Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. Business Report FY ended Mar. 2013

Business Highlights

Financial Overview

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 Rate of Change (%) Factors
Overall
Sales 83,392 87,839 (5.1) -
Operating income (965) 2,905 - -
Ordinary income 2,054 4,426 (53.6)
Net income 1,400 1,416 (1.1) -
Automotive components
Sales 72,770 76,606 (5.0) -While sales during the first half of the fiscal year improved because of the economic recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and because of eco-car sales incentive programs that boosted vehicle production levels, the second half saw decreases in sales, revenue, and profit.
Operating income (951) 2,858 -

Reorganization

Establishing a Regional Headquarters with Valeo in China
-The Company, along with Valeo of France with which it has formed a strategic partnership, announced that they had reached a basic agreement to reorganize their lamp subsidiaries and other affiliated companies in China. The two companies established Valeo Ichikoh Holding Ltd., a joint-venture that will oversee the operations of most of the two companies' subsidiaries in China, which will come under the umbrella of the new holding company. Valeo will hold an 85% stake in the new holding company, with Ichikoh holding the remaining 15%. Forming this new business structure, the two companies are aiming to increase their customer-service capability and expand their businesses operating in China, which they foresee as a country with a growing market.

>>>Financial Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (Sales, Operating Income etc.)

Outlook for FY ending 2014

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ending Mar. 31, 2014
(Forecast)
FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
(Actual Results)
Rate of Change
(%)
Overall
Sales 78,800 83,392 (5.5)
Operating income (1,300) (965) -
Ordinary income 2,000 2,054 (2.6)
Net income 1,200 1,400 (14.3)

R&D

R&D Expenditure

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 FY ended Mar. 31, 2011
Overall 5,537 4,890 4,989

 

R&D Structure

Department Functions
Technical Headquarters
(within Isehara Plant)
Development of advance technology and new products
Production Engineering Development of products that reach commercialization

-The Company is strengthening its R&D structure in Asia as a means to respond to the trend seen in Japanese OEMs of migrating some of their R&D functions to locations outside Japan in line with the growth in their production levels outside Japan. In addition, this move by the Company is also a means to increase its product sales at local OEMs. The Company set up a technical center in Thailand in October 2012. The new center, where 100 engineers are working, is responsible for developing products meeting the local market needs in each of countries in the ASEAN Region.

R&D Activities

Main R&D Projects in FY ended Mar. 31, 2012
-Lighting equipment and signals
  • Highly functional automotive lighting equipment suited to meet car designs.
  • Research on situation-sensitive light distribution properties and evaluation systems.
  • Development of high-definition automotive signals.
  • Development of new light sources.

View-related Devices

  • Development of intelligent mirror system.
  • Development of view-related systems, utilizing functional thin membranes, electronics, etc.
  • Development of car control systems and control devices.
  • Development of vehicle perimeter sensing and security devices.
Opto-mechatronics
  • Development of display devices using new light sources such as LED.
  • Development of mechatronics devices utilizing membrane/precision molding technologies.

Major Achievements

Full LED Rear Combination Lamp System for Medium-/Heavy-duty Trucks
-The Company announced that it will release its full LED rear combination lamp system for medium- and heavy-duty trucks in November. The combination lamp unit consisting of tail lamps, stop lamps and turn-signal lamps employs only LEDs as the light source. The majority of rear combination lamps on trucks now use incandescent light bulbs. The new, full LED rear lamp has an advantage over existing lamps in terms of fuel saving performance, durability level, and stylish feel. In addition, it improves the level of driving safety of commercial vehicles by providing a better visibility to the vehicle behind. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Nov. 27, 2012)

Technology licensing-out Agreement

(As of Mar. 31, 2013)
Company Name Country Technology Coverage Contract Period 
Foshan Ichikoh Valeo Auto Lighting Systems Co., Ltd. China Manufacturing technologies for automotive lamps Licensing of patents and expertise 5 years from Mar. 24, 2006 (renewal every 3 years)

Investment Activities

Capital Expenditure

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 FY ended Mar. 31, 2011
Overall 4,845 3,322 6,596

-The Company invested mainly in facilities and equipment in its automotive products business in order to install facilities, save on labor, and rationalize operations involving new products and model change.

-Major investment in FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 are as follow:
Plant Location Segment (business division) Amount of investment
(in millions of JPY)
Isehara Plant Kanagawa Pref.,
Japan
Automotive parts 1,304
Mirror  Plant Gunma Pref.,
Japan
Automotive parts 366
Fujioka Plant Gunma Pref.,
Japan
Automotive parts 1,658
Ichikoh Industries (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Chonburi,
Thailand
Automotive parts 855

Investment Outside Japan

<Thailand>
-The Company announced it held a ceremony on October 31 to mark the opening of a new plant and technical center in Thailand. The new plant was constructed by Ichikoh Industries (Thailand), a production subsidiary, at the Amata City Industrial Estate in Rayong Province at a cost of around 4 billion yen (approx. $50 million). The Thai plant will be the Company's biggest overseas production facility with the land area of 60,000 square meters and the floor space of 22,000 square meters. It is scheduled to begin mass production of components, such as automobile headlamps, rear combination lamps and mirrors in March 2013. The facility is positioned as the key plant for expanding operations in a growing market in Southeast Asia. The new technical center will also be built to perform local designing and development functions. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Nov. 2, 2012)