Zojirushi reported a stronger first half to May 20, but the more consequential message for investors was what did not move: the company left its full-year sales, profit and dividend targets unchanged even as it said recent trading had been running above assumptions.
Revenue rose 2.2 per cent to ¥51.21bn, operating profit increased 7.0 per cent to ¥5.21bn, ordinary profit climbed 8.5 per cent to ¥5.49bn and net profit attributable to owners of the parent edged up 3.9 per cent to ¥3.53bn. Domestic sales grew 4.5 per cent to ¥33.65bn, while overseas sales slipped 2.1 per cent to ¥17.56bn, leaving international revenue at 34.3 per cent of the total. Zojirushi said premium products such as its top-end pressure IH rice cookers sold well in Japan, and humidifier demand also helped. The softer spots were stainless-steel mugs and overseas rice-cooker sales in North America and China.
The balance-sheet update was firmer than the top line. Total assets edged up to ¥119.46bn and net assets increased to ¥92.05bn, lifting the equity ratio to 76.3 per cent from 75.0 per cent at the last year-end. The company said fixed assets rose mainly because buildings and structures, investment securities and lease assets increased, while total liabilities fell by ¥1.33bn.
Even so, management held to its forecast for the full year ending November 20: sales of ¥92.5bn, operating profit of ¥6.6bn, ordinary profit of ¥7.1bn and net profit of ¥4.8bn. It also left the annual dividend forecast at ¥46 per share, with an interim payout of ¥23 and no revision to the year-end plan.
The company gave a fairly direct reason for the steady guidance. Zojirushi said recent performance has been running ahead of expectations, but it chose to keep the annual outlook in place after taking a careful view on higher naphtha and other raw-material costs tied to Middle East tensions, plus added costs from a weaker yen. It also changed its assumed dollar rate to ¥155 from the ¥145 it used when it published the forecast in December. One more variable remains outside the numbers for now: a US subsidiary has applied for tariff refunds, but Zojirushi said the outcome, amount and timing are all uncertain, so none of that has been built into the current-year outlook.