Although there was a negative factor of the loss amounting to 1.6 billion yen attributable to the market condition of LP gas, all of the four business fields represented by the material business renewed the record highest performances for the financial year 2Q term in sales and profits, showing the increase of sales by 39.1% with the operating income up 6% and the ordinary profit up 11.6%.

The Energy sector increased sales by 35.6% thanks to the effect of new consolidation in the midst of the uprising trend of the import price of LP gas, but suffered a decrease by 27.4% in the operating income due to the aforementioned market condition.

The Industrial Gases & Machinery business increased sales by 22.2% with the operating income up 8.8% with the increase in the sales volume of liquid hydrogen although there was a rise in the production cost caused by the increase in electricity cost. The sold volume of liquid hydrogen was 38 million m3.

There were nine cases of obtaining new customers during the term. Five cases out of them were related to the energy verification in anticipation of decarbonization. President Hiroshi Majima said, “Hydrogen is beginning to be utilized as a fuel such as boiler and raw material for methanation.”
The sales volume of air separation gases was affected by the output adjustment in the automobile industries at home and abroad, and so oxygen, nitrogen and argon resulted in less volume than last year.
　
The material business secured a stable supply in the midst of the booming market condition of mineral sand as the major item, with a substantial increase in sales by 70.2% and operating income by 95.3%.
The natural industry business increased sales by 22.7% with the operating income down 71.5%.
　
Regarding a full term forecast, Iwatani has made an upward revision of the earlier forecast foreseeing a steady movement by each business field covering the negative portion to be caused by the time gap of LP gas import prices. The revised forecast is an increase in sales by 21.7% amounting to 840 billion yen with an operating income down 0.2% amounting to 40 billion yen, ordinary profit up 0.2% amounting to 46.5 billion yen and the profit for the term up 0.1% amounting to 30 billion yen.