“Owing to the consolidation in the first half of this year of the beverage packer which AWI bought in the second half of last year, the sales increased by 21.9%, operating profit up by 13.4%, ordinary profit up by 10.1% and the net income up by 21.6% for the fourth quarter. With the successful four consecutive-term increase in sales and profit after the Lehman Shock, Yasuo Imai president is confident enough to say, “We aim to attain 11 consecutive-term increase in ordinary income at the starting year of the New Mid-term Management Plan.” In all segments AWI attained increases in sales, but marked a profit decrease only in the field related to industrial gases.

In the industrial gas business the sales was up by 5.1% but the ordinary income down by 14.3%. There were increases in oxygen and nitrogen for the on-site requirements of blast furnaces, while there were also increases in the carbon dioxide and dry ice brought from the demand by the newly-opened plant. However, the negative factor of sales decrease in argon, hydrogen LO and LIN (supplied by tank trucks) could not be controlled, which was followed by the cost hike by over 400 million of electricity cost. Ultimately they resulted in the decrease in profit.

As for the other segments, the sales in the chemical field was up by 2.0% with the ordinary profit up by 7.0%. The sales in the medical field was up by 46.0% with the ordinary profit up by 16.9%. Although the construction of hospital facilities and piping construction declined slightly, there was an increase by 14% over last year in the construction of operating rooms and ICU facilities.

In the energy business field, the sales was up by 6.7% with the ordinary profit up by 16.5%. The agriculture and food business established last year grew well to mark the sales of 36.8 billion with the ordinary profit of 2.1 billion.

A full-year forecast is set at a sales of 630 billion with an addition of 30 billion to the figures expected at the beginning of term, with an ordinary profit of 36 billion and net profit for the term of 19 billion.

Explaining the upward adjustment, president Imai said, “The declining trend has come to an end in the industrial gas field, and a ripple of recovery is spreading from the East to the western part of Japan now.” He also pointed out an expected contribution to profits of M&A projects related to the medical, agricultural and food businesses.

With regard to the overseas business, he expressed his hope to diffuse a business model of Air Water style along with the start of on-site operation at the Vietnamese steelmaking project scheduled in April of next year.”