Resonac Holdings raised its full-year core operating profit forecast to ¥250bn on 11 November, from ¥196bn in the guidance it gave on 6 August. In the same revision it cut operating profit to ¥115bn from ¥160bn and profit attributable to owners to ¥75bn from ¥112.5bn. The company says the upgrade rests mainly on continued strong demand for advanced semiconductors in its semiconductor and electronic materials segment. The lower profit lines factor in losses as a strategic option for the graphite-electrode business takes concrete shape.
| Metric | 6 August forecast | 11 November forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥1.165tn | ¥1.235tn | +6.01% |
| Core operating profit | ¥196bn | ¥250bn | +27.55% |
| Operating profit | ¥160bn | ¥115bn | -28.13% |
| Profit attributable to owners | ¥112.5bn | ¥75bn | -33.33% |
Why the two numbers diverge
Core operating profit is operating profit stripped of non-recurring items: other income, other expenses and impairment losses. The earnings presentation shows where the gap sits. Non-recurring items are now forecast at a ¥135.0bn loss, against ¥36.0bn in August, and the graphite-electrode strategic-option loss accounts for ¥99.0bn of that change. Nine-month non-recurring items were a ¥15.8bn loss, so the forecast puts ¥120.5bn of them in the second half.
The revision notice does not say what the strategic option is. It says the revised forecast incorporates losses tied to the option taking shape, and it does not describe a completed sale.
The chip-materials engine
For the semiconductor and electronic materials segment, the full-year forecast is now ¥735bn of revenue (from ¥668bn) and ¥248bn of core operating profit (from ¥195bn). Over the first nine months the segment earned ¥158.6bn of core operating profit on ¥500.8bn of revenue, against ¥74.0bn a year earlier. In the July to September quarter the segment's core operating profit was ¥77.1bn on ¥201.8bn of revenue. The chief financial officer's slides call it a record for a single quarter.
Back-end materials drove the gain: their nine-month revenue rose 56%, which the company attributes mainly to higher volumes for advanced chips such as those used in AI. Rising raw material prices worked against it, leaving cost variance a ¥34.6bn drag on group core operating profit.
Graphite and the spin-off
Graphite is also the improving part of the chemicals segment. Graphite revenue rose 18% to ¥70.3bn for the nine months as electrode volumes recovered, and restructuring narrowed the losses. The segment moved to ¥1.5bn of core operating profit from a ¥7.4bn loss.
The comparison base has also shifted. Resonac completed a partial spin-off of its petrochemicals subsidiary on 1 October and now treats it as a discontinued operation, with prior-year figures restated. Revenue and the operating lines cover continuing businesses only, while attributable profit includes discontinued operations. Nine-month attributable profit was ¥94.6bn, against ¥6.0bn a year earlier, after an ¥8.8bn loss from discontinued operations that includes an impairment of ¥11.6bn.
The full-year forecast for basic earnings per share fell to ¥403.86 from ¥605.80, and the dividend forecast stays at ¥65. After the in-kind dividend, Resonac holds 18.57% of the petrochemicals unit, and it says the gain or loss from losing control is not material.