KYOWA HAKKO KOGYO Co., Ltd. (KYOWA), an in vitro diagnostics company, has reported consolidated net sales of JPY460.1 billion for the first-quarter fiscal of 2009, up 17.4 %, compared with consolidated net sales of JPY392.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. It has reported net income of JPY11.7 billion for the first-quarter fiscal of 2009, down 50%, compared with net income of JPY23.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Recurring income increased 22.2% to JPY46.4 billion. Net income decreased by 50% to JPY11.7 billion, as extraordinary losses of JPY21.5 billion were recorded due to valuation losses on investment securities, impairment losses and other factors.
Operating income in the Pharmaceuticals segment grew by 74.5%, supported by the consolidation of Kirin Pharma in April 2008, while in the Bio-Chemicals segment, operating income was affected by the strong yen and decreased 13.9%. In the Chemicals segment operating income declined to zero as demand fell rapidly due to the worldwide decline in economic growth against a background of large fluctuations in crude oil and naphtha prices, resulting in a major deterioration in product markets. In the Food segment operating income decreased by 31.1% in an increasingly severe business environment, affected by the high prices of raw materials, sluggish consumer demand, and other factors.
As Kyowa Hakko Kirin plans to change its fiscal year end to December, our business forecasts are for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2009. Accordingly, the following percentage changes are as compared to the nine-month period ended December 31, 2008.
For the nine-month period ending December 31, 2009 (fiscal 2009) Kyowa Hakko Kirin forecasts a 17.2% decrease in net sales, a 36.8% decrease in operating income and a 36.4% decrease in recurring income, while net income is forecast to grow by 24.0%.
For the nine-month period ending December 31, 2009 Kyowa Hakko Kirin forecasts a dividend per share of JPY15 (interim dividend JPY10, final dividend JPY5) as compared to the dividend per share for the twelve-month period ending March 31, 2009 of JPY20 (interim dividend JPY10, final dividend JPY10).
Commenting on the results, Yuzuru Matsuda, president and chief executive officer of Kyowa Hakko Kirin said, “Our reported results were affected significantly by the consolidation of Kirin Pharma, one-off licensing payments, the global recession and other factors. We expect that the environment for some of our businesses will continue to be severely affected by the ongoing global recession, highly volatile commodity prices, and currency movements. Nevertheless Kyowa Hakko Kirin has secure and strong financial foundations and we expect that core products in the Pharmaceutical and Bio-Chemicals businesses will continue to perform well. We are moving rapidly ahead with our initiatives to enhance competitiveness and management efficiency, maximize synergies, and further develop our position as a world-leading in antibody pharmaceuticals and other core biotechnologies.”