Sekisui Chemical Co

My name is Keita Kato, President and CEO. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend today's presentation on fiscal 2022 financial results and the fiscal 2023 management plan. Before I begin the explanation on financial results, I would like to comment on the release on April 14th concerning nonconformity with building standards in residential complexes and detached houses. I would like to express our most sincere apologies for any inconvenience or worry that have been caused for the customers concerned, as well as to our investors and analysts who are attending this meeting today. We take this incident very seriously. To take prompt action, we are currently conducting inspections and corrective work at the effective customer residences accordingly under the guidance of authorities. In addition, we will make company-wide efforts to strengthen our quality control system and prevent recurrences to regain the trust of all our stakeholders. Now I will go into the explanation of results. First, I will explain the fiscal year 2022 results. The foreign exchange rates for the second half were 137 yen to the U.S. dollar, Also, please note that fiscal 2022 results are based off the segmentation prior to the business portfolio reorganization between the HPP, high-performance plastics, and UIEP, urban infrastructure and environmental products divisional companies. Page 2 shows the overview of fiscal 2022 results. For the total company, both sales and operating profit increased. Ordinary profit increased significantly, mainly due to foreign exchange gains, and net profit increased significantly as well, due in part to the absence of aerospace impairment losses recorded in the previous fiscal year. Net sales reached a new record high for the first time since fiscal year 1996. Ordinary profit and net profit also reached record highs. On the other hand, net sales, operating profit, and net profit fell short of the January guidance due to the deteriorating market environment. As for dividends, as announced, we will pay a year-end dividend of 30 yen per share for an annual dividend of 59 yen per share. Page 3 shows results by segment. The housing company, affected by soaring raw material prices and sluggish housing demand, reported a decrease in profit, while other segments secured an increase in operating profit. UIEP and Medical reached full-year record high operating profit. Against the January forecast, all segments except medical failed to reach the forecast due to the sharp decline in global demand and deteriorating housing demand, despite company-wide efforts to curb fixed costs. On the other hand, preparation in new businesses and research and development for medium and long-term growth proceeded as planned, which is included in the others segment. Page 4. Here are segment results broken down into the first and second halves. In the first half, HPP and UIEP reported a significant increase in profit, mainly due to improved selling prices. But in the second half, HPP and housing reported a decrease in profit, owing to a decline in demand globally in the electronics market, etc., as well as deterioration in the housing market in Japan. In the UIEP business, profit growth in the second half was achieved by thoroughly securing spreads supported by improving selling prices. Medical also posted increases in both the first and second half due to a recovery in diagnostics demand in Japan and overseas. Turning to page 5, this page analyzes FY22 results. Looking at the bar graph on the left, net sales were 1 trillion 242.5 billion yen, an increase of 84.6 billion yen, mainly due to improved selling prices and foreign exchange impact. Regarding the analysis of operating profit on the right, as the sales volume and product mix factor was significantly below the January forecast, operating profit was below forecast by 3.3 billion yen, achieving 91.7 billion yen. However, profits for the full year increased year-on-year as we thoroughly engaged in efforts to secure spreads and control fixed costs. Pages 6 through 8 reiterates the business portfolio optimization between the HPP and UIEP divisional companies, which was explained at the first half financial results briefing in October last year. Please use this for your reference as the Fiscal 23 plan and beyond will be based off the new organizational structure post reorganization. For your reference, page 9 shows the results by segment after portfolio reorganization. The numbers in the earnings release are based off post-business portfolio reorganization. I will explain the fiscal 23 plan from page 10. The assumed foreign exchange rates are 133 yen to the dollar and 142 yen to the euro based on internal standards at the time the plan was formulated. The exchange rate sensitivity at the operating profit level is about 0.5 billion yen per a 1 yen move against the U.S. dollar, and a weaker yen will have a positive impact on the company's operating profit. Page 11 is about the fiscal 2023 plan and shareholder returns. We plan to achieve record high sales for the second consecutive year with net sales of 1 trillion 312 billion yen. Operating profit is expected to continue to increase, reaching 100 billion yen. Ordinary profit and profit attributable to owners of parent are projected to be 103 billion yen and 70 billion yen, respectively. We aim to achieve record high operating profit and profit attributable to owners of the parent. Regarding returns to shareholders, we plan to raise the annual dividend by 7 yen a share to 66 yen, which will be an increase for the 14th consecutive year. We have also established a share buyback program of up to 4 million shares or 8 billion yen. and plan to cancel 4 million shares of Treasury stock. We will continue to provide stable and proactive shareholder returns in fiscal 2023. The shareholder return policy under the new midterm plan, which started this fiscal year, will be announced at the midterm management plan briefing, which is scheduled to take place on May 23. Page 12 is about the outlook for major market conditions in FY2023. First, on the left, global auto production and smartphone shipments were both significantly lower than our January forecast in FY22Q4. We expect the number of automobiles manufactured to recover to a certain degree, mainly in the second half of fiscal 23, although the impact of semiconductor shortages is likely to remain. Regarding smartphones, inventory adjustments are expected to continue and shipments are expected to fall below the previous year's level through the first quarter of fiscal 23, but we expect a gradual recovery from the second quarter onward. The top right graph shows the outlook for visitors and the new housing business. From the second half of fiscal 22, overall visitors have been recovering, but exhibition visitors were below expectations. In fiscal 23, we expect a recovery in overall visitors driven by an increase in exhibition visitors. As for new housing starts, shown underneath housing, is expected to recover moderately in fiscal 2023 after bottoming out in the second half of fiscal 22. The bottom right shows NAFTA assumptions, which are forecasted at ¥66,000 per kiloliter for fiscal 23. Page 13 shows plan by segment. As I mentioned earlier, we expect the business environment to recover to a certain degree from the second half of the year, and by focusing on maintaining spreads, we plan to increase both net sales and profits in each segment. In the UIEP and medical segments, we aim to reach record high profits in fiscal 23 again. In addition, we will work on preparing for sustainable growth toward our long-term vision by accelerating our efforts in commercializing the biorefinery business, which converts trash into ethanol, which is currently being tested in Coogee City, Iwate Prefecture. As well as the film-type perovskite solar cell, a next-generation solar cell that utilizes our proprietary technologies, such as sealants and production processes. We will also work on strengthening quality control and materiality enhancement by reinforcing overseas governance systems. Page 14 shows the breakdown of the plan by first and second halves. In the first half, we expect the severe business environment to continue and we plan to focus on securing spreads in each segment to ensure an increase in profits. In HPP, as improved selling prices are expected to continue to have an impact and market conditions are expected to recover to a certain degree in the second half, we are aiming for a significant increase in profit, driven by an increase in sales volume and product mix, especially in the mobility field, centered on high-performance products. In the housing business, we plan to increase profit owing to improved profitability of new housing and growth in the renovation and real estate businesses. New housing orders are expected to recover from the second half of the year. In UIEP, we will continue to focus on maintaining spreads to ensure profit growth even in the first half when the severe business environment is expected to continue. In the second half of the year, we expect market conditions to improve to a certain degree and aim to increase both sales and profit and achieve record high earnings on a full year basis for the second consecutive year by expanding sales of prioritized products and increasing overseas sales. In the medical business, we continue to expect a recovery in global demand for diagnostics. In the overseas diagnostics business, we will focus on expanding sales of blood coagulation reagents in China and new products in the U.S., aiming to record the highest annual profit for the third consecutive year. Page 15 is an analysis of the Fiscal 23 plan. As shown in the bar graph on the left, We plan to increase net sales by 69.5 billion yen to 1 trillion 312 billion yen, mainly due to an increase in sales volume. Regarding the analysis of operating profit on the right, we aim to achieve 100 billion yen for the full year by securing spreads in the first half and earning marginal profit through a large increase in sales volume and product mix based on the assumption that recovery and market conditions will happen by a certain degree, thereby offsetting fixed cost increase such as increased investment in human capital. Page 16 is about returns to shareholders. As mentioned earlier, in fiscal 23, we plan to raise the annual dividend by 7 yen to 66 yen per share, which will be the 14th consecutive year of dividend increases. We will continue to engage in active shareholder returns. Page 17 shows consolidated performance. ROIC improved by 0.3%. to 7.6% in fiscal 22, mainly due to an improvement in the invested capital turnover. ROE increased by 4.5%, recovering the 10% level. EBITDA reached a record high of 142.1 billion yen. We view that our earnings producing power has strengthened steadily. In fiscal 23, we will further promote business portfolio transformation to improve capital efficiency and shift to growth, aiming for operating profit of 100 billion yen. That is all from myself. Thank you for your kind attention. Hello, I am Tatsuya Nishida, Executive Officer and Head of the Corporate Finance and Accounting Department. I will explain the financial results for fiscal year 2022. On page 19, the number of consolidated subsidiaries decreased by seven companies to 148. The increase of one company is due to Tochigi Sexy Heim becoming a subsidiary, which was previously an Equity Method affiliate. The impact of the change in consolidated subsidiaries on the financial results is shown here. Regarding the consolidated P&L on page 20, I will explain the items from ordinary profit and below. Ordinary profit was 104.2 billion yen, up 7.2 billion yen year-on-year, reaching record highs due to an increase in operating profit and a foreign exchange gain of 5.2 billion yen. Extraordinary losses included a one-time amortization of goodwill of Viridas, which operates a diagnostics business in Singapore, and an impairment loss on the investment in Peptistar, a contract manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients API for peptide drugs. Despite the significant year-on-year increase in profit before income taxes, income taxes decreased, since tax-effect accounting was not applied to the goodwill impairment of aerospace in fiscal 21. Profit attributable to owners of parent increased by 32.2 billion yen to 69.3 billion yen, reaching a new high. The next page is about the balance sheet on page 21. Total assets increased by 29.2 billion yen, but due to the impact of yen depreciation and new consolidations, total assets are almost the same level as the end of the previous fiscal year. Inventories increased by 43 billion yen. In the housing business, the inventory level of land and ready-built housing products increased due to steady procurement of land for sale. The balance of work and process, housing under construction, also increased. The increase from other inventories was half due to an increase in product inventories and the other half to an increase in raw materials. In addition to the weaker yen leading to greater overseas inventory on a translation basis and an increase due to a surge in raw materials, there was some impact from temporary volume increase. Tangible fixed assets increased by 12.1 billion yen due to investments that exceeded the level of depreciation and due to an increase in the translation of inventories resulting from the yen's depreciation. Please turn to page 22. Net interest-bearing liabilities increased by 41.4 billion yen and turned positive because of the cash flows that I will explain later. Most of the increase was due to the reversal of cash on hand. Retained earnings increased due to net income and decreased due to shareholder returns. 15 million Treasury shares were purchased and retired during the year. ROIC, ROE, the equity-to-asset ratio, and the debt-to-equity ratio are as shown in the table. We were able to improve ROE to 10%. Next is about consolidated cash flows on page 23. Cash flow from operating activities was an inflow of 71.5 billion yen. Although profits increased compared to the previous year, cash inflows decreased year on year due to an increase in working capital, including inventories, and higher tax payments. The increase in tax payments was mainly due to higher than normal taxable income in fiscal 21. Cash flow from investing activities resulted in a net cash outflow of 59.4 billion yen due to an 11.8 billion yen increase in payments for capital expenditures year on year. Regarding free cash flow, there was an outflow of 13 billion yen. And in addition, there was a cash outflow of 27.4 billion yen for the purchase of treasury stock, which resulted in the reversal of cash on hand. Depreciation amortization capital expenditures and EBITDA by segment are shown on page 24. Depreciation is on an increasing trend. and capital expenditures this fiscal year were about 1.2 times depreciation. Goodwill and other amortization have decreased due to the absence of impairment losses recorded last fiscal year. EBITDA by divisional company, which is the source of funds, is as shown on the table and is about 2.5 times the level of capital expenditures. Plans for depreciation, capital expenditures, and R&D expenditures are shown on page 25. CapEx is expected to increase in fiscal 23 due to investments in new businesses such as biorefineries and DX-related investments. Lastly, on page 26, I would like to reiterate the overview of fiscal 23 performance and shareholder return plans. We plan to increase dividends by 7 yen and raise the dividend payout ratio, placing more emphasis on shareholder return. Regarding the acquisition of Treasury shares, we are committed to a total return ratio of 50% or more, and we will flexibly implement buybacks in accordance with the stock price, funds available, and other conditions. That is all from myself. Thank you for your attention. I am Ikusuke Shimizu, Divisional Company President of the High Performance Plastics Company. First, please refer to page 28. This page shows business performance trends. In fiscal 22, we were not able to achieve the January forecast due to the prolonged slump in electronics-related demand. However, on the back of the severe business environment of the sluggish electronics market, soaring raw material and fuel prices, and delayed recovery of automobile production due to shortage of semiconductors, we were able to increase both net sales and operating profit, achieving 404.1 billion yen in net sales and 44.2 billion in operating profits on a pre-reorganization basis of the portfolio, with a UIEP divisional company. In fiscal 23, mainly due to the securing of spreads and an increase in sales volume based on a certain level of market recovery expected in the second half of the year and beyond, we are forecasting net sales of 427.7 billion yen and operating profit of 48 billion yen, a significant increase of profits by 7.9 billion yen year-on-year. Please turn to page 29. The bar graph on the left shows fiscal 22 net sales before portfolio reorganization. Net sales were 404.1 billion yen, an increase of 45.3 billion yen year-on-year. The graph on the right shows the analysis of operating profit. Profit increased by 1.9 billion yen year-on-year, but as shown in the table at the bottom, in the second half, due to the deteriorating electronics market and the struggling mobility field caused by the delayed recovery of automobile production, sales volume and product mix declined substantially. Although sales price spreads were maintained, profit declined by 600 million yen, falling short of the January forecast.

Next, the overview of the FY23 business plan on page 30. These are the figures after the reorganization of the portfolio. The bar graph on the left illustrates the net sales projection of 427.7 billion yen, up 31.3 billion yen year-on-year, mainly based on the assumption that market conditions will recover to a certain extent in the second half of the year. On the right, you will find the factors behind the change in the operating profit. Despite the higher fixed costs due to investment in growth in human capital, we project a positive OP growth of 7.9 billion for this fiscal year thanks to the following factors. The better spread stemming from improved selling prices, mainly in the mobility field such as interlayer film and executive aerospace, as well as a 9.3 billion improvement in the sales volume and product mix in the second half as shown in the table below. As explained on the previous page, the improvement in the sales volume and product mix was just slightly in excess of the negative 8.2 bion impact we experienced in the second half of FY22. Next, page 31 illustrates the progress in the three strategic fields under Cost Innovation Initiative before the portfolio reorganization. Net sales and profit in the electronics field decreased, whereas both net sales and profit grew in the mobility and the building and infrastructure field, although not indicated on the slide. Now, let's dive into the respective field. First, in the electronics field at upper left, sales declined in each quarter due to the rapid deterioration of the market conditions since the second quarter of FY22. The sales in the non-LCD field declined as well, but we were able to acquire new opportunities. The bar graph at bottom left indicates the breakdown of LCD and non-LCD sales. Net sales for the LCD field shown by the gray bar declined sharply due to the smartphone inventory correction since Q2. The sales for non-LCD field went down in Q4, mainly due to the challenges with the semiconductor-related business. Next, moving on to the mobility field in the center, revenue increased driven by the sales growth of high-performance interlayer film, with the head-up display interlayer film growing by 16%. For details, please refer to the second graph from the left at the bottom for the high-performance interlayer film sales growth. Although sales growth in the fourth quarter of FY22 was down year-on-year, mainly due to the deteriorating market conditions in China, we were able to make up for that to achieve sales level comparable to last year at 100% for the second half of the year. As you can see from the graph above, sales of heat-released materials also expanded steadily, mainly for EV applications. For SECCO Aerospace, demand is recovering on the back of higher production of Boeing 787, and product portfolio reform to expand into the noncommercial aircraft application is progressing in line with the plan. Furthermore, improvement in selling price had a positive contribution, and SECCO Aerospace's performance exceeded the January projection. The improvement in selling price will contribute more substantially from FY23 and beyond. On the right is a building and infrastructure field. We were able to secure spread for the chlorinated PVC business as planned. Cells of fire resistant materials also grow year on year despite sluggish domestic demand. The cells of thermal insulation and non-combustible materials is shown by the graph at the bottom in the middle. Although the domestic market slowed down, sales grew steadily by cultivating new opportunities and achieved year-on-year growth. Cost innovation shown at bottom right led to an improvement of 6.3 billion yen year-on-year, far exceeding the medium-term plan and underpinned our profit. Page 32, the last page on HPP, shows the FY23 business plan for the three strategic fields after the portfolio reorganization. In FY23, we project sales and profit growth in all three strategic fields, with the mobility field expected to drive the overall growth, thanks to expanded sales of high-performance interior film and improved selling price. In addition, based on the assumption that market conditions will gradually recover from the second quarter, we have formulated a plan expecting a profit decline in the first half, profit growth in the second half, and profit growth for the full year for the electronics and industrial fields. Let's have a closer look at each field. In the electronics at top left, the smartphone market is expected to remain sluggish in the first quarter but gradually recover from the second quarter onward, and we expect a certain level of recovery in the second half of the fiscal year. That is the assumption for the sales outlook. The graph at bottom right illustrates our focus on the non-LCD applications. We will strive to grow sales mainly in the non-LCD field by focusing on capturing more customized applications for products such as SELFA, high adhesion and easily removable release tape used in chip production, and products for device exterior and mechanical applications. In the mobility field as shown at upper right, we will continue to focus on propelling sales of high-performance interlayer film mainly for HUDs and securing spreads by improving selling prices along with the recovery of the automobile and aircraft markets. As shown by the graph below, we expect the sales of high-performance interlayer film to outperform the market growth, and in particular for the HUD interlayer film to achieve over 10% growth. With the start of operation at our new production base in North America, we will continue to expand sales of heat-release materials, mainly for EVs. Sekisei Aerospace will continue with initiatives to turn into profit on a standalone basis in Q4 of FY23, with the aim of returning to profitability on a consolidated basis in FY24. The bottom left is the industrial field. As in the electronics field, we have formulated our plan based on the assumption that the market will gradually recover from the second quarter. The key to profit is to maintain the selling prices in secure spreads, and this is where we will focus our efforts on. As shown by the graph at the far right, we will grow sales of labor-saving and environmentally friendly products such as thermal insulation materials, lone craft tape for packaging machines, and blow-molded products in the second half of the year, although the first half will be somewhat difficult due to the weak market environment. That will conclude my presentation. Thank you very much for your attention. Hi, I'm Toshiyuki Kamiyoshi, president of the housing company. Once again, as the head of the housing company, I would like to express my sincere apologies for the inconvenience and concern caused not only to our customers, but also to investors and analysts by the building code non-conformity incident that was announced on April 14th. Now let me start my presentation on the housing company. First on slide 34, I would like to explain the performance trend of the housing company. In FY22, while revenue grew a year due to higher unit price for new construction, a recovery in the renovation business, and growth in town and community development business, sales fell short of the plan as the new construction market got weaker than expected in the second half, especially in Q4, ultimately closing the year with results below the guidance announced in January. For FY23, we expect market conditions to remain sluggish and component prices to continue to impact the business. That said, we will strive to offset the adversity by improving the profitability. Furthermore, we expect continued growth in the renovation and real estate business. Overall, as housing company, we are calling for growth both in sales and profit. Slide 35 is a snapshot of FY22. As shown by the graph on the left, net sales increased in each segment and the overall sales rose substantially by 22.2 bion yen, reaching a record high for the company following the previous year. The operating profit analysis is indicated by the graph on the right. The OP for the housing segment decreased by 2.9 billion yen due to sluggish market, resulting in a lower number of houses sold, as well as higher component costs. Although we strove to offset the negative impact by the other segments, the OP for the housing company declined by 2.5 billion yen. Special factors had a negative impact of 1.6 million in total, including a drop in retirement benefit expenses in the previous year, new consolidation of Tochigi Sekisui Hein, and a provision of 300 million for the corrective work and other expenses related to non-conformity with the building code. Next, slide 36 outlines a plan for FY23. On the left is the outlook for net sales. We project sales growth in each segment, with an increase of 23.6 billion yen in total to 561 billion yen. Opening profit shown on the right is expected to increase by 2.2 billion to 35 billion yen, with all the segments achieving profit growth. In the housing business, considering the current order trend, we project the number of houses sold to come down by 270, which together with fixed costs is expected to have a negative impact of 6.3 bn yen. We plan to offset this by an increase in marginal profit of 7 bn yen. Looking closely at the improvement in marginal profit, while we expect a deterioration of 8 billion yen in components, utilities, and effects, we expect an improvement of 9 billion yen due to measures already implemented in the past two years, and another 6 billion yen through additional initiatives on addressing product mix and cost reduction. In the renovation business, although we expect fixed cost to increase due to the strengthening of the sales structure, we predict a profit increase of 400 million yen driven by higher sales. In the other segment, the town and community development business is expected to see some pause, but we expect a profit growth of 700 million yen backed by greater contribution from the rural estate business, among others. Lastly, on slide 37, let me make some additional comments on each business segment. In the housing business, we expect market conditions to remain sluggish and expect the first half order of FY23 to be down by 5% yield near. Although market conditions in the second half remain uncertain, we project orders to grow by 8% yield near based on the assumption that the number of houses sold would be at the same level as in the first half. The table in the center illustrates the number of orders by type of construction. In FY22, we started to feel the weakness in the market from the middle of the first half. This had a ripple effect to the first-time buyers in the second half and for the full year, order was 91% of the previous year. In FY23, we expect a slight recovery to 101% for the full year thanks to the subdivision and ready-built houses as well as enhanced competitiveness due to stepping up the smart home features as shown by the right graph. The bottom half of the slide is the renovation business and others. Renovation business is steadily recovering from COVID. Recently, we announced our alliance with Renoveru, through which we aim to reinvigorate the behind-purchase and resale business and the condominium renovation business. By doing so, we will strive to capture more opportunities in the general renovation market by also targeting non-secular home owners, which will be a frontier market for us. In the other segment, we will make further effort in expanding the frontier business, such as the town and community development business. This will conclude my presentation on the housing company. Thank you very much for your attention. My name is Yoshiuki Hirai, Company President, WIEP, Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Products Company. Now, I would like to start my presentation. I will start with the business performance trend on page 39. In FY22, based on the numbers before the portfolio reorganization, sales reached 227.2 billion yen with an OP of 17.1 billion and 7.5% operating margin, achieving growth in both sales and profit, as well as renewing the previous record high full-year profit. Although Q4 was slow due to the weakness in the construction of detached houses and non-residential construction demand, business was underpinned by securing spread with improvements in selling prices, prioritized product sales growth, and higher overseas sales. Based on the figures after the portfolio reorganization, net sales was 234.3 BNY with an OP of 21.2 BNY, which would be the starting base for FY23. For FY23, we are aiming for two consecutive years of record high profit, with sales of 241.6 billion, OP of 22.2 billion yen, and operating margin of 9.2%. We expect market conditions to recover from the second half of the year, and we will continue to focus on expanding gross areas, such as prioritized product sales and overseas sales, in addition to maintaining spreads. Page 40 illustrates the analysis of FY22 results. Net sales and operating profit increased by ¥15.4 billion and ¥3 billion respectively. Although domestic market conditions were below expectations, especially in Q4, we made efforts in securing spreads and expanding sales of prioritized products. Such efforts as well as citizen-connected related capital investment overseas and recovery of U.S. aircraft demand contributed to the growth. Page 41 outlines a plan for FY23. We aim to achieve sales growth of 7.3 billion and OP growth of 1 billion yen. In Japan, we expect a gradual market recovery starting in the second half of the year and will focus on maintaining spreads and increasing volume by expanding sales of prioritized products. Overseas, our focus will be on sales expansion of chlorinated PVC, plant piping materials, and FFU sleepers. A new FFU plant in Europe will finally start operation in the second half. We will also work to realize synergies from the reorganization of our business portfolio as soon as possible. On page 42, I'd like to walk you through the status of our three strategic fields and structural reforms in FY22, starting with the state of the three strategic fields. In the piping and infrastructure field, market conditions were below expectations, but sales increased due to improved selling prices and firm plant-related demand that we successfully captured. The sales for the building and living environment business grew on the back of firm sales expansion of prioritized products such as high-flow rate draining systems, nursing care bathtubs, and high-performance bathtubs. Sales of advanced materials also grew thanks to the recovery in aircraft-related demand and firm orders for FFU sleepers, mainly in Europe and the United States. As for the sales of prioritized products shown by the graph at bottom left, we enjoyed higher adoption of such products due to a growing acceptance of the SDGs element, such as easy construction and disaster prevention and mitigation features. However, the advanced materials field was affected by the deteriorating electronics market. Looking closely at the geographical breakdown of the overseas sales, the aircraft-related demand recovery in the U.S. and firm demand for semiconductor-aided equipment in the Asia underpin the overseas growth. With respect to structural reforms and productivity innovation shown by the bottom right chart, the company achieved profit improvement of 5.2 billion yen, exceeding the 5 billion yen target set in the previous medium-term plan. With this result, we believe we have achieved what we intended to accomplish in our structural reforms and will accelerate our shift toward growth. Lastly, on page 43, I'd like to explain our FY23 plan for the three strategic fields. The three strategic fields have also been reviewed as part of the portfolio reorganization. Products belonging to each field are shown in green letters. In the pipe system shown at upper left, we aim to increase sales by maintaining the spread for piping materials, capturing firm capex-related demand in plant piping materials, and focusing on expanding sales of CPVC in India. In building and infrastructure composite materials indicated at upper right, we will strive on capturing new opportunities for thermal insulation and non-combustible materials with new product launches, while for FFU sleepers, we plan to grow in Europe and Australia by expanding our business with potential customers with whom we have made progress in the product acceptance verification process. In the infrastructure renovation business at bottom left, we will work with construction partners to develop new customers overseas while steadily capturing demand for pipeline renewal in Japan, which forms the foundation of our business. Sekisui Aqua System plans to enhance sales in the growing segments, such as panel tank renewal and functional tanks. We will appeal the SDGs element in full for the prioritized products with an aim to increase the sales ratio to 26%. Overseas, we will expand sales mainly in Asia and strengthen our overseas marketing activities to promote prioritized products that have been successful in Japan. This concludes my presentation. Thank you very much for your attention. My name is Hitoshi Kamiwaki, head of business strategy department. I'd like to start my presentation on the medical business. Page 45 shows the business performance trend. In FY22, we achieved sales of 89.7 billion yen, an operating profit of 12.5 billion yen, marking another record high profit following the previous year. In addition to recovery in diagnostic demand in Japan and overseas, increased influenza testing demand in the U.S. contributed to the growth. In the pharmaceutical sciences business, New Pharmaceuticals' ingredients business is making solid contributions. We project sales of 95 billion and opiate of 13.5 billion for FY23. We anticipate the continued recovery in diagnostic demand in Japan or overseas and will focus on expanding sales of new products, aiming to achieve record high profits for the third consecutive year. Page 46 analyzes the financial results for FY22. Sales increased by 1.3 billion yen, with operating profit growing up by 1.3 billion to 12.5 billion yen in line with the January guidance. Diagnostics business in Japan and overseas and pharmaceutical sciences business both achieved profit growth. FX also contributed to another year of record high profit. Next on page 47 is a plan for FY23. Sales are expected to increase by 5.3 billion to 95 billion yen, with OP projected to grow by 1 billion yen to 13.5 billion yen to achieve the third consecutive year of record profits. This is based on an expectation of continued recovery in the diagnostics demand in Japan, as well as a significant increase in overseas diagnostics business, mainly driven by sales expansion of blood coagulation reagents in China and new products in the United States. In the pharmaceutical sciences business, new pharmaceuticals ingredients will continue to contribute to earnings in FY23. As for fixed costs, we plan to invest mainly in human capital, including raising the salary and increase new product development costs such as for genetic testing in the U.S. Page 48 shows the overview of business. For the domestic diagnostics business in the upper left corner, demand for outpatient testing recovered steadily and demand for COVID-19 testing kit was also firm in FY22. In FY23, we have expectations for the growth mainly propelled by clinical chemistry and immunology domain, as well as sales expansion of blood coagulation reagents. In the overseas diagnostics business shown at the top right, blood coagulation reagent business in China contributed significantly to the sales for FY22, as well as the influenza testing kit business in the U.S., for which the demand got strong in the second half. For FY23, we will continue to focus on expanding sales of blood coagulation reagents in China and new products in the U.S. In the pharmaceutical sciences business shown at bottom left, new pharmaceutical ingredients business with a major pharmaceutical company had a huge contribution to the earnings in FY22. In FY23, despite the impact of the termination of contracts with some customers in the enzyme business, we will continue to focus on acquiring new businesses mainly for new pharmaceutical ingredients and realize the fruits of our investments in the new Iwate plant, which started operation in March. Lastly, the new product development trend is shown at the bottom right. New product launches and sales declined in FY22 from FY21 due to a significant impact stemming from the delay in getting the approval for the COVID testing kit in the U.S. For FY23, we project an increase in the new product sales compared to FY22, driven by sales expansion of new products in the U.S. This will conclude my presentation on the medical business. Thank you very much for your attention.