In today’s briefing:
- Murata Manufacturing (6981 JP) – No Immediate Passive Buying Could Lead to More Weakness
- Murata Mfg (6981) Accelerated Overseas Offer – Minimal Index But Low Vol Vs Peers
- Murata Manufacturing Placement – Recent Momentum Isn’t Particularly Strong
- [JAPAN Activism] Murakami Buying Mitsui Matshima (1518 JP) BIGLY – Now At 38% Aiming at Control?
- Shift 1Q: Earnings Beat with Further Upside
- Vector Inc (6058 JP): Q3 FY02/25 flash update
- FP Partner (7388 JP): Full-year FY11/24 flash update
- Kurotani Corp (3168 JP): Q1 FY08/25 flash update
- J Frontier Co Ltd (2934 JP): Q1 and Q2 FY05/25 flash update
- IDOM Inc (7599 JP): Q3 FY02/25 flash update
Murata Manufacturing (6981 JP) – No Immediate Passive Buying Could Lead to More Weakness
- A group of 7 shareholders are looking to sell 61.3m shares in Murata Manufacturing (6981 JP) to raise JPY 143.8bn (US$916m). That is 3.3% of shares outstanding.
- The shares are being offered at a price range of JPY 2296-2345.5/share, a discount of 5-7% to the last close of the stock.
- With the offering less than 5% of shares outstanding and less than US$1bn in size, there is no immediate passive buying and there could be further weakness in the stock.
Murata Mfg (6981) Accelerated Overseas Offer – Minimal Index But Low Vol Vs Peers
- Today after the close, Murata Manufacturing (6981 JP) announced an equity offering worth roughly US$870mm if the stock prices 10% below last.
- Unlike “regular” secondary offerings, this is available only to overseas investors, and bookbuilding is very quick. This “increases the size” relative to its headline (no retail uptake).
- At 11 days of ADV and 3.3% of shares out, it has a certain size, but the stock is well-owned by foreigners, and not terribly volatile vs Peers.
Murata Manufacturing Placement – Recent Momentum Isn’t Particularly Strong
- A group of shareholders aim to raise around US$900m via selling around 3% of Murata Manufacturing (6981 JP), in another cross-shareholding selldown.
- The company’s shares haven’t done much over the past few years and recent share price performance as well hasn’t been the best
- In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.
[JAPAN Activism] Murakami Buying Mitsui Matshima (1518 JP) BIGLY – Now At 38% Aiming at Control?
- I wrote about this stock in May 2024. At the time, Japan activist Murakami-san had gone from 5% to 20% in a hurry. Shortly after, he was at 29%.
- Then he fiddled/sold/bought/waited/sold. The stock fell in late 2024 as a quant fund sold. Murakami-san started buying again. In 3 weeks to 7 January bought from 27.02% to 34.51%.
- By my calculation, as of last week he has 38.4% of votes. This is worth a closer look again. It’s a discount to BVPS but ask yourself why this big.
Shift 1Q: Earnings Beat with Further Upside
- Shift Inc (3697 JP) ’s share price went up by about 13% today following the release of its 1QFY08/2025 results yesterday. Share price is up 19% YTD.
- • Shift’s aggressive investment on HR and system reinforcement had resulted in a decline in the company’s margins since 1QFY08/2024, this drove share prices down.
- Shift has once again proved that its business model is resilient and we expect the company’s earnings to continue to see strong growth going forward.
Vector Inc (6058 JP): Q3 FY02/25 flash update
- Revenue decreased by 2.2% YoY to JPY42.5bn, while operating profit increased by 14.6% YoY to JPY4.0bn.
- PR and Advertising segment saw a 55.2% YoY increase in operating profit due to high-margin projects and cost reversals.
- Direct Marketing revenue fell 0.5% YoY, with Vitabrid’s Terminaria First sales growing 21.2% YoY in Q3.
FP Partner (7388 JP): Full-year FY11/24 flash update
- FY11/24 revenue was JPY35.6bn (+16.6% YoY), operating profit JPY5.3bn (-4.0% YoY), with EPS at JPY169.85.
- FY11/25 forecasts JPY40.2bn revenue (+13.0% YoY), JPY6.1bn operating profit (+15.0% YoY), and JPY175.89 EPS.
- Company plans growth investments, 700 new hires, and aims for 100,000 policy transfers in FY11/25.
Kurotani Corp (3168 JP): Q1 FY08/25 flash update
- In Q1 FY08/25, the company reported revenue of JPY21.4bn, with a significant YoY increase of 20.3%.
- Operating profit decreased by 93.9% YoY to JPY14mn, impacted by rising costs and increased SG&A expenses.
- The Non-Ferrous Metals segment experienced an operating loss of JPY7mn, despite a 20.4% YoY revenue increase to JPY21.2bn.
J Frontier Co Ltd (2934 JP): Q1 and Q2 FY05/25 flash update
- Revenue increased by 28.5% YoY to JPY5.4bn, while operating profit decreased by 50.0% YoY to JPY18mn.
- The company transferred AIGATE career Co., Ltd., resulting in an extraordinary gain of JPY5.7mn from the sale.
- Healthcare Marketing business revenue declined YoY due to a large advertising order impact in Q1 FY05/23.
IDOM Inc (7599 JP): Q3 FY02/25 flash update
- In cumulative Q3 FY02/25, sales increased by JPY72.8bn (23.7% YoY), driven by large store operations and retail sales.
- Operating profit rose by JPY4.2bn (+39.1% YoY), with gross profit per retail unit increasing to JPY440,000 (+40,000 YoY).
- SG&A expenses rose due to personnel costs and rent from large store openings, impacting operating profit downward by JPY4.7bn.
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