Sales of Mitsui Chemical Packaging Functional Films Decreased

On August 1, Mitsui Chemical Company of Japan released its first quarter (April 1 - 30, 2019) performance report on its official website. According to the report, the combined revenue of Mitsui Chemical Company in the first quarter was 342.8 billion yen (equivalent to 22.617 billion yuan of RMB), down 38% from last year, and its operating profit was 20.7 billion yen (about 1.366 billion yuan of RMB), down 21.3% from last year. Among them, the net sales of Mitsui's chemical food and packaging business were 45.6 billion yen (3.09 billion yuan), accounting for 13% of the total sales. Sales fell by 1.9 billion yen (125 million yuan) compared with the same period last year. Despite the decline in sales, the company said that, due to improved trading conditions, profits were basically flat with the same period last year, resulting in operating income of 3.3 billion yen (equivalent to 218 million yuan). Sales of coatings and functional materials remained stable, but sales of functional films and sheets in the packaging film field declined. Although demand for functional films is still strong in agricultural chemicals, sales of functional films are declining. In addition, the company will reduce its forecast sales to 1540 billion yen (equivalent to 101.609 billion yuan) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, of which 210 billion yuan (equivalent to 13.356 billion yuan) is expected for food and packaging business and 20.5 billion yen (equivalent to 1.353 billion yuan) is expected for profit.