The sales revenue increased by 2.0% with the operating profit up 9.8% in comparison with last year, which brought an increase in the profit for the term attributable to the owner of the parent company by 10.5%. The company accomplished the record-high performance owning to the thriving industrial gas business abroad in addition to the price revision in the industrial gas and salt businesses for commercial use. The year-end dividend rose to 34 yen which is 4 yen more than the one set in the beginning. Combing with the mid-term dividend of 30 yen, a total dividend of full year was determined at 64 yen. 　

The sales revenue of Digital & Industry increased by 0.4% with the operating profit up 28.5%. The sales revenue of industrial gases amounted to 5.7 billion yen with the operating profit increased by 7.9billion yen because of the effect of price revision and the recovery in the sales of CO2 which had suffered stagnation due to the difficulty of procurement last year.

Though the electronics business suffered in the sales of heat controller for semiconductor equipment manufacturers, the on-site gas supply for the major plants and the sales of chemical supply equipment remained stable.

The sales revenue of the Energy Solutions segment decreased by 3.8% with the operating profit down 5.1%. It was influenced by the drop of LP gas price related to the market situation. The sales of LNG tankers and satellite facilities sold well because of the active proposal of fuel conversion from heavy oil to LNG.

The sales revenue of Health & Safety segment decreased by 2.2% with the operating income down 2.6%. It was greatly influenced by the backlash of the emergency demand for oxygen concentrators and sanitary materials caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The disaster prevention business remained steady as seen in the gas distinguishing facilities for data center.

The Agriculture & Foods segment increased the sales revenue by 6.4% with the operating profit up 25.4%. There was an increase in the consigned production of beverage and the new consolidation of a fresh food wholesaler contributed effectively. As for the miscellaneous business consisting of logistics, Nihon Kaisui, overseas and electricity, the sales revenue increased by 7.8% with the operating profit up 110.3%.

In India and North America, the sales of industrial gases grew well. In North America there was a continual demand for hydrogen-related equipment. Also, there was an additional sales revenue of newly consolidated Phoenix Welding Supply of gas and welding material distributor and American Gas Products which is engaged in the helium business. The high-output UPS (uninterruptible power source) now free from any delayed construction turned out to be steady being blessed with a large-scaled order. The term-end dividend was raised by 4 yen up to 34 yen making the year-end dividend 64 yen in total including the mid-term one of 30 yen.

In terms of full-year result comparing with the previous year, the sales revenue increased by 7.4% amounting to 1.1 trillion yen with the operating profit up 14.2% amounting to 78 billion yen, and the year-end profit attributable to the parent company’s owner is forecasted to increase by 12.7% amounting to 50 billion yen. The Digital & Industry segment out of it is estimated to have increased the sales revenue by 6.1% amounting to 360 billion yen with the operating profit up 13.2% amounting 38 billion yen. In contrast with the thriving overseas gas business, the domestic demand for gases remained weak as a whole again in 2023.

President Ryosuke Matsubayashi described to assure his policy saying, “The condition is anticipated to remain flat or slightly upward. In our country, however, there exist exploitable fields for us like carbon-neutral development, while we can also aim to seek expansion in our helium business for which we have had only an inadequate share in the market. To implement our own unique approach, we would like to explore to find out needs for which we can fully utilize our business power related to gases especially in connection with the Agriculture & Food fields which we have fostered to bring up for a new pillar of our business, including for example the long-term storage of agricultural produces or the freshness preservation of foods.”