Ibiden's electronics division earned ¥50.0bn in operating profit in the six months to September 2026, up 96.7% from a year earlier, on sales of ¥172.5bn, up 52.0%. The company's half-year report also sets out the planned ¥151bn capacity expansion. For the earlier write-up of that plan, see Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage.
What the half year added
Group sales for the six months to September were ¥262.5bn, up 34.3% from ¥195.5bn a year earlier. Operating profit rose 84.6% to ¥60.1bn, and net profit attributable to shareholders rose 74.8% to ¥38.6bn.
Ibiden credits electronics demand for high-function IC package substrates, used in generative-AI servers and general-purpose servers, which it described as generally firm. It also cites steady output at the Ono plant, which began mass production last fiscal year, and a weaker yen.
The ceramics division was a distant second. Sales rose 16.3% to ¥46.2bn and operating profit rose 40.4% to ¥5.4bn. Within it, catalytic-converter holding and sealing material (AFP) saw operating profit fall because of higher material prices, even as sales rose with car volumes.
The capacity commitment
Ibiden plans to spend about ¥151bn, centred on the Cell6 factory building at its Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, site and on other overseas plants. The stated aim is more capacity for high-function IC package substrates, mainly for AI servers. The company says the investment will go to substrates for CPUs, and it expects demand to grow as AI moves from training to inference and then to agent-based AI.
The capacity is planned, not operating. Ibiden says it will start up in stages from fiscal 2029, with mass production to begin then, and that the effect on this fiscal year's consolidated results is minor.
Cash flow needs a careful read
Operating cash flow was ¥193.2bn, against ¥36.7bn in the same period a year earlier. Ibiden attributes the jump mainly to advances received turning from a decrease to an increase, and to higher pretax profit. Advances received rose by ¥118.8bn over the half year, to ¥199.7bn on the balance sheet, which lifted total liabilities 28.2% from March. Advances are not sales and are not earnings. The report does not say who paid them or how they will be recognised.
Spending on property, plant and equipment was ¥48.3bn in the half year, down from ¥59.6bn a year earlier. Construction in progress stood at ¥126.2bn at the end of September, and cash and equivalents at ¥417.7bn.