Showa Denko (SDK)’s fiscal account closing Dec. 2018 marked 27.1% more sales than last year with operating income up 131.6%, ordinary profit up 180.0% and the net profit for the term up 198.1%. The main factor of the substantial increase in profit was the satisfactory outcome in the graphite electrode business particularly in the field of inorganics.
Influenced by the enhanced environmental restrictions in China, the production of electric steel increased also in other countries than China, which raised the world demand of graphite electrode. SKD rode the crest of such a boom resulting in the increased output and sales of graphite electrode. SDK’s sales of the segment amounted to JPY266.149 billion up 262.4% of the last term with an operating income amounting to JPY132.445 billion which was an increase by JPY125.466 billion.
　In the field of the chemical segments including high-purity gases for electronics and the carbon/dry ice business, there was a growth in the sales of high-purity gases for semiconductor and display panels above all. In the carbon/dry ice business they caught up with the strong demand with good efforts in procurement. The result of the segment as a whole was a sales of JPY156.541 billion up 5.2% with an operating income amounting to JPY17.393 billion up 5.6%.
　As for the forecast of the next fiscal term, the sales at the end of the second quarter is anticipated to amount to JPY520 billion, up 14.1%, with an operating income of JPY91 billion up 16.9% and an ordinary profit of JPY90.5 billion up 16.7%. The profit of the fourth quarter is forecast to be JPY63 billion with an increase of 8.7%. Throughout the year an expected sales is JPY1.1 trillion up 10.9% with an operating income of JPN190 billion up 5.6%, ordinary income of JPY185 billion up 3.5% and the profit for the term of JPY120 billion up 7.6%.