Shin-Etsu Polymer raised its full-year forecasts on 26 October and said semiconductor-related containers and wrapping film should stay strong. Operating profit is now guided at ¥18.2bn, up from ¥16.0bn in the forecast published on 23 July. Prior-year operating profit was ¥14.04bn.
Sales are guided at ¥127.0bn, up from ¥120.0bn, and net profit attributable to owners of the parent at ¥11.8bn, up from ¥10.5bn.
What drove the half
For the six months to September, sales rose 14.4% to ¥64.33bn and operating profit rose 31.6% to ¥9.35bn. Net profit grew more slowly, up 11.2% to ¥6.10bn. The company booked a foreign-exchange loss of ¥464mn, against ¥115mn a year earlier.
The precision-molded products segment carried most of the profit. Its sales rose 16.6% to ¥34.03bn and operating profit rose 21.9% to ¥6.73bn, with demand for semiconductor shipping and in-process containers described as high worldwide. Housing and living materials, where wrapping film kept expanding, more than doubled operating profit to ¥1.63bn, up 109.0%.
The company's own explanation is narrow: it expects containers and film to stay strong, and it did not tie the upgrade to the wider chip cycle.
Dividend
The interim dividend is ¥36 per share, ¥3 above the ¥33 previously forecast and ¥6 above the ¥30 paid a year earlier. The year-end forecast also rises ¥3 to ¥36, giving an annual ¥72. That is ¥6 above the prior forecast of ¥66 and ¥10 above last year's ¥62. The interim payment takes effect on 26 November.
The interim results are not covered by an auditor review, and the company says actual results may differ from the forecasts. An analyst briefing is scheduled for 6 November.