Rorze's operating profit rose 42.4% to ¥23.1bn in the six months to 31 August 2026, on sales of ¥79.7bn, up 21.5%, according to its half-year report. The wafer-handling equipment maker also closed a US patent suit that had left a provision on its books, and the report separates what the settlement cost in cash from what it cost in earnings. (Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage)
Sales and profit
Net profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥15.839bn, up 45.7%. Ordinary profit rose 68.4% to ¥24.538bn, which the company said was also affected by exchange rates. The income statement shows a ¥1.589bn foreign-exchange gain, against a ¥2.368bn exchange loss a year earlier.
The semiconductor and flat-panel-display equipment segment supplied nearly all of the sales, at ¥79.357bn, up 21.6%, with segment profit of ¥23.969bn, up 43.0%. The small life-science unit had sales of ¥376mn and a segment loss of ¥147mn.
Rorze attributes the strength to the industry. Its report says the global semiconductor industry was strong, the data-center market grew rapidly, and chipmakers invested actively in manufacturing equipment. It expects demand tied to generative AI and semiconductors to keep expanding. Those are the company's own explanations. By customer location, segment sales to the US were ¥23.888bn, against ¥15.463bn in the year-earlier half.
The settlement: cash out, smaller charge
Rorze and its US subsidiary, Rorze Automation, Inc., were sued in the US on 30 August 2022 over alleged infringement of the plaintiff's US patent. A jury verdict came on 13 March 2026, and the parties signed a settlement agreement on 3 August 2026.
The cash-flow statement shows a ¥9.587bn settlement payment, a main reason operating cash flow fell to ¥8.730bn from ¥12.868bn a year earlier. The charge to earnings was smaller. Rorze had booked a litigation-loss provision in its results for the year to February 2026, and that provision stood at ¥7.429bn before disappearing from the balance sheet. The ¥2.158bn special loss is the difference between the provision and the payment, so the two figures describe the same settlement and should not be added together.
The settlement terms are confidential under the agreement, and the report does not name the plaintiff. Rorze says the suit is finally resolved and will not affect future business activity.
China capacity
The report also records a post-period event. Rorze's board resolved on 24 August 2026 to have its Shanghai-based subsidiary, RORZE CREATECH CO., LTD., set up a subsidiary of its own. Rorze Createch Precision Technology was established on 1 September 2026 with capital of 20mn yuan (about ¥476mn). It will produce, develop and sell automated wafer-transfer equipment.
Rorze cites rising demand for chip equipment in China and calls expanding production capacity at another Shanghai subsidiary, RORZE CREATECH SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT CO., LTD., urgent. The new company's business activity is planned from next spring, so the report calls the effect on current-year consolidated results minor. Establishment does not mean production has started.