Yaskawa Electric's sales revenue for the March~May period increased by 18% to 142.5 billion yen. By region, sales revenue increased by 49% in China and 27% in the Americas. However, orders from China, which are indicative of future earnings, continued to decline year-on-year, with orders from China down 27 percent ......
Japan's Yaskawa Electric recently released its consolidated financial report (International Accounting Standards) for March ~ May 2023, showing that net profit increased by 13% year-on-year to 11.6 billion yen. The impact of last year's decline in production due to the pandemic in China has come to an end. Sales of robots increased against the backdrop of the need to reduce the number of workers in factories, and the depreciation of the yen also played a role. However, orders as a leading indicator continue to grow negatively, and uncertainty remains.
The company's sales revenue in March ~ May, which is equivalent to sales, increased by 18% to 142.5 billion yen. The supply chain disruption has subsided, and Yaskawa's senior executive director, Ayumi Hayashi, explained, "We have been able to procure parts stably, and the operating rate has recovered." By region, China grew by 49% and the Americas by 27%.
The strong performance in all divisions was the robotics business, which increased sales revenue by 19 percent. With the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), Yaskawa Electric has seized the strong demand for equipment investment related to lithium batteries. In areas such as logistics and food, sales increased due to labor shortages and increased investment in labor savings.
Sales revenue of the motion control business , such as servo motors, increased by 25%. Production of inverters that control motors has been stagnant, but it has also recovered in March~May.
Operating profit increased by 18% to 16.4 billion yen. Rising raw material and logistics costs have been the reason for the decline in profits, but the impact has been reduced by shifting costs to prices. The actual exchange rate depreciated against the expected exchange rate of 130 yen per dollar, which also pushed up profits.
However, orders that are indicative of future earnings continued to decline year-on-year. Order value for March~May decreased by 18% y/y to 137.2 billion yen. In particular, orders from China fell by 27 percent. Orders from the Americas also fell 19 percent due to a vengeful decline in demand for semiconductors last year.
The full-year forecast for fiscal 2023 (ending February 2024) remains unchanged. Sales are expected to increase by 4% year-on-year to 580 billion yen, while net income is expected to decrease by 1% to 51.3 billion yen. The extent to which China's orders can recover will be in focus as it digests the previously accumulated backlog of orders.