Nippon Investment Bespoke Research UK Ltd

Nippon Investment Bespoke Research UK

Equity Bottom-Up

NIPPO LTD. sells electronic parts and materials.  The Company's products include multi-layer printing circuit boards (PCB), hybrid integrated circuits (IC), ceramic products, carbon products, magnet related products, plastic products, supersonic washing equipment, and control equipment.

<ul><li>Nippo produced record earnings in FY25 1H, with OP of ¥946mil (+12.8% YoY) on sales of ¥22,186mil (+0.3% YoY).</li><li>While 1H sales remained flat YoY due to a decline in sales of the Electronics segment (-3.3% YoY), OP hit a semi-annual record, thanks to (1) solid growth of in-house products such as semiconductor wafer grinding carriers and (2) cost reductions in overseas factories.</li><li>FY25 is the final year of Nippo’s medium-term plan [MTP].</li></ul>

Nippo produced record earnings in FY25 1H, with OP of ¥946mil (+12.8% YoY) on sales of ¥22,186mil (+0.3% YoY).While 1H sales remained flat YoY due to a decline in sales of the Electronics segment (-3.3% YoY), OP hit a semi-annual record, thanks to (1) solid growth of in-house products such as semiconductor wafer grinding carriers and (2) cost reductions in overseas factories.FY25 is the final year of Nippo’s medium-term plan [MTP].

DAIDO STEEL CO., LTD. manufactures and markets specialty steel products for automobiles, electronics, and construction use.  The Company also provides engineering services for industrial furnaces and waste disposal facilities, and develops various types of alloy metals.

<ul><li>Daido Steel (5471 JP) produced FY25 (March year-end) 1H OP [IFRS basis] of ¥18,464mil (+1.1% YoY) on sales of ¥284,499mil (+0.4% YoY).</li><li>Both sales and OP surpassed guidance which called for OP of ¥12,500mil (-31.5% YoY) on sales of ¥275,000mil (-3.0% YoY), thanks primarily to stronger than expected demand for ship engine valves in the open die forging business and despite having incurred about ¥2,300mil of costs related to the Superalloy Manufacturing Process Transformation Project, one of the firm’s ongoing strategic investments in the current MTP.</li><li>The Mid-Term Plan [MTP], which ends in FY26, was revised down to reflect (1) a larger than expected decline in steel product sales volumes, (2) sluggish auto production and weaker than expected industrial machinery-related orders and (3) increasing lack of clarity in the business environment.</li></ul>

Daido Steel (5471 JP) produced FY25 (March year-end) 1H OP [IFRS basis] of ¥18,464mil (+1.1% YoY) on sales of ¥284,499mil (+0.4% YoY).Both sales and OP surpassed guidance which called for OP of ¥12,500mil (-31.5% YoY) on sales of ¥275,000mil (-3.0% YoY), thanks primarily to stronger than expected demand for ship engine valves in the open die forging business and despite having incurred about ¥2,300mil of costs related to the Superalloy Manufacturing Process Transformation Project, one of the firm’s ongoing strategic investments in the current MTP.The Mid-Term Plan [MTP], which ends in FY26, was revised down to reflect (1) a larger than expected decline in steel product sales volumes, (2) sluggish auto production and weaker than expected industrial machinery-related orders and (3) increasing lack of clarity in the business environment.

DAIDO STEEL CO., LTD (5471 JP): RESEARCH UPDATE

Milbon Co., Ltd. manufactures hair care products for beauty salons.  The Company produces chemicals for permanents, hair coloring, shampoos, rinses, and hair growth stimulant products.

<ul>
<li>Milbon Co., Ltd (4919 JP) reported FY25 (Dec year-end) 1H earnings with a gross profit [GP] of ¥15,502mil (-1.6% YoY) and operating profit [OP] of ¥1,938mil (-39.0% YoY) on sales of ¥24,807mil (+1.1% YoY).</li>
<li>RP declined -44.3% YoY to ¥1,853mil, due mainly to net FOREX losses (-¥120mil).</li>
<li>The 1H results fell short of the firm’s sales and OP guidance by -4.2% and -31.0%, respectively due to (1) a decline in GP due to weaker-than-expected sales (-¥707mil) and (2) the deterioration of the GPM on the back of inventory valuation losses (approx. -¥454mil).</li>
</ul>


Milbon Co., Ltd (4919 JP) reported FY25 (Dec year-end) 1H earnings with a gross profit [GP] of ¥15,502mil (-1.6% YoY) and operating profit [OP] of ¥1,938mil (-39.0% YoY) on sales of ¥24,807mil (+1.1% YoY).
RP declined -44.3% YoY to ¥1,853mil, due mainly to net FOREX losses (-¥120mil).
The 1H results fell short of the firm’s sales and OP guidance by -4.2% and -31.0%, respectively due to (1) a decline in GP due to weaker-than-expected sales (-¥707mil) and (2) the deterioration of the GPM on the back of inventory valuation losses (approx. -¥454mil).


Milbon Co., LTD (4919 JP): Research Update - 11 SEPTEMBER 2025

MEC COMPANY LTD. manufactures and markets chemicals and equipment for printed circuit boards.  The Company has sales/manufacturing subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium, and US.

<ul><li>While MEC’s (4971 JP) FY25 (Dec year-end) 1H sales fell short of guidance by 2.2% to ¥9,387mil (+5.7% YoY), OP improved +3.3% YoY to ¥2,440mil, coming in 8.5% above the firm’s guidance of ¥2,250mil.</li><li>This was primarily due to less than expected SG&A spending – something the firm had flagged in an earlier release.</li><li>Net profit [NP] was revised from ¥1,450mil (-23.2% YoY) to ¥1,893mil (+0.2% YoY), thanks to the receipt of a subsidy from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry [METI] specifically for smaller sized companies to support growth investment.</li></ul>

While MEC’s (4971 JP) FY25 (Dec year-end) 1H sales fell short of guidance by 2.2% to ¥9,387mil (+5.7% YoY), OP improved +3.3% YoY to ¥2,440mil, coming in 8.5% above the firm’s guidance of ¥2,250mil.This was primarily due to less than expected SG&A spending – something the firm had flagged in an earlier release.Net profit [NP] was revised from ¥1,450mil (-23.2% YoY) to ¥1,893mil (+0.2% YoY), thanks to the receipt of a subsidy from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry [METI] specifically for smaller sized companies to support growth investment.

HIRANO TECSEED Co (Kinzoku) / Equity Bottom-Up

HIRANO TECSEED Co., Ltd. manufactures chemical engineering and textile machinery.  The Company's products include adhesive tape-making machines, magnetic tape laminators, floating dryers, carbon fiber manufacturing machines, and coating machines for textile, paper, and film manufacturers.

<ul><li>Hirano Tecseed (hereinafter HT) reported FY25 Q1 OP of ¥821mil (+181.1-% YoY) on sales of ¥10,719mil (-11.4% YoY), which resulted in an OPM of 7.7%, a significant improvement from FY24 Q1’s OPM of 2.4%.</li><li>Sales were largely in line with expectation on the back of progress in working through order backlogs, especially in C&LM for secondary LiB.</li><li>Given successful passing through of cost increases to customers in the C&LM segment, FY25 1H guidance was revised from OP of ¥750mil (-26.8% YoY) on sales of ¥16,750mil (-31.3% YoY) to OP of ¥1,000mil (-2.4% YoY) on unchanged sales.</li></ul>

Hirano Tecseed (hereinafter HT) reported FY25 Q1 OP of ¥821mil (+181.1-% YoY) on sales of ¥10,719mil (-11.4% YoY), which resulted in an OPM of 7.7%, a significant improvement from FY24 Q1’s OPM of 2.4%.Sales were largely in line with expectation on the back of progress in working through order backlogs, especially in C&LM for secondary LiB.Given successful passing through of cost increases to customers in the C&LM segment, FY25 1H guidance was revised from OP of ¥750mil (-26.8% YoY) on sales of ¥16,750mil (-31.3% YoY) to OP of ¥1,000mil (-2.4% YoY) on unchanged sales.

Hirano Tecseed (6245 JP): Research Update