Air Water closed FY2014 account with sales increased by 3.0%, operating profit by 3.0%, ordinary profit by 5.2% and the net profit for the term by 7.7% over the previous term.

Although the company experienced difficulty to obtain profits in the principal segments due to such backdrops as weakened yen, worsening of crude oil market, unseasonable weather or the price hike of electricity, the ordinary profit increased helped by the miscellaneous profit including the refunded surcharge, resulting in the accomplishment of profit increase for the consecutive 12 terms. The year-end dividend increased by JPY2 bringing the full-year dividend to JPY28.

As for the industrial gas-related segment, despite the quantitative growth following the recovered economy from the previous year, the rate-hike of electricity resulted in the sales increase by 7.0% but the ordinary profit decrease by 3.0%. The increase of electricity cost amounted to about JPY900 million in 2014.

The capital investments for the term amounted to JPY32billion and the depreciation to JPY25.2 billion. In the coming fiscal year there will be an addition of JPY12 billion including the major project of liquid carbon dioxide plant at Kawasaki.

In 2015 the company expects a sales amount of JPY700 billion (up by 6.0%), operating profit of JPY 40 billion (up 10.7%), ordinary profit of 42 billion (up 10.1%) and net profit for the term of 23 billion (up 11.1%). In the industrial gas segment sales is expected to increase by 0.4% and the ordinary profit to increase by 8.6%, while in the medical segment, sales is expected to increase by 18.3% and the ordinary earning to increase by 31%.

Yasuo Imai, president commented, “We have included an expansion plan including M&A as well as the hospital facilities which stagnated during the previous term.” In addition, the company intends to tackle actively to offset the electricity cost by such a means as the biomass mixed-combustion power generation in alliance with Chugoku Electric Company.

Regarding M&A, the Public Relations Department told that it was regrettable there was few implementation of M&A in the year of 2014. Despite the prepared budget in the amount of JPY20 billion, only JPY3.6 billion was put into implementation, and that there will be some projects coming out in the year of 2015.

Yasuo Imai, president commented, “There surely exist some factors to worry like the rise of cost caused by devalued yen or power rate hike, but on the other hand, we see the trend of gradual recovery and moves toward capital investments among industries. We would like to catch hold of the opportunities surely. This term is the last year of the corporate business plan NEXT-2020 Ver.2. We do wish to go ahead more powerfully to wrap up in a perfect way.”