“Closings for the first quarter of FY2013 (Apr.-Jun.) for the 4 leading Japanese industrial gas producers, including Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Air Water, Koatsu Gas Kogyo, and Iwatani, have been disclosed. The total amount of sales of these 4 producers came to 410.1 billion yen, being basically flat compared to the previous year. Ordinary profit came to 18.2 billion yen, down by around 15%, and net profit came to 7.8 billion yen, down by around 30%.

The total amount of sales of the 4 producers has been increasing since 2010. However, the slump among the main domestic users such as those in the electronics sector put a brake on the growth of the industrial gas industry as was shown by the decrease in the earnings of Taiyo Nippon Sanso.”