Japanese Chemical Companies’ Financial Reports: Mitsubishi's Profit Drops by 39.1%, Toray Rises by 92.6%

Recently, major Japanese chemical companies released their financial reports for the first half of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The reports indicate that due to rising raw material costs, the profitability of these companies generally remains unsatisfactory. However, thanks to rising product prices and improved market demand, sales revenues have generally increased year-on-year.

Mitsubishi Chemical reported poor profitability in the first half of the fiscal year but maintained its profit outlook for the entire year. Despite signs of market recovery and a rise in sales over the past six months, the company has revised its expectations for annual revenue downward due to future uncertainties. In the first half, Mitsubishi Chemical's net profit fell by 39.1% year-on-year to 40.9 billion yen; sales increased by 4.3% to 2.24 trillion yen; and operating profit decreased by 1.4% to 136.7 billion yen. The company stated that all business segments have generally shown moderate recovery over the past six months.

Shin-Etsu Chemical saw its net profit decrease by 2.4% year-on-year to 294.1 billion yen in the first half; operating profit grew by 6.2% to 405.7 billion yen; and sales increased by 5.9% to 1.2 trillion yen. The company highlighted strong demand for hard disk drives as a key focus and plans to expand sales in the automotive market.

Toray reported a 92.6% increase in net profit year-on-year to 55.5 billion yen in the first half; sales grew by 7.9% to 1.2 trillion yen; and operating profit was 79.5 billion yen, up 78.9% year-on-year. Despite a weak performance in the European market and increased competition for overseas products, the clothing applications remained strong overall. Demand in automotive applications showed some recovery in the first half, but was weakened by safety testing scandals among Japanese automakers and intensified competition in the Chinese electric vehicle market.

Mitsui Chemicals reported a 7.2% year-on-year increase in net profit to 22.2 billion yen in the first half; sales rose by 8% to 890.4 billion yen; and operating profit was 46 billion yen, up 47.4%. The elastomers business performed poorly, with sales of polypropylene compounds remaining flat year-on-year. Rising raw material costs, such as naphtha, led to a revaluation profit on inventory, reducing operating losses in its basic materials and green materials businesses.

Tosoh reported an 8.6% year-on-year increase in sales for the first half, primarily due to strong demand leading to increased production. The depreciation of the yen and rising naphtha costs also drove up product selling prices. Tosoh's operating profit increased by 47.6% year-on-year to 47.3 billion yen, benefiting from increased sales volumes, expanded engineering business revenues, and improved inventory income discrepancies.