Nippon Sheet Glass turned a profit in the quarter to June, a modest but notable reversal for a company in the middle of taking itself private. Revenue rose 17.2% to ¥246.3bn and operating profit climbed 28.5% to ¥8.8bn, driven mainly by a weaker yen and stronger automotive glass sales in local currencies. Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at ¥186mn, against a ¥154mn loss a year earlier.
The segment picture is mixed. Automotive glass, 54% of group sales, grew revenue to ¥132.7bn but operating profit fell to ¥1.2bn from ¥2.4bn, hit by rising labour costs and continued production inefficiency in North America. Architectural glass, 41% of sales, fared better: operating profit rose to ¥8.7bn from ¥6.7bn, helped by improved profitability and higher sales volumes of solar-panel glass. High-performance glass, the smallest segment at 5% of sales, posted an operating profit gain to ¥2.2bn from ¥1.3bn. Full-year guidance is unchanged, at ¥880bn in revenue and ¥36bn in operating profit.
The more consequential news sits in the disclosure's fine print. Nippon Sheet Glass is going private with backing from Apollo funds, a plan first announced on March 24, 2026. The mechanics have two separate pieces: Apollo funds are injecting roughly ¥165bn through a third-party share allotment, while major lenders are separately converting about ¥140bn of debt into equity through a quasi-debt-for-equity swap. Shareholders approved the required resolutions, including a share consolidation, at the June 26 annual meeting. The remaining steps, delisting, full share consolidation, and completion of the debt-to-equity swap, are now conditional on approvals from relevant authorities. The company still targets completion within the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2027, but has flagged that the timing could shift depending on when those approvals come through.
For a company that spent last year working through weak Japanese demand and North American production drag, the modest profit recovery is a side note. The buyout timetable is the story that matters to anyone holding the stock through delisting.