Presentation Transcripts

These graphs show annual net sales and operating income for the machined components business segment.
Net sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 totaled 140.0 billion yen, up 23.3% from the previous fiscal year. Operating income increased 31.8% to reach 33.6 billion yen while the operating margin was up 1.6 percentage points at 24.0%.

Net sales of ball bearings increased 27.1% from the previous fiscal year to reach 77.4 billion yen. During the fiscal year, demand remained upbeat for a variety of different applications, such as automobiles, home electronics and office automation equipment, while the external shipment volume rose 12% to reach 137 million units per month on average. Profits also increased nicely as capacity utilization improved and the weaker Asian currencies helped to lower production costs. For the fiscal year ending March 2015, we forecast increased sales and improved profits due to steadily increasing demand.

Sales of rod-ends and fasteners rose 20.1% from the previous fiscal year to total 27.5 billion yen. This uptick was due to steadily increasing demand for new aircraft as well as the weaker Japanese yen. As a result, profits also rose during the same period. For the fiscal year ending March 2015, we forecast firm performance.

Sales of HDD pivot assemblies rose 17.8% from the previous fiscal year to hit 35.0 billion yen. The HDD market remained relatively stable as PC sales continued to lag despite a rise in demand triggered by the termination of Windows XP support service this April. In this business environment, we were able to make stable profits due to our high market share. The outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2015 however seems less bright and we forecast slightly lower sales and profits due to tough market conditions.

This February, there was an accidental explosion at one of our U. S. subsidiary's factories. Fortunately, casualties and financial losses were limited and the plant returned to normal operation in a few weeks.