In today’s briefing:
- YAGEO and Shibaura Still Fighting, Minebea Likely to Bid Up, The Question Is Another YAGEO Overbid
- Kyoto Financial Group (TSE:5844) – Positive Shift in C-Suite Outlook
- Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JP): Strong FY25 Result; Guidance Initiated for FY26; ¥200B Buyback Announced
- Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP): Hemlibra, Actemra, And Alecensa Shine In 1Q25; Guidance Reiterated
- IStyle (3660 JP) Ups Investment in Retail
YAGEO and Shibaura Still Fighting, Minebea Likely to Bid Up, The Question Is Another YAGEO Overbid
- Yageo Corporation (2327 TT) bid ¥4,300 for Shibaura Electronics (6957 JP). Minebea Mitsumi (6479 JP) overbid at ¥4,500. YAGEO overbid Minebea at ¥5,400 on 17 April (expected to start 7-May)
- Apparently, YAGEO was a bit upset by the public comments by Shibaura regarding custom/mass-market/online different ways of doing business. YAGEO responded with receipts. Shibaura will respond later.
- On the 22nd, Minebea noted they would delay their intended 23rd start date. Now they have more irrevocables. In the end, I expect YAGEO’s, not Minebea’s, top price defines this.
Kyoto Financial Group (TSE:5844) – Positive Shift in C-Suite Outlook
- Kyoto Financial’s president has hinted at increasing disposals in strategic equity holdings; the prior target was a JPY100bn reduction in holdings by March 2029, now there is talk of JPY200-300bn
- We estimate Kyoto Financial’s equity holdings relative to market cap at 140%+, well above its peer banks; yet, until very recently, the president had been against meaningfully reducing equity holdings
- The president’s change of view leads us to upgrade Kyoto Financial to a buy; the change in outlook means that there is real potential to extract value for shareholders
Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JP): Strong FY25 Result; Guidance Initiated for FY26; ¥200B Buyback Announced
- Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JP) reported strong FY25 results, with revenue and operating profit increasing 18% and 57%, YoY, to ¥1,886B and ¥332B, respectively. Performance was mainly driven by Enhertu (+45%).
- The company expects FY26 revenue to increase 6% YoY to ¥2,000B. Core operating profit and operating profit are expected to increase 12% and 5%, YoY, respectively to ¥350B.
- The company has announced a ¥200B buyback plan to acquire a maximum of 80M shares from May 1, 2025 to March 24, 2026.
Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP): Hemlibra, Actemra, And Alecensa Shine In 1Q25; Guidance Reiterated
- Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP) reported 22% YoY rise in core revenue in 1Q25, as overseas sales grew 55% YoY while domestic market remain subdued.
- Hemlibra drove overseas sales. Actemra and Alecensa witnessed growth in both overseas and domestic markets.
- Chugai reiterated 2025 guidance of revenue and net profit growth of 2% and 3%. The progress has been satisfactory with major line items achieving 24–25% of the full-year guidance numbers.
IStyle (3660 JP) Ups Investment in Retail
- IStyle continues to benefit from its focus on omnichannel retailing.
- Customers who use both its online and physical stores spend 1.5 times more than those only shopping online,
- To further cement its hold in key areas, it has just unveiled an updated flagship store with target sales of ¥10 billion.
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