Tokyo Electron Device (TSE: 2760), the chip and IT-equipment distributor, raised its forecast for the year to March 2027 on 28 October, pointing to orders that include customers' advance purchasing and run above its original assumptions.
What moved
The company now expects sales of ¥270bn, up from the ¥240bn it published on 29 July. Ordinary profit is guided to ¥16.0bn (previously ¥13.6bn) and net profit attributable to owners of the parent to ¥11.0bn (previously ¥9.4bn). Earnings per share are forecast at ¥373.78, against ¥318.26 before.
Orders are not sales
In the six months to 30 September, orders totalled ¥199.5bn, against sales of ¥126.0bn, and order backlog stood at ¥219.7bn. The semiconductor and electronic devices segment accounted for ¥164.8bn of orders and ¥151.4bn of backlog. That backlog is not yet revenue. The company said that in some products supplier deliveries are taking time, and that the effect of longer lead times on results needs watching.
The interim report says AI-related demand is lengthening product lead times and lifting prices in that segment, and that customers' advance ordering is continuing. Segment sales were ¥104.3bn, up 35.3% from a year earlier.
The balance-sheet cost
Holding stock for those customers has absorbed cash. Inventory rose ¥15.7bn in the half, and operating cash flow was an outflow of ¥4.8bn. Goods and products on the balance sheet reached ¥61.9bn, from ¥46.7bn at the end of March.
Dividend
Using its 40% consolidated payout guide, the board set an interim dividend of ¥69 a share and lifted the year-end forecast to ¥82, for a full-year ¥151 against the earlier ¥129.
The company says its forecasts rest on information and assumptions available now and are not a promise of results.