Mitsubishi Materials raised its consolidated forecast for the year to March 2027 and now expects operating profit of ¥165bn, up from ¥130bn in its August 6 forecast. The increase is 26.9% forecast-to-forecast.
What moved
Ordinary profit is now forecast at ¥220bn (previously ¥180bn), net profit at ¥160bn (¥140bn) and sales at ¥2.45tn (¥2.4tn). The company attributes the revision mainly to higher tungsten and copper prices in the first half, repricing of carbide products and higher sales volumes of semiconductor-related products.
In the company's supplementary presentation, the bridge for the ¥40bn ordinary-profit increase credits carbide-product repricing with ¥20.1bn and a tungsten raw-material price gap with ¥24.2bn. Higher raw-material costs for carbide products take back ¥12.4bn. High-performance products, the unit tied to semiconductor demand, add ¥1.8bn from volume.
The second half is lighter
The presentation expects ordinary profit of ¥62bn in the second half, against ¥157.9bn in the first half, as one-off first-half gains fall away and a Naoshima smelter expansion weighs on the fourth quarter. It also cuts its tungsten intermediate (APT) price assumption to $2,773 per MTU from $3,017, and notes signs of adjustment in APT prices.
Dividend unchanged
The annual dividend forecast stays at ¥116 per share, in line with a policy of about 2.5% of prior-year-end shareholders' equity. The company says shareholder returns will be decided after it reviews its investment plans and financial discipline.
The company cautions that the forecasts rest on conditions as of the announcement date and may differ from actual results.