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  5. PIOLAX, INC. Business Report FY ended Mar. 2015

PIOLAX, INC. Business Report FY ended Mar. 2015

Financial Overview

 (in millions of JPY)
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 Rate of Change
(%)		 Factors
Overall
Sales 59,507 54,712 8.8 -The Company continued to conduct sales activities, especially in North America and developing countries.
Operating income 8,080 7,566 6.8 -The Company worked to effectively stream its operations.
Ordinary income 9,209 8,441 9.1
Current net income 6,300 5,722 10.1
Automotive Products
Sales 55,961 51,413 8.8 -The Company conducted aggressive sales activities, especially in the U.S. and developing countries, to expand its sales worldwide.
Operating income 8,592 8,052 6.7 -

Contracts

-The Company has won a fastener program from Renault S.A. Piolax, Ltd. is a U.K. unit of Piolax, Inc., a spring and fastener supplier based in Kanagawa, Japan. The Group has already supplied some products for Renault's vehicles, but this will be the first time that it serves as a Tier 1 supplier to the French automaker. Fastener products will be supplied from the Company's plants in the U.K., China, Korea, and India, starting in 2015. The Company expects that its business with Renault will reach JPY 1.2 billion by the fiscal year ending March 2018. The Company supplies its products mainly to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Recently, some other Nissan suppliers have also won their first contracts from Renault, which is developing and producing new vehicles that share designs and components with Nissan models. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 14, 2015)

Business Plan

-The Company aims to boost its sales of glove box open/close mechanisms for mini vehicles to JPY 200 million by FY ending March 2017. This figure is double the level in FY ended March 2014, as demand for the Company's new open/close mechanisms grows in the popular mini vehicle segment in Japan. The Company's original open/close mechanisms feature locks fixed on each side of the box instead of typical center-fixed locks. The new layout offers a stylish feel, while improving storage performance. The side lock system is paired with an air damper that helps the glove box door open and close smoothly and softly. Up until recently, use of such dampers has been limited to higher-class vehicles. The Company has already won a number of contracts from mini-vehicle manufacturers, and is set to ensure stable domestic production and sales with this business. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on June 25, 2014)

-In June 2015, the Company announced their Mid-term Management Plan up to FY ending March 2018.
The essential features are as follows;

  • Consolidated sales target for FY ending March 2018 is JPY 68,500 million that is 15.1% increase from FY ended March 2015. Target of Operating profit for FY ending March 2018 is JPY 9,000 million that is 11.1% increase from FY ended March 2015.
  • Overseas ratio of consolidated sales is targeted at 69% for FY ending March 2018, which was 55% for FY ended March 2015.
  • Overseas ratio of operating profit is targeted at 53% for FY ending March 2018, which was 35% for FY ended March 2015.
  • The total capital investment planned for FY 2015 to FY 2017 is JPY 19 billion, 24% increase from JPY 15.3 billion in past three years (FY 2012 to FY 2014).
  • For FY ending March 2016, the Company plans to invest JPY 7 billion. Of this capital investment, JPY 5.3 billion is for overseas markets, which is 76% of all.
  • Dependency ratio on Nissan family in consolidated sales will be reduced from 46% to 44% for FY ending March 2018.
  • To acquire business contracts with Volkswagen, sales personnel will be stationed in Germany from summer, 2015.

Outlook for FY ending Mar. 31, 2016

 (in millions of JPY)
FY ending Mar. 31, 2016
(Forecast)		 FY ended Mar. 31, 2015
(Actual Results)		 Rate of Change
(%)
Sales 63,000 59,507 5.9
Operating income 8,300 8,080 2.7
Ordinary income 8,800 9,209 (4.4)
Net income * 5,900 6,300 (6.4)

*As for FY ending March 2016, it's defined " Net income attributable to owners of the parent".

>>>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 559 714 707
-Automotive Products 414 426 388

R&D Structure

-R&D activities were conducted by the design department, development groups in each business unit, and the development division of the Company's subsidiary, Pilolax Medical Devices, Inc.

R&D Facilities

Name Location
Yokohama Technical Center Kanagawa Pref., Japan



-Piolax Co., Ltd., a Korean unit of the Company., has established a new production and development base in the Incheon Free Economic Zone. The Company invested in this new facility in order to meet growing demand for its open/close mechanisms from Hyundai Motor's plants in both China and India. The Korean subsidiary generated KRW 19.3 billion in sales during 2013. It aims to increase its sales to KRW 30 billion by 2018. (From a press release on December 18, 2014)

R&D Activities

Precision springs
-The Company developed low-cost materials for coil springs used in transmissions and engines.
-The Company developed and started mass-producing smaller, lighter, and more cost-efficient transmission units by using technology to analyze product stress and behavior in order to optimize the design.
-The Company put increased emphasis on developing composite springs designed to raise efficiency when being installed in transmission units.
-The Company also worked closely with assembly plants of its customers in order to develop products that best meet the requirements of the customers, while offering the Company's designing expertise.
-The Company increased joint development activities with and deliveries to automakers in emerging nations, while stepping up development programs with Japanese automakers.

Industrial fasteners
-The Company developed fasteners designed for sheets that run in size from thin to thick. Its new products include fasteners which require a minimum level of strength to be installed in vehicles, those with strong fastening power, and those that make dismantling of scrapped vehicles more efficient.
-The Company is working to develop lightweight products that contribute to improving fuel efficiency.
-The Company developed user-friendly net hooks for vehicle interiors.

Small units
-The Company developed resin parts for lock handles, side locks and dampers for glove boxes. As a result, the Company is supplying these products to every passenger-car maker in Japan and to many car makers in overseas.

Fuel systems
-In the area of valves for plastic tanks, the Company enhanced the performance and reduced the manufacturing costs of rollover valves and inlet check valves, winning new customers and increasing the content-rate of these valves on new-model vehicles. In line with this, the Company has increased the production volume of these valves at its subsidiaries in Thailand, China, and India.
-The Company's R&D activities in the area of valves for metal fuel tanks resulted in the development of standard products, multi-functional products and newly developed products complying with each country's regulation, which both exceeded the performance of conventional ones at less cost.
-The Company has won increased orders for its fuel supply system components, in line with growing use of fuel injection systems on motorcycles.
-The Company is working on developing products for environmentally friendly vehicles such as those that run on alternative fuels and hybrids.

Other products
-The Company is developing products (for batteries and motors) made from copper and frame-resistant resin materials. These products are for use on electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
-The Company has been working on developing environmentally friendly technologies compliant with the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association's directive calling for voluntary reductions of volatile organic compounds and other environmentally harmful substances. It is also following both the End-of-Life (ELV) Vehicle Directive and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in effect in Europe. Also, the Company has been working closely with its European operations in developing technologies that meet European REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals).
-As a means to lower product prices, the Company is considering using low-priced materials procured outside Japan. The Company is evaluating both the mechanical properties and performance of metal and plastics materials, continuing research into increasing their applications in products.

Technology licensing-in Agreement

 (As of Mar. 31, 2015)
Company Product Contract Detail Term
Norma Germany GmbH Automotive fuel delivery components Approved use of patent September 18, 1995 - August 17, 2000.
This contract renews annually.
Norma Germany GmbH Plastic fuel tank components Approved use of patent Added to the contract above.
Norma Germany GmbH Plastic fuel tank components Approved use of patent December 13, 2001 - December 12, 2006.
This contract renews annually.

Major Technology licensing-out Agreement

 (As of Mar. 31, 2015)
Company Product Contract Details Term
KHK of Taiwan，Inc.
(Taiwan)		 Metal and plastic fasteners Covers support for production technology From October 6, 1987 through October 5, 2007. To be renewed every 5 years.

Capital Expenditure

 (in millions of JPY)
FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
Automotive Products 4,380 5,014 3,892


-For FY ending March 2016, the Company plans to invest JPY 7 billion. Of this capital investment, JPY 5.3 billion is for overseas markets, which is 76% of all.
-The total capital investment planned for FY 2015 to FY 2017 is JPY 19 billion, 24% increase from JPY 15.3 billion in past three years (FY 2012 to FY 2014).

Investments Outside Japan


-Piolax Co., Ltd., a Korean unit of the Company., has established a new production and development base in the Incheon Free Economic Zone. The Company invested in this new facility in order to meet growing demand for its open/close mechanisms from Hyundai Motor's plants in both China and India. The Korean subsidiary generated KRW 19.3 billion in sales during 2013. It aims to increase its sales to KRW 30 billion by 2018. (From a press release on December 18, 2014)

Planned capital investments (automobile related facilities)

 (As of Mar. 31, 2015)
Company
Office		 Business Expected Investment
(in millions of JPY)		 From To Purpose of the investment
The Company Production facilities and dies 1,074 Apr. 2015 Mar. 2016 Investment was focused on updating equipment, mainly to improve production efficiency. Only a minor increase will be made in terms of production capacity.
Subsidiaries in Japan Production facilities and dies 273 Apr. 2015 Mar. 2016 Investment was focused on updating equipment, mainly to improve production efficiency. Only a minor increase will be made in terms of production capacity.
Subsidiaries outside Japan Production facilities and dies 5,721 Jan. 2015 Dec. 2015 Since a wide range of products are made at facilities outside Japan, the level of increase in production capacity is minor.

Data

  Mar. 31, 2015 Mar. 31, 2014 Mar. 31, 2013
Automotive 2,735 2,743 2,369
Medical devices 165 140 134
In common 35 36 37
Total 2,935 2,919 2,540

Sales by Segment

 (in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
Sales Operating Profit Sales Operating Profit Sales Operating Profit
Automotive 55,961 8,592 51,413 8,052 45,577 5,775
Medical devices 3,545 177 3,299 246 2,898 73
Adjustment - (690) - (732) - (659)
Total 59,507 8,080 54,712 7,566 48,476 5,189

Sales by Geographic Area

 (in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
Japan 30,820 33,094 32,095
Asia 13,926 10,351 8,078
North America 10,730 8,378 6,192
Others 4,029 2,887 2,109
Total 59,507 54,712 48,476

Note: Sales are based on customer locations, which are geographically categorized according their nearest distance to either a country or regional sales territory.
Asia : China, Thailand, Korea, etc.
North America : USA, Mexico, Canada
Other : UK, Spain, Hungary, etc.

Consolidated

 >>>Financial Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (Sales, Operating Income etc.)
Year Ended March 31 FY ended Mar. 31, 2011 FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2015
Sales (million yen) 44,852 46,500 48,476 54,712 59,507
Income from ordinary business activities (million yen) 5,628 5,182 5,776 8,441 9,209
Net income (million yen) 3,544 3,404 3,757 5,722 6,300
Comprehensive income (million yen) 2,681 2,993 5,710 8,873 10,046
Net assets (million yen) 46,703 49,079 54,345 62,737 69,877
Total assets (million yen) 55,861 58,151 64,109 75,865 82,794
Book value per share (yen) 3,673.80 3,913.34 4,327.01 4,955.31 5,747.00
EPS (yen) 280.41 271.61 302.05 460.06 511.31
Diluted EPS (yen) - - - - -
Net assets ratio (%) 83.12 83.71 83.95 81.25 82.87
ROE (%) 7.85 7.16 7.33 9.91 9.68
PER 7.13 8.14 8.25 8.21 9.56
Cash flow from operating activity (million yen) 5,798 3,690 7,220 8,014 7,746
Cash flow from investment activity (million yen) (3,062) (4,092) (4,150) (6,992) (5,001)
Cash flow from financial activity (million yen) (427) (472) (258) (293) (2,476)
Balance at the term-end of cash and cash equivalents (million yen) 13,203 12,080 15,049 15,818 16,356
Number of employees 2,128 2,375 2,540 2,919 2,935

 

Non Consolidated

Year Ended March 31 FY ended Mar. 31, 2011 FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2015
Sales (million yen) 33,421 33,756 32,765 33,337 32,995
Income from ordinary business activities (million yen) 3,703 3,778 4,120 5,761 5,658
Net income (million yen) 2,164 3,148 2,775 3,614 3,741
Paid-in Capital (million yen) 2,960 2,960 2,960 2,960 2,960
Number of stock outstanding (thousand) 13,084 13,084 13,084 13,084 13,084
Net assets (million yen) 34,736 37,248 39,679 42,831 44,198
Total assets (million yen) 42,944 45,090 47,238 53,213 53,785
Book value per share (yen) 2,663.49 2,900.57 3,089.88 3,335.35 3,581.30
Dividend per share (yen) 30.00 32.50 45.00 45.00 60.00
EPS (yen) 165.97 243.35 216.12 281.46 294.03
Diluted EPS (yen) - - - - -
Net asset ratio (%) 80.89 82.61 84.00 80.49 82.18
ROE (%) 6.39 8.75 7.22 8.76 8.60
PER 12.05 9.08 11.53 13.41 16.63
Payout ratio (%) 18.07 13.36 20.82 15.99 20.41
Number of employees 565 552 543 530 531