Maxell Q1 Operating Profit Jumps 45% to ¥2.87 Billion as Sales Surge 24% on Batteries and Tapes

Maxell, Ltd. (TSE: 6810) reported consolidated results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027 — the three months from April 1 to June 30, 2026 — under Japanese GAAP. Net sales rose 24.4% to ¥37,665 million, an increase of ¥7,395 million. Operating profit climbed 44.8% to ¥2,872 million (up ¥888 million), ordinary profit rose 55.1% to ¥3,127 million (up ¥1,111 million), and profit attributable to owners of the parent advanced 50.5% to ¥2,397 million (up ¥804 million). Basic earnings per share were ¥65.03, against ¥36.94 a year earlier. Comprehensive income more than tripled, up 211.2% to ¥4,261 million, lifted by ¥1,102 million of gains on available-for-sale securities and a ¥721 million positive currency translation swing.

Batteries, tapes and automotive optics lift the top line

The quarter reversed a soft comparative — a year earlier sales had fallen 3.6% and operating profit 15.1%. Management pointed to firm demand for primary batteries used in medical devices and adhesive tapes used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, alongside a recovery in semiconductor-related products as customers worked through inventory. A weaker yen helped: the average rate for the quarter was ¥159 to the U.S. dollar. Naphtha-linked raw-material costs rose on the protracted Middle East situation, but the company said price pass-through progressed, and in some product lines customers built inventory in anticipation of tighter supply.

Gross profit rose to ¥9,389 million from ¥7,715 million, though the gross margin slipped to 24.9% from 25.5% as input costs climbed. Selling, general and administrative expenses grew to ¥6,517 million from ¥5,731 million, less than the pace of sales, so the operating margin widened to 7.6% from 6.6%. Below the operating line, the swing was larger still: a ¥62 million foreign-exchange gain replaced a ¥201 million loss and equity-method income rose to ¥102 million, more than offsetting higher interest expense of ¥142 million.

Energy leads growth; Functional Materials leads profit

All four reporting segments except Value Co-Creation grew. Energy sales jumped 47.3% to ¥15,246 million — the largest contributor to group growth — as primary batteries for medical and automotive uses sold strongly, including the business transferred from Murata Manufacturing, and despite the discontinuation of prismatic lithium-ion cells. Energy segment profit nonetheless fell 15.2% to ¥758 million, because the prior-year quarter had booked one-off licence income. Functional Materials sales rose 22.5% to ¥9,596 million on adhesive tapes and industrial materials such as coated separators, and segment profit more than tripled, up 210.5% to ¥950 million. Optics & Systems sales rose 17.4% to ¥9,206 million on automotive optical components and recovering semiconductor-related products, with segment profit up 101.4% to ¥1,132 million. Value Co-Creation was the sole decliner, with sales down 14.9% to ¥3,617 million and profit down 85.6% to ¥32 million as health and beauty products weakened in Japan and North America.

Geographically, overseas sales rose 39.2% to ¥20,817 million and accounted for 55.3% of the group total, overtaking domestic sales of ¥16,848 million, which grew a comparatively modest 10.0%. Asia and other regions led at ¥11,618 million (+42.9%), followed by the Americas at ¥5,613 million (+41.5%) and Europe at ¥3,586 million (+25.5%).

Full-year guidance unchanged — and its unusual shape

Despite the strong start, Maxell left the full-year forecast it published on April 27, 2026 untouched: net sales of ¥143,000 million (+10.5%), operating profit of ¥10,000 million (+26.7%), profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥6,700 million (−18.9%) and EPS of ¥181.76. The first quarter therefore represents 26.3% of the sales target and 28.7% of the operating-profit target. The shape of the guidance is worth noting: operating profit is guided up more than a quarter while net profit is guided down almost a fifth, which implies that FY3/2026 net profit exceeded that year's operating profit — arithmetically about ¥8.26 billion of net profit against roughly ¥7.89 billion of operating profit — and therefore that the prior year carried a substantial non-operating or extraordinary gain that is not expected to recur. The earnings release does not itemise that prior-year item, so the cause is not disclosed here.

By segment, the full-year plan looks for Energy sales of ¥53,000 million (+24.8%) with profit of ¥3,100 million (+50.1%), Functional Materials sales of ¥34,700 million (+6.4%) with profit of ¥1,900 million (+29.5%), Optics & Systems sales of ¥35,700 million (−2.0%) with profit of ¥3,900 million (+10.2%), and Value Co-Creation sales of ¥19,600 million (+9.2%) with profit of ¥1,100 million (+34.3%). Management flagged continuing risks from raw-material, power and freight costs, supply shortages and customer production adjustments, and said it aims to lift profitability through portfolio reform and to bring new businesses centred on all-solid-state batteries to earnings contribution early.

¥12.1 billion of shares cancelled; dividend forecast held at ¥56

On May 29, 2026, following an April 27 board resolution, Maxell cancelled 6,292,200 treasury shares worth ¥12,075 million, reducing capital surplus by ¥1,507 million and retained earnings by ¥10,568 million. Shares outstanding fell from 46,956,200 to 40,664,000, a 13.4% reduction, and treasury shares dropped from 10,094,913 to 3,802,736. The weighted-average share count used for EPS fell 14.5% to 36,861,285, which is why earnings per share grew 76.0% against a 50.5% rise in net profit. The dividend forecast is unchanged from the previous announcement: an annual ¥56.00 per share for FY3/2027 (¥28.00 interim plus ¥28.00 year-end), up from ¥50.00 paid for FY3/2026 (¥25.00 plus ¥25.00). Dividend payments of ¥922 million were made during the quarter.

Balance sheet and capital spending

Total assets grew 2.7% from the March year-end to ¥185,341 million. Current assets rose 2.8% to ¥87,855 million as trade receivables increased to ¥31,910 million and inventories to ¥23,566 million, while cash and deposits fell to ¥27,555 million from ¥31,557 million; non-current assets rose 2.6% to ¥97,486 million. Liabilities rose 2.1% to ¥92,146 million, with current liabilities up 3.8% to ¥48,310 million chiefly on ¥3,000 million of newly drawn short-term borrowings; the current ratio was 1.8 times. Net assets increased 3.3% to ¥93,195 million despite the share cancellation, and the equity ratio improved to 48.9% from 48.2%, with shareholders' equity of ¥90,567 million against ¥87,059 million. Capital expenditure quadrupled to ¥2,987 million from ¥725 million against a ¥10,000 million full-year plan, depreciation was ¥1,407 million and goodwill amortisation ¥156 million — the latter new this year following the acquired battery business — while R&D spending was broadly flat at ¥1,506 million. No consolidated quarterly cash flow statement was prepared for the period.

JapanStockPulse provides informational content only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are taken from the company's published earnings short report and may be subject to subsequent revision.