Univance Corporation Business Report FY ended Mar. 2019
Financial Overview |
(in million JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2018 | Rate of Change (%) |
Factors | |
| Overall | ||||
| Sales | 59,924 | 58,729 | 2.0 | - |
| Operating income | 1,646 | 810 | 103.2 | -Higher sales in Asia and positive currency translation. |
| Ordinary income | 1,453 | 518 | 180.5 | - |
| Net income attributable to owners of the parent | 935 | 356 | 162.6 | |
Established a new subsidiary
-Univance Corporation announced that it has established a new subsidiary that conducts business and market research in the North American region. Capitalized at USD 123,000, the new subsidiary, which is called UNIVANCE AMERICA, INC., was set up in Farmington Hills, northern west of Detroit on December 26, 2018. (From a press release on January 25, 2019)
R&D Expenses |
(in million JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2018 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2017 | |
| Overall | 1,567 | 1,337 | 1,124 |
| Ratio in total sales (%) | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
R&D Structure
-R&D activities are mainly conducted by the Product Development Department. As of March 2019, the number of individuals working in R&D was 86, or 4.6% of the workforce.
-Univance Corporation (Univance) will increase its efforts to develop new products for electrified vehicles. This spring, the company established an advanced development project team under its product development department as well as spinning off a new production technology development department from its production technology department in order to create a development system for the development of products for electrified vehicles. Univance, which mainly produces drive system parts, will focus on the weight reduction, strength enhancement, and friction reduction of gear boxes, as well as the development of innovative production methods. It is aiming to commercialize new products by 2020. The company has a track record of supplying gear boxes for electrified commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks. It aims to significantly increase sales revenue by developing new gear boxes for electrified passenger cars for the mass-market. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 24, 2018)
R&D Activities
1) Control-unit Business
-The Control-unit Business follows the three policies outlined below, which form the common basis for all R&D activities performed at the Company. This Business develops new high value-added products that optimize the high level of technology that the Company has in the area of control, working to create cost competitive products.
- Pursuit of greater functionality based on a high level of mechatronics.
- Pursuit of products and product-creation designed to best suit each region
- Pursuit of both environmental performance and competitive pricing.
<Automotive transmissions and reduction gears>
-The Company is developing new manual transmissions for vans, as well as for small- and medium-duty commercial vehicles. It is doing this by focusing on improving vehicle fuel efficiency, reducing emissions so as to meet environmental standards, complying with high-output engines and easing the burden on drivers behind the wheel.
-The Company enhanced R&D activities to develop reduction gears to meet various layouts on hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.
Test Electric Vehicle for the e-Axle
-On July 10, GLM Co., Ltd. (GLM), an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer based in Kyoto City, and Univance Corporation (Univance) announced that they have developed a test EV incorporating the e-Axle system in each of the front and rear parts of the test vehicle. The e-Axle system combines two motors and an inverter with a 2-stage speed gear box. The system controls the motors and changes gears according to driving conditions and thereby contributes to a reduction in power consumption. Univance will conduct on-road testing of the test EV, with an aim to start mass production of the e-Axle system by 2025. Univance will exhibit the test EV at Automotive Engineering Exposition 2019 Nagoya, which opens on July 17. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on July 11, 2019)
<All-wheel Drive Systems>
-In order to become more competitive in the transfer unit market, the Company's major line of business, the Company is developing lighter and more compact systems, while at the same time increasing its product range. It is focusing on transfer units for use in pick-up trucks and SUVs (Sports utility vehicles), CUVs (Cross over utility vehicles) which is a market segment that is growing worldwide.
2) Parts Business
-The Company is developing high-accuracy components for CVT (Continuously variable transmissions) in order to improve fuel economy and reduce drivers' burden.
-Going forward, in order to raise the competitive advantages of its products, the Company always works under an R&D policy that requires creating materials, production methods, and elemental design technology. In this regard, the Company is working mainly on its core product lines such as gearwheels, transmission axes, and companion flanges. In addition, the Company is producing products and materials in countries outside Japan so as to increase its local production volume overseas.
Capital Investment Amounts |
(in million JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2018 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2017 | |
| Parts Business | 1,954 | 1,674 | 1,306 |
| Control-unit Business | 1,776 | 1,488 | 4,063 |
| Others | 7 | 34 | 31 |
| Total | 3,739 | 3,197 | 5,402 |
Planned Capital Investment
-The breakdown in capital investments in the fiscal year that ended in March 2019 (JPY 8.1 million) is provided below.
- Parts business: JPY 3.1 million
- Unit business: JPY 5.0 million