Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended Mar. 2015
Business Highlights
Financial Overview |
(in millions of JPY) |
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 | Rate of Change (%) | Factors | |
Overall | ||||
Sales | 359,840 | 329,292 | 9.3 | -Sales and operating income increased year-on-year. The Company worked on developing new products that best meet the needs of the global market, stepped up its marketing efforts to win more contracts, while expanding production capacity. It also boosted productivity by dramatically streamlining both its production processes and administrative operations. |
Operating income | 38,054 | 36,864 | 3.2 | |
Ordinary income | 40,610 | 40,097 | 1.3 | - |
Net income | 25,198 | 24,345 | 3.5 | - |
Automotive products | ||||
Sales | 270,223 | 244,030 | 10.7 | -Sales and operating income increased year-on-year. Its performance was supported by growth in vehicle sales in the Americas, and a rise in motorcycles sales in Asia. |
Operating income | 24,780 | 26,889 | (7.8) | -Production became disorganized due to the convergence of too many launches of new models at some of the Chinese production plants. -Soaring costs of raw materials in Indonesia due to the weak rupiah. -Lower production volumes by customers in Japan and China. |
Electronic Components | ||||
Sales | 31,512 | 29,500 | 6.8 | -Sales and operating income increased year-on-year thanks to a rise in sales of LED and LCD products for automobiles. |
Operating income | 5,765 | 5,144 | 12.1 | |
Applied Electronic Products | ||||
Sales | 57,914 | 55,291 | 4.7 | -Sales and operating income increased year-on-year due to growth in sales of in-vehicle control panels. |
Operating income | 5,086 | 4,850 | 4.9 |
New Plant in Miyagi Prefecture
-In April 2014, the Company announced that it relocate its wholly owned subsidiary in Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, Stanley Miyagi Works Co., Ltd., and build a new production plant, reorganizing and expanding the operations. Construction of the new production plant started in September 2014, with plans to launch operations in September 2015. The Company invested JPY 3.8 billion in the subsidiary, which produces LED lighting, optical lens sheets, ultra-thin light-guiding panels, and other electronic products. In the future the new plant will produce automotive lighting.
New production plant in Mexico
-In April 2014, the Company established Stanley Electric Manufacturing Mexico S.A. de C.V., as subsidiary in the state of Jalisco to produce and sell automotive lamps and electronic products. The plant premises are 100,000 square meters and the plant building is 15,000 square meters. The subsidiary is capitalized at MXN 665 million (JPY 5.2 billion), with the Company investing 70% and Stanley Electric Holding of America investing 30%. The Mexican plant is scheduled to launch operations in the summer of 2016. Its annual capacity will be 240,000 units initially, which will gradually increase. The plant is being built first to respond to the growth in automotive production in Mexico. In the future, anticipating further, continued growth in the North American region, the plant could possibly supply products to the U.S. The plant targets sales of JPY 1.0 billion in FY 2016 and JPY 3.3 billion in FY 2017.
Establish Design and Development Company in China
-The Company will establish a new company dedicated to design and development of automotive lights in Tianjin, China, in August 2015. This is the first time for the company to set up a subsidiary specialized in design and development. The specialized development base will act to make the company more responsive to the needs of Japanese automakers in China. The new company is capitalized at USD 34 million (JPY 4.1 billion) and fully owned by Stanley Electric. The engineering division of Tianjin Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. will be separated to establish the new company at a site neighboring Tianjin Stanley Electric. The new subsidiary will be in charge of designing mainly headlights and tail lamps. It will also manufacture and sell dies for the lamps. It's expected to generate sales of JPY 2.3 billion in the initial fiscal year to end in March 2016 and JPY 2.7 billion in the next fiscal year. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on June 30, 2015)
The Fifth Medium-term Three Year Business Plan (April 2014 through March 2017)
1. Setting up a System for Managing Cash-flow | -All Group companies are to generate cash regardless of what environmental circumstances they face, creating a framework to make effective use of the cash they created for the future growth of the Group. -Maximize cash generated through sales activities and enhance corporate value based on a solid financial structure. |
2. Growing and Expanding into New Business Areas | -Raise the level of market information, and the analysis of such, to stay ahead of future developments. -Effectively execute schemes for “company-wide innovation” that is the basis of creating new products and businesses. |
Outlook for FY ending Mar 31, 2016 |
(in millions of JPY) |
FY ending Mar 31, 2016 (Estimate) |
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 (Result) |
Rate of Change (%) |
|
Sales | 375,000 | 359,840 | 4.2 |
Operating income | 43,000 | 38,054 | 13.0 |
Ordinary income | 46,000 | 40,610 | 13.3 |
Net income | 28,000 | 25,198 | 11.1 |
>>>Financial Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (Sales, Operating Income etc.)
R&D Expenditure |
(in millions of JPY) |
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 | |
Overall | 5,513 | 5,346 | 5,479 |
Automotive products | 3,044 | 2,367 | 1,865 |
Electronic Components | 1,794 | 2,476 | 2,619 |
Applied Electronic Products | 578 | 361 | 724 |
Others | 95 | 141 | 269 |
R&D Facilities
Name of Facilities | Location |
Research & Development Laboratory | Yokohama City, Kanagawa Pref., Japan |
Utsunomiya Technical Center | Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Pref., Japan |
Yokohama Technical Center | Yokohama City, Kanagawa Pref., Japan |
Opto Technical Center | Yokohama City, Kanagawa Pref., Japan |
Product Development
Laser headlamp
-The Company will launch a new laser headlamp that uses a laser light source in 2017. The new headlamp will achieve a high beam range of up to 310 meters, which is about 1.7 times that of a LED headlamp. The Company has almost finished developing the expected performance of the new headlamp. From now on, the Company will increase durability and other aspects to commercialize the new product. The Company regards the new product as a next-generation headlamp system which will offer greater safety and enable early detection of obstacles in front of a vehicle, and will widely propose it to auto manufacturers. Stanley Electric has been developing laser light source as a headlamp light source following the LED. With improvements in reflection and other technologies, the new headlamp will feature increased area of illumination and other performances that are suitable for automotive headlamp systems. Only the laser light source is used to emit high beams while the laser and LED light sources are combined to emit low beams. The new headlamp has substantially increased its low beam range from 115 meters with only the LED light source to 170 meters when the laser and LED light sources are combined. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 25, 2014)
Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB)
-In October 2014, the Company announced that it had developed an adaptive driving beam (ADB), a headlight that controls high-beam light distribution by turning off and on the LED light sources. ADB is an LED headlight system based on high-beams, and is designed to improve visibility at night. Based on information coming from an onboard camera, it can change high-beam light distribution by only controlling the turning on and off of the LED light source. Since no component parts are in the unit, headlights can be made smaller, lighter, and less costly. In addition, based on the Company's proprietary technology for turning on and off LED lighting, the ADB unit can turn on and off the lighting naturally, without giving the driver any sort of awkward sensation or strain. This product won the runner-up grand prize in the social-innovation segment in the CEATEC Japan Award. (from October 7, 2014 and October 10, 2014 Automotive Daily news articles)
Head-up display (HUD) adopting the Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
-The Company plans to launch a head-up display (HUD) adopting the Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) in 2017. The Company developed MEMS mirror in-house and combined it with lasers produced by another company, in order to make an optical module for the new HUD. Compared to conventional HUDs which use liquid crystal displays as light sources, Stanley's new HUD will be smaller in size and consume much less electricity. Since HUDs are expected to prevail in the future, Stanley intends to market its value-added product as a next-generation HUD to automakers. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 9, 2014)
R&D Activities
-The Company, through its R&D Center, Production Technology Center, and Design Technology Center, is working to sustain and improve lighting technology to make it the highest level in the world, working under the concept of the "five lights", i.e., creating light, detecting/sensing light, freely mastering information on light, making use of light energy, and directing light.
1) Optoelectronics area
-High power white LEDs
-High power red/infrared LEDs
-High speed sensitive image sensors
2) Display area
-Super-high contrast LCDs
-Optical micro-scanners
-Display drive circuits
3) Source of light and illumination area
-Automotive lamps
-LED street lightings and indoor lightings
-Lighting power circuits and power sources
4) Software area
-Distribution light simulation systems
-Optical device optimal design tools
5) Materials and processing area
6) Styling and design of all products
7) Products utilizing above devices and technology
Technology Licensing-in Agreement |
(As of Mar. 31, 2015) |
Partner | Technology | Period |
Hitachi Ltd. | Patent on LCD | Validity period of the patent |
Nichia Corporation | Patent on White LED | Validity period of the patent |
OSRAM GmbH | Patent on White LED | Validity period of the patent |
Technology Licensing-out Agreement |
(As of Mar. 31, 2015) |
Partner | Content | Term |
Thai Stanley electric Public Co., Ltd. (Thailand) | Technology related to automotive lamps | April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2018 |
SL Lighting Corporation (Korea) | Technology related to automotive lamps | April 1, 2014 - March 31, 2017 |
Lumax Industries Ltd. (India) | Technology related to automotive lamps | April 1, 2015 - March 31, 2016 |
Capital Expenditure |
(in millions of JPY) |
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 | |
Overall | 38,834 | 27,652 | 31,164 |
-Automotive products | 28,531 | 19,054 | 23,767 |
-Electronic Components | 3,413 | 2,918 | 2,418 |
-Applied Electronic Products | 3,012 | 1,998 | 1,416 |
-Others | 125 | 31 | 281 |
-The Company announced that it would relocate Stanley Miyagi Works Co., Ltd., located in Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, and build a new production plant. Construction of the plant started in September 2014, with operations scheduled to begin in September 2015.
-The Company established Stanley Electric Manufacturing Mexico S.A. de C.V., which is scheduled to launch operations in the summer of 2016. It will produce and sell automotive lamps and electronic products.
Plans for New Production Facilities |
(As of Mar. 31, 2015) |
Name (Location) |
Type of facility | Total amount (in millions of JPY) |
Start | Completion |
Stanley Miyagi Works Co., Ltd. (Miyagi Pref., Japan) |
Automotive business facilities, Applied electronic products business facilities | 4,304 | Sep. 2014 | Aug. 2015 |
Stanley Electric Manufacturing Mexico S.A. de C.V. | Automotive business facilities | 8,065 | Jul. 2015 | Jun. 2016 |
Wuhan Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. (Wuhan, China) |
Automotive business facilities | 7,873 | Jan. 2012 | Aug. 2016 |