Shikoku Kasei Holdings raised its full-year profit outlook on August 12, after a specialty chemical used in AI server circuit boards drove record first-half earnings.
For the six months to June 30, 2026, sales at the Kagawa-based group rose 34.1% year-on-year to ¥45.84bn, operating profit jumped 79.7% to ¥9.44bn, and net profit attributable to shareholders climbed 78.7% to ¥6.66bn, all interim-period records. Almost the entire gain came from the chemicals division, where sales rose 46.5% to ¥35.79bn and segment profit rose 76.7% to ¥8.98bn.
Management credited GliCAP, an adhesion-promoting chemical process used on server circuit boards, and separate semiconductor process materials, both of which saw strong overseas orders as AI infrastructure spending accelerated. Building materials, the company's other segment, grew more slowly: sales rose 3.9% to ¥9.53bn and segment profit rose to ¥313mn from a thin ¥66mn base a year earlier, helped by price increases and a wall-material acquisition even as new housing starts kept falling.
Guidance rises again
Citing that chemicals momentum, Shikoku Kasei lifted its full-year forecast to sales of ¥94.0bn and operating profit of ¥18.0bn, a 25% increase from its previous guide issued in May.
| Metric | Previous forecast | Revised forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | ¥88.0bn | ¥94.0bn | +6.8% |
| Operating profit | ¥14.4bn | ¥18.0bn | +25.0% |
| Ordinary profit | ¥14.5bn | ¥18.4bn | +26.9% |
| Net profit | ¥10.0bn | ¥12.6bn | +26.0% |
Building materials remains the soft spot inside the upgrade: management said the segment's own sales are tracking below plan because of falling housing starts and higher aluminum prices, even as the group total rises.
Dividend up, but not fully paid out yet
The board resolved at its August 12 meeting to pay an interim dividend of ¥30 per share, on a pre-split basis, to shareholders of record on June 30, with payment starting September 4. Separately, it raised the year-end dividend forecast to ¥25 per share on a post-split basis, equivalent to ¥50 pre-split, up from a prior guide of ¥15 post-split (¥30 pre-split). Combined, the projected full-year payout works out to ¥80 per share on a pre-split-equivalent basis, up from ¥60 previously and above the ¥55 total paid for the year to December 2025. The company split its stock two-for-one effective July 1, 2026, which is why the year-end figure is quoted on both bases.
The company also broadened its raw-material supply during the half, completing a ¥4.68bn cash acquisition of Indonesian chemical maker PT Timuraya Tunggal in February. One caveat sits outside the headline numbers: the upgraded guidance excludes any effect from a possible sale of Shikoku Kasei's stake in Taiyo Holdings, a fellow electronics-materials maker that is the target of a separate tender offer; the company said it has not decided whether to tender its shares.