Sysmex Corporation (6869) Earnings Call Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. This is Iizuka speaking. And so I will explain the financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027. Please turn to Page 5 of the presentation material. This is an executive summary of our first quarter results. In the first quarter, strong growth, particularly in the Americas, combined with the positive impact of the weaker yen resulted in significant increases in both sales and profits. Sales were JPY 130.6 billion, up 23.6% year-on-year. Operating profit was JPY 14.8 billion, up 39.5% year-on-year. Quarterly profit attributable to owners of the parent was JPY 8.6 billion, up 90.9%. The main drivers of sales growth were a significant growth in the hematology field in the Americas as well as solid growth in EMEA and AP, Asia Pacific. On a local currency basis, sales increased across these regions by 26.1% in the Americas, 11% in EMEA and 7.6% in AP. In China, on the other hand, sales declined 33.8% year-on-year on a local currency basis due to the continued impact of the challenging market environment. However, this was within our initial expectations. On the profit side, we achieved a significant increase driven by higher gross profit resulting from increased sales as well as the absence of the impact of the inventory valuation review recorded in the previous fiscal year. As for SG&A expenses, while we continue to invest in business expansion, we have kept the increase in expenses within the rate of sales growth, resulting in an improvement in operating margin. Cash generation also remained at a high level with operating cash flow of JPY 35.5 billion and free cash flow of JPY 17 billion. Please turn to the next slide. On Slide 6, I will explain our earnings forecast. In light of strong business performance in the Americas as well as recent foreign exchange trends, we have revised upward our earnings forecast for both the first half and the full year. First, our forecast for the first half. We forecast sales of JPY 265 billion, operating profit of JPY 25 billion and interim profit of JPY 15 billion. Compared with our initial forecast, this represents upward revisions of JPY 10 billion in sales, JPY 2 billion in operating profit and JPY 1 billion in interim profit. The main factors are continued solid demand, particularly in the Americas as well as the positive impact of the weaker yen. At the same time, although nothing has been finalized at this point, there is a possibility that we may incur onetime expenses related to a business review during the second quarter and our forecast factors in this possibility. Next, our full year forecast. We forecast sales of JPY 545 billion, operating profit of JPY 60 billion and profit for the year of JPY 37 billion. So at this point, we have left our initial forecast for the second half unchanged. We are continuing to assess the impact of developments related to the standardization of testing prices in China and our business portfolio review. So the revised full year forecast, therefore, reflects only the expected upside in the first half performance. We plan to provide details of the business portfolio review at our first half earnings presentation in November. Please turn to Slide 8. This slide shows a year-on-year comparison of our income statement. Although the cost of sales ratio increased slightly year-on-year, partly due to foreign exchange effects, our operating margin improved by 1.2 percentage points to 11.3%, supported by our control of SG&A expenses, and the details will be explained in the factors behind the change in operating profit in the following slides. Please turn to the next slide. Slide 9 shows the factors behind the change in sales by business and field. Please look at the year-on-year figures on the right-hand side of the table. Company-wide sales increased 12.6% year-on-year, excluding foreign exchange effects and 21.6%, excluding both the impact of China and FX effects. This shows that our underlying business continues to perform strongly despite the challenging business environment in China. Sales in hemostasis field declined overall but increased 38% when excluding the impact of China and foreign exchange. And the business continues to expand steadily, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. And please turn to the next page. Slide 10 shows the factors behind the change in sales by region and product category. I will discuss the regional results in more detail from the next slide onwards. In the first quarter, growth in the Americas, EMEA, AP and Japan, together with the positive impact of weaker yen resulted in a significant increase in sales. In China, meanwhile, the challenging market environment continues, but performance has been broadly in line with our initial expectations. By product category, excluding the impacts of China and FX, the year-on-year growth rates were as follows: instruments, up 48%; reagents, up 13%; services, up 9%; and others up 74%. Again, instruments up 48%, reagents up 13%; services, up 9% and others up 74%. These are the respective growth rates. Please turn to the next slide. Slide 11 covers the Americas. Performance remained strong, particularly in North America and Brazil, with sales increasing significantly by 26.1% year-on-year on a local currency basis and 38.9% on a yen basis. All product categories, instruments, reagents and services recorded growth with instruments, in particular, increasing significantly by 94.7% year-on-year. In hematology, installations of the XN-Series previously ordered in North America progressed, driving sales growth in both instruments and reagents. In hemostasis as well, both instrument and reagent sales grew, particularly in North America. We expect these instrument installations to lead to further growth in reagent sales going forward. Amyloid beta testing reagents also continue to perform well. Please turn to the next slide. Slide 12 covers EMEA. Driven by double-digit growth in major countries, sales grew steadily, increasing 11% year-on-year on a local currency basis. Our key fields of hematology, hemostasis and urinalysis all grew with higher sales across all product categories, instruments, reagents and services. Instruments and the XR-Series grew in France and Austria, while the urinalysis field performed strongly in Germany and Italy. The hemostasis field also continued to grow steadily across the region, particularly in Germany and Italy. Reagent sales increased in line with the growing installed base of instruments in our key fields. In hemostasis, performance was also strong, supported by large contracts in countries, including Germany and Saudi Arabia. Going forward, we expect the growing installed base of instruments to support continued expansion in reagent sales. Please turn to the next slide. Slide 13 covers China. Sales declined due to the impact of health care cost containing policies, which became evident from the second quarter of the previous fiscal year as well as continued inventory adjustment by distributors. Sales decreased 33.8% year-on-year on a local currency basis, broadly in line with our initial expectations. Instrument sales were affected by distributor inventory adjustment amid concerns about a potential expansion in the impact of health care cost containment policies. Reagent sales also declined primarily due to lower testing volumes in the hemostasis field, especially D-dimer as a result of the minimum necessary principle. At this point, however, the impact of standardization of testing prices has not yet materialized. I will discuss the situation in the Chinese market in more detail on the following slides. Please turn to the next slide. On Slide 14, I will explain the current situation and outlook for China. We have made no change to our initial full year forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027, which assumes a 20% year-on-year decline. First quarter sales declined 33.8% year-on-year, which was within our expected range. This mainly reflected the significant impact of the minimum necessary principle and distributor inventory adjustments. For the second quarter, we forecast a 24% year-on-year decline, while our first half forecast remains unchanged at a decline of 28%. We expect the impact of the minimum necessary principle and distributor inventory adjustments to begin to ease. For the second half, we forecast a 10% decline, assuming that the impact of minimum necessary principle will have run its course and that the impact of distributor inventory adjustment will become limited. However, as you are aware, the testing price standardization policy is scheduled to be introduced. Although we conservatively factored this impact into our initial forecast, the standardized price levels have not yet been announced, and there is also a risk that distributor inventory adjustment could be prolonged due to an expansion of health care cost containment policies. We'll, therefore, continue to closely monitor the situation and provide timely disclosure if any material development happens. So please turn to the next slide for more details. Slide 15 covers the recently announced second round of public consultation on the standardization of testing prices. Following the previous public consultation announced at the end of March, a second round was conducted from June 30 through June -- July 6. This second round sought additional comments on matters, including testing items and pricing. Comments were solicited from a broad range of stakeholders, including not only hospitals, but also companies and industry associations. We understand that around 50 additions and revisions were proposed in total. As for the outlook going forward, China's provinces have been divided into 4 areas and pilot programs are reportedly planned or underway in 6 provinces. The final version and detailed implementation rules are expected to be announced at the end of August with a nationwide implementation scheduled between September and December. Although this is referred to as a testing price standardization policy, it doesn't mean that prices nationwide will be uniformly set at the lowest level. Rather, each province is expected to set its prices in accordance with standardized pricing guideline, taking into account regional characteristics and developments in the pilot provinces. As I mentioned earlier, the actual price levels have not yet been announced and the impact on our business, therefore, remains uncertain. Please turn to the next slide. Slide 16 covers AP Asia Pacific. Sales increased driven by strong growth in India as well as a recovery in Indonesia, where demand for medical devices had declined in the previous fiscal year due to budget allocations. Sales increased 14.2% year-on-year on a yen basis and 7.6% excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates. Instrument sales declined due to delays in some tenders in India and Philippines, while reagent sales grew significantly, supported by an increase in the installed base of instruments in the hematology, urinalysis and hemostasis fields in India. Business also remained strong across Southeast Asia countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, contributing to growth in the AP region as a whole. In the medical robotics business, we obtained marketing approval in Vietnam in June. Please turn to the next page. This is Japan. The sales increased significantly by 57.9% year-on-year as both instruments and reagents recovered to normal levels with an additional contribution from the clinical chemistry business transferred to us in April. In instruments, although the hematology field was affected by the completion of a cycle of replacement demand, urinalysis and hemostasis fields performed well. Reagent sales also increased mainly in the urinalysis, hemostasis and immunochemistry fields. Testing volumes grew steadily in line with the increase in the installed base of instruments, while the rebound impact associated with the system transition in the previous fiscal year was also resolved. In addition, the transfer of the clinical chemistry and immunochemistry businesses, which began in April contributed to revenue. In the Medical Robotics business, 2 systems were installed in the first quarter, bringing the cumulative number of installation to 108. Moving on to the next page. Page 18 shows the factors contributing to the change in operating profit. In addition to a JPY 6.86 billion increase in gross profit from higher sales, the elimination of the JPY 1.75 billion impact from the inventory valuation review in the previous fiscal year contributed to the increase in profit. As for the cost of sales ratio, while the increase in sales of instruments with higher gross margins had a positive impact, this was more than offset by negative factors such as product mix and the impact of tariffs, resulting in an overall deterioration of 0.5 percentage points. Selling, general and SG&A expenses and research and development expenses increased in line with that, but we believe they remain under control. Other operating income and expenses had a negative impact of JPY 2.38 billion on profit due to the recognition of a provision for potential losses that may arise. Foreign exchange had a positive impact of JPY 460 million. Moving on. From here, I will explain the key themes we are focusing on under the midterm management plan. Please turn to the next page, Page 20. First, please look at the left-hand side, accelerating expansion in the hemostasis field. We had a very strong start with sales increasing 41% in EMEA on a local currency basis and 134% in the Americas. Because of the low volume percentage seems to be lighter. So it was a very good start. In EMEA, sales activities leveraging the customer base we have built in the hematology field have been successful driving growth in both instruments and reagents. And we are also making steady progress in initiatives to strengthen our competitiveness, including obtaining regulatory approvals for specialized testing items such as HIT IgG reagent. In the Americas, we are expanding the installation of the CN-Series in North America, while in Latin America, we have gained regulatory approval for CN-Series in Brazil, among other initiatives, laying the groundwork for the largest sales. Next is the business expansion in emerging markets. Overall, emerging markets are showing solid growth with sales increasing 22% year-on-year. In India, sales are growing on the back of an increase in the installed base and instruments in our key fields. As a future initiative, we are developing new products tailored to the needs of the Indian market with the aim of launching them during the period of midterm management plan. In Brazil, it's also performing well, particularly in the hematology and urinalysis fields. And going forward, as shown on the left, we aim to achieve sustained growth by expanding our business field. Next is the Slide 21 that shows the progress of our initiatives to improve profitability. First, I will explain our value chain transformation initiatives shown on the left. We are currently promoting a company-wide project to reduce reagent costs and accelerating our efforts to improve profitability. In the hematology field, we are reviewing and optimizing raw materials and manufacturing processes for reagents such as staining solutions and hemolytic agents. Although the gross profit margin is already at a high level, we expect a significant improvement given the large scale of sales. In the immunochemistry field, particularly for infectious disease assays such as HBV and HCV, we are improving production efficiencies through production scale-up and bringing the production of raw materials in-house. Although the scale of the business is limited compared with hematology, reagent costs are higher than in other fields, and we believe there is significant room for improvement. Next, on the right is the productivity improvement through the use of AI and digital technologies. As part of our internal digitalization efforts, we have been standardizing business processes, and we -- and our internal systems have now accumulated a vast amount of operational data showing how many days and how much work each site spends on each standardized business process. By comparing and analyzing this vast amount of operational data across our sites and benchmarking it against companies using the same systems, we are identifying which business processes offer potential improvements and the magnitude of those improvements and are now moving into the implementation phase. Based on the results of this analysis, we are working on to shorten lead time and standardize and automate labor-intensive manual processes. Going forward, we will continue to enhance profitability through the 2 pillars of reagent cost reduction and greater operational efficiency through the use of AI and digital technologies. Next page. From here, I will explain our earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027. Slide 23. I will first explain the revision to our first half earnings forecast. In light of strong business performance, particularly in the Americas and recent foreign exchange trends, we have revised our first half earnings forecast upward. We forecast revenue of JPY 265 billion, operating profit of JPY 25 billion and profit for the period of JPY 15 billion. Compared with our initial forecast, the represent upward revision of JPY 10 billion for sales, JPY 2 billion for operational profit and JPY 1 billion for profit for the period. We also expect to incur onetime expenses related to the business review in this second quarter, and these have been factored into the forecast. Regarding our foreign exchange assumptions, reflecting recent trends, we have revised our assumed first half exchange rate for the U.S. dollar and renminbi. Please turn to Page 24. First, please look at the sales chart on the left. We have revised our sales forecast upward JPY 10 billion from our initial forecast. By region, the Americas make the largest contribution at JPY 5.3 billion, while we expect an upside of JPY 0.9 billion in other regions. Foreign exchange is also expected to have a positive impact of JPY 3.8 billion. In particular, strong business performance continues in Americas, mainly in the hematology field, driving this upward revision. Next, please look at the operating profit chart on the right. We have revised our operating profit forecast upward by JPY 2 billion from our initial forecast. The increase in gross profit associated with the higher revenue is expected to have a positive impact of JPY 3.4 billion, whilst subsidies in China will contribute JPY 0.6 billion, and we will have the good control of SG&A. The chart shows JPY 2.28 billion positive impact from the improvement in the cost of sales ratio. On the other hand, we have factored in a negative impact of JPY 4.5 billion in the second quarter as onetime expenses associated with business review. Foreign exchange is expected to have a positive impact of JPY 1.3 billion. Moving on to the next page. Slide 25 covers the revision to our -- for our full year earnings. For the full year, we forecast sales of JPY 545 billion, operating profit of JPY 60 billion and profit for the JPY 37 billion. Compared with our initial forecast, these represent upward revision of JPY 10 billion, JPY 2 billion and JPY 1 billion, respectively. In other words -- and please note that we have maintained our initial forecast for the second half. For the second half, we are currently assessing the impact of factors such as the standardization of testing prices in China. So based on that, the revised full year earnings forecast reflects the upside in the first half performance and others are shown here as written. As mentioned at the outset, we plan to explain the details of our business portfolio review at the earnings briefing in November. Moving on to the next page. Slide 26 for reference shows our sales forecast by business field, and region. In particular, we expect very strong performance in the Americas. That concludes my presentation for today. And also hematology in the Americas has been very strong. So that has been the result that we have, and we expect to see this trend continue from Q2 and onwards. And now we are under the process of reviewing the portfolio. So we try to incorporate -- we try to incorporate the risks as much as possible in our projection. Thank you very much. That's all. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]