Daifuku held its first-quarter earnings briefing for the fiscal year ending December 2026 online on May 14.
According to the report, net sales were 172.71 billion yen (up 7.8% year-on-year), operating profit was 26.291 billion yen (up 13.2%), ordinary profit was 26.514 billion yen (up 12.0%), and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders was 19.498 billion yen (up 15.6%), all of which were record highs for the first quarter.
In addition, orders for semiconductor production lines and airport systems increased significantly, resulting in a record high of 2213 billion yen (a 54.7% increase) on a quarterly basis, and the order backlog exceeded 7000 billion yen for the first time.
The operating profit margin also remains high at 15.2% (up 0.7 percentage points).
The first-half forecast has been revised upward for both sales and profits due to some projects progressing ahead of schedule. However, the full-year forecast remains unchanged, taking into account uncertainties in the external environment, such as the situation in the Middle East.
<Scenes from the web conference>
Regarding the impact of the situation in the Middle East on their business, President Tomoaki Terai stated that "the direct impact will be limited as we do not have production or sales bases in the region and our sales volume is small." However, he added that the impact of crude oil prices, supply constraints and cost increases for some materials due to disruptions in international logistics, and economic uncertainty "may affect our customers' investment plans, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."
Overseas sales account for approximately 7% of total revenue. Driven by robust investment in the semiconductor industry, the electronics sector performed well, reaching 716 billion yen and accounting for over 40% of total sales. This was followed by commercial and retail trade at 285 billion yen, and airport systems at 199 billion yen due to a large order in North America. Transportation and warehousing accounted for 88 billion yen.
By destination, sales increased in Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan. On the other hand, sales decreased in China and Japan. The company attributes the decline in sales to a decrease in systems for semiconductor production lines in China, and a decrease in sales to automobile production lines and systems for commercial and retail industries in Japan.
One of the main topics discussed was the new factory building for the cleanroom business (systems for semiconductor production lines), which was completed at the Shiga plant in April of this year. It was established with the aim of meeting the increased demand for semiconductors due to the expanding use of AI, and its production capacity has increased to 1.3 times that of the previous facility.
The company is also focusing on cutting-edge technology development, and following the opening of the "Kyoto Lab" in 2025, it opened the "Tokyo Lab" this March. At each location, the company aims to establish physical AI and robot base models, as well as robotics technologies that can replace various manual tasks, with the goal of achieving fully automated logistics centers and factories. The company plans to further expand its workforce and accelerate its efforts by strengthening collaborations with universities, research institutions, and startups.
For the full year, the company projects net sales of 7000 billion yen (up 5.9%), operating profit of 1050 billion yen (up 4.2%), ordinary profit of 1085 billion yen (up 3.7%), and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 800 billion yen (up 2.4%).
