Mitsubishi Chemical Group's performance declined in the first nine fiscal years, but it still maintained a solid growth trend.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group recently released results for the first nine fiscal years ending December 31. Although net profit fell 42.8 per cent to 59.3 billion yen ($0.3877 billion), sales increased 2.7 per cent to 3.3 trillion yen. Operating profit also fell 10.8 percent year-on-year to 189.4 billion yen.

In the face of global economic uncertainty, Mitsubishi Chemical is cautious about the outlook. The company is concerned about the policy direction of the new US administration, the long-term downturn in China's real estate market, the potential impact of increased geopolitical risks and the volatility of financial and capital markets.

From the perspective of the global economic environment, during the first nine fiscal years, the economic performance of various regions and different industries showed different degrees of strong momentum. In the United States, the favorable employment environment has supported the steady growth of private consumption; in Europe, there are signs of recovery in the context of inflation and monetary policy, while in Japan, with the increase in business spending and the growth of inbound demand, the economy is also showing a moderate recovery trend. However, the growth of the Chinese market has slowed down, mainly affected by factors such as the downturn in the real estate market.

Mitsubishi Chemical's specialty materials division performed well in the first nine fiscal years, with revenue up 4.6 per cent year-on-year to 812.8 billion yen, and core operating income up 77.3 per cent to 34.4 billion yen. This was primarily driven by volume growth in the Advanced Films and Polymers segment, as well as efforts to maintain and increase product selling prices. At the same time, revenue growth in the advanced solutions segment also reflects increased demand for semiconductors.

Mitsubishi's industrial gas division also showed strong growth momentum, with revenue up 43.4 billion yen to 965.8 billion yen year-on-year and core operating income up 15 billion yen to 137.5 billion yen. These increases were mainly due to price management efforts in the regions and the impact of exchange rates. In addition, cost-cutting measures also boosted the segment's earnings and sales.

In the field of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and its derivatives business, Mitsubishi Chemical also achieved significant performance growth. Revenue increased by 20.4 to 308.9 billion yen year-on-year, and core operating income increased significantly to 32.6 billion yen from 2.5 billion yen in the same period last year. This is mainly due to the increase in MMA prices and a moderate recovery in demand for applications such as coatings and additives.

However, Mitsubishi Automotive's basic materials and polymers business unit suffered a decline in performance. Revenue fell 48.5 billion yen to 773.8 billion yen year-on-year, and core operating losses narrowed to 12.1 billion yen from 14.7 billion yen in the same period last year. This is mainly affected by factors such as rising raw material costs and sluggish demand for carbon products. Nevertheless, the core operating income of the business segment improved, mainly due to the widening price gap between raw materials and products.

Despite many challenges, Mitsubishi Chemical maintained its net profit forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2025 at 52 billion yen, and maintained its full-year sales guidance at 4.47 trillion yen. This shows that the company is still full of confidence in the future and will continue to strive to maintain a steady growth trend.