel sailings and service rationalization, on east-west trade. These factors caused a softening of vessel supply and demand, especially on east-west trade, and freight rate also remained weak. Please refer to page 4, of once magenta-colored materials, for details of changes in liftings, capacity utilization rates, and freight index. Please return to the middle of page 7, of MOL's blue-colored materials. MOL's container business posted ordinary profit of 33.3 billion yen, surpassing the previous forecast by around 8.3 billion yen, thanks to these earnings, at 1. while operating profit was mostly in line with the forecast against the background I have just explained. Greater than anticipated, due to the financial income associated with higher interest rates and the foreign exchange rate applied when incorporating equity in earnings from our equity method investments into our consolidated results, was better than expected. Resulted from the weaker yen are also actors behind the improvement. Car Carriers In the car carrier's business, tight market conditions continued to prevail as economic activity resumed and domestic production of completed cars also returned to normal levels, with improvement in the supply of semiconductors and automotive components, leading to a rebound in cargo movements, and as exports of EVs from China also remained brisk. Under such conditions, continued congestion at some major ports in Australia and other regions, and the Panama Canal's drought, caused deterioration in the vessel operation efficiency. And the car carrier segment posted lower results than forecast, despite flexible revision of vessel allocation plans. Terminal and Logistics Business The terminal and logistics business saw a decrease in container volumes, as a result of a slowdown in cargo movements at overseas terminals, while there were firm cargo movements at domestic terminals, and weaker air and sea freight rates in the logistics business. However, both of these were in line with expectations, and results were as forecast. Wellbeing and Lifestyle Business The well-being and lifestyle business is made up of the real property business, the ferries, and coastal rural ships business, and the cruise business. And comparisons are based on results for the previous fiscal year, which have been restated to reflect the new segmentation. First half ordinary profit amounted to 4.9 billion yen, which was in line with the previous forecast. Real Property Business The real property business generated profit that was higher than forecast and on a par with the previous year, thanks to higher occupancy at existing properties, despite higher costs associated with new property acquisitions, by Diberu, the core company in the group's real property business. Ferries and Coastal Roro Ships The ferries and coastal Roro ships business generated profit in line with our forecast, partly thanks to a boost from the entry into service of new LNG-fueled ferries and the National Travel Assistance Program, in addition to a recovery in passengers and the steady transportation of cargoes. Cruise Business The cruise business also achieved improvement in profitability, mostly in line with our forecast, reflecting a recovery in travel demand, with the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. Associated Businesses The tugboat business performed as forecast, due mainly to a revision of tugboat service fees. Though the situation varies depending on each company and port. The trading company business performed better than forecast, reflecting an increase in the bunkering frequency of domestic vessels. This concludes the summary of the financial results for the second quarter. Next, I would like to explain our fiscal year 2023 full-year forecast. Overall, we have made downward revision of our previous full-year business profit forecast by 10.0 billion yen to 170.0 billion yen and left our full-year ordinary profit forecast unchanged at 220.0 billion yen. By and large, we expect to achieve or exceed our previous forecasts in every business. partly because we changed our exchange rate assumption for the remaining five months of this fiscal year to 140 yen per US dollar from the previous 130 yen per US dollar, an increase of 10 yen. However, we have taken the impact of the recent fall in spot freight rates into consideration for the container ships business and our ordinary profit forecast is therefore unchanged from our previous forecast. We have raised our net income forecast to 220.0 billion yen, an improvement of 5.0 billion yen, from our previous forecast, in anticipation of an increase in extraordinary income from the sale of vessels. I will now explain the forecasts for each segment. Dry Bulk Business The dry bulk business is expected to post full-year ordinary profit of 37.0 billion yen, which represents an upward revision of 2.0 billion yen from the previous forecast. I will now explain the forecasts for each sub-segment. Cape-sized bulkers that mainly carry iron ore are expected to remain firm for the rest of 2023, underpinned by steady bauxite shipments from West Africa, in addition to iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil. However, we are leaving our previous forecast unchanged because, from the beginning of 2024 and onwards, there will be the usual decline in shipments from Brazil that happens every year due to the rainy season. Small and medium-sized bulkers operated by MOL Drybulk are expected to remain firm for the remainder of 2023, underpinned by grain shipments from North America. but to then weaken once again from the beginning of 2024, and this has been factored into our forecast. Market rates for wood chip carriers are also likely to remain slightly weak. In our forecast for open-hatch bulkers operated by GearBulk, an Equity Method affiliate, we factored in the absence of the inflow of cargo from container ships as a result of normalization of the container ship market rates, however, Recent trends suggest that the decline will be less than originally anticipated and we have, therefore, revised our forecast upward. Energy Business The energy business is expected to record ordinary profit of 53.0 billion yen on a full-year basis, which represents an upward revision of around 3.0 billion yen from the previous forecast. I will now explain performance in each sub-segment. Tankers and Offshore Business In the tanker business, we have left our forecast for the VLCC business unchanged, partly due to concerns such as, continued OPEC plus, output cuts. Results in the product tanker and chemical tanker businesses are likely to exceed our previous forecasts, as there is prospect of strong freight rates, given that cargo movements will remain firm, and new vessel deliveries will also be limited. In the offshore business, the FPSO business will generate stable profit, due to start of further new projects, in addition to the two offshore projects in Brazil, which started the previous fiscal year. Liquefied Gas Business The LNG carrier business and the FSRU business will continue to generate stable profits through the start of new projects. We have ordered more than 30 LNG vessels based on the growth in the need for LNG transportation due to the increasing demand for LNG in Europe and other regions. These vessels are expected to contribute to stable profit growth in the fiscal year 2024 and onwards. Product Transport Business Moving on to the product transport business, we forecast full-year ordinary profit of 111.0 billion yen, due to downward revision of our forecast, for the containerships business, as explained earlier. I will now explain the forecasts for each sub-segment. Containerships Please refer to page 5 of Once Magenta Colored Materials. One forecasts after-tax profit of US$151 million in the second half and US$851 million on a full-year basis. Please refer to Once Response to Recent Changes in the Business Environment on page 6 of Once Magenta Colored Materials for details. Please return to page 11 of MOL's blue-colored materials. Like 1, MOL also assumes there is no prospect of dramatic recovery in demand, as cargo volumes will also weaken in the fourth quarter, due to delayed recovery of consumption, in several regions, including Europe, and seasonal factors. By reducing sailings and negotiating higher rates from October onwards, we expect to secure spot freight rates in line with our previous forecast through to around January, however, we assume this will not be enough to make up for the decline in rates from September through to mid-October. As a result of the above, we have lowered our second half forecast for our container ships business by 15.3 billion yen from our previous forecast and, taking our better performance in the first half into consideration, we forecast full-year ordinary profit of 40.0 billion yen, which represents a downward revision of 7.0 billion yen. Car Carriers In the car carrier business, we expect the market to remain tight. Despite the lingering impact of Australian port congestion and Panama Canal delays, we plan to achieve profit mostly in line with our previous forecast, through more efficient vessel allocation. Terminal and Logistics Business Taking into consideration the downward trend in handling volumes, in addition to the impact of the sale of overseas terminals, we expect the terminal and logistics business to be less profitable than the previous forecast. Wellbeing and Lifestyle Business The wellbeing and lifestyle business is expected to post ordinary profit of 9.0 billion yen, which is mostly in line with our previous forecast. I will now explain the forecasts for each sub-segment. Real Property Business Diberu, which is our real property business arm, is expected to generate stable profit, due to the profit contribution of new properties, partially acquired last year, such as Otemichi First Square, Otemon Tower, and Eneos Building. and the high occupancy of existing properties, despite the rebuilding of more domestic properties, in addition to Yaesa Dibaru Building in Tokyo and Midosuji Dibaru Building in Osaka. Ferries and Coastal Roro Ships In the ferries and coastal Roro ships business, MOL Sunflower Limited, formed through the merger of two group ferry companies, commenced operation on October 1, and will seek to demonstrate the effects of integration. In addition to the recovery in the passenger transportation business and firm cargo movements, the effects of entry into service of the two newly built LNG-fueled ferries Sunflower Karinai and Sunflower Murasaki are also expected. Cruise Business In this business also, the other day, we announced the new cruise line brand name, Mitsui Ocean Cruises, and Mitsui Ocean Fuji as the name of the new ship that will be launched in December 2024, in addition to Nippon Maru, and an around-the-world cruise. In the second half, we will incur expenses in preparation for new business expansion, however, we expect increased revenue through a recovery in passengers, and aim to improve profitability. Associated businesses. In the tugboat business, further profit growth is expected due to the effect of the revision of tugboat service fees at ports in Japan, including Kobe and Acei Bay. Finally, turning to our dividend forecast, as explained by President Hashimoto earlier, we have raised our previous year-end dividend forecast of ¥70 per share by ¥10 to ¥80, and our full-year dividend forecast, including the interim dividend of ¥110, is now 190 yen per share. This concludes my explanation of the fiscal year 2023 forecast. I find it hard to shake off the impression that the overall global economic situation has not been very favorable recently. Europe is already in a state that could be described as a recession, and China has been experiencing a significant economic slowdown. it doesn't appear likely that there will be a swift recovery even as we enter 2024. Furthermore, at the moment, it seems that the United States, the only major economic region currently performing well, is also expected to experience a considerable economic slowdown in the near future. In light of this situation and anticipating a significant decline in earnings for the second half compared to the first half, we set achievable goals to ensure success with adopting a rather conservative approach in setting our second half forecast. However, the economic cycles like this tend to hit a bottom at some point, and gradually start moving towards recovery, despite this, we do anticipate being influenced by global political developments, such as the situation in Ukraine and Palestine. At present, predicting the timing of the recovery is challenging, but we plan to tread cautiously for some time and proceed with a defensive stance. On the other hand, from an investment strategy perspective, the current situation allows us to proceed with investments without becoming overly expensive. Lately, we have been quite proactive in pursuing mergers and acquisitions, diversifying significantly with acquisitions in the chemical tanker division, as well as the purchase of shares in Nippon Concept Corporation and Mitsui Ocean Development and Engineering Company, MODEC Inc. With the aim of ensuring that these initiatives will significantly contribute to our revenue growth, in the next one to two years, we plan to focus on what is commonly referred to as post-merger integration. In the future, likely, in the fiscal year 2024 or 2025, as we navigate through the next economic downturn cycle, we will strive to present a brighter overall picture to all of you than we have now.